White Sox rebuilding fail: A look back at the 2018 draft

Tanking has become a popular strategy across professional sports over the past decade. It probably doesn't work as well in baseball as it does in football, basketball or hockey, but that hasn't stopped teams from trying it.

In 2017 and 2018, the White Sox were rebuilding, but it's fair to say they were tanking -- setting their roster up to lose, in order to get a high pick in the next year's draft.

The Sox went 67-95 in 2017, the fourth-worst record in Major League Baseball. That meant they had the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and drafted near the top of all the subsequent rounds.

For tanking to work, a team must make good draft picks and develop that talent. Here's a list of the 40 players the Sox took in that 2018 draft. Players currently on the 40-man roster are in all caps and bolded:

• Round 1: Nick Madrigal, 2B
• Round 2: Steele Walker, OF
• Round 3: Konnor Pilkington, LHP
• Round 4: Lency Delgado, SS
• Round 5: Jonathan Stiever, RHP
• Round 6: Codi Heuer, RHP
  
• Round 7: Cabrera Weaver, OF
• Round 8: Andrew Perez, LHP
• Round 9: Gunnar Troutwine, C
• Round 10: Bennett Sousa, LHP
• Round 11: Kelvin Maldonado, SS
• Round 12: Isaiah Carranza, RHP
• Round 13: Jason Bilous, RHP
• Round 14: DAVIS MARTIN, RHP
• Round 15: Luke Shilling, RHP
• Round 16: Ty Greene, C
• Round 17: Travis Moniot, SS
• Round 18: ROMY GONZALEZ, 3B
• Round 19: Gabriel Ortiz, C
• Round 20: Jimmy Galusky, SS
• Round 21: Nick Johnson, RHP
• Round 22: Ryan Fitzpatrick, 1B
• Round 23: LANE RAMSEY, RHP
• Round 24: Rigo Fernandez, LHP
• Round 25: Jack Maynard, RHP
• Round 26: Devon Perez, RHP
• Round 27: Ian Dawkins, OF
• Round 28: Logan Sowers, OF
• Round 29: Taylor Varnell, LHP
• Round 30: Micah Coffey, SS
• Round 31: Austin Conway, RHP
• Round 32: Aaron Soto, LHP
• Round 33: Bryce Bush, 3B
• Round 34: Alec Valenzuela, C
• Round 35: Jason Morgan, RHP
• Round 36: Adrian Del Castillo, C,
• Round 37: Cannon King, 2B
• Round 38: Matthew Klug, OF
• Round 39: Mason Montgomery, LHP
• Round 40: Kyle Salley, LHP

We always say you can't judge a draft until you get a few years down the road. Well, we're five years down the road from this draft, and I would say it was poor. The Sox didn't get a single impact talent for their tanking efforts during the 2017 season.

Fourteenth-rounder Martin made 14 appearances and started nine games for the 2022 Sox, but he missed the entire 2023 season with Tommy John surgery. That's the closest thing we've had to a success story here.

Gonzalez, the 18th-rounder, has appeared in 86 games across parts of the past three seasons and slashed .222/.239/.361. He missed most of the 2023 season with a shoulder injury. He profiles as a career utility player, if he's lucky.

Ramsey, the 23rd-rounder, made it to the majors last year after the Sox sold off half their pitching staff at the trade deadline. His ERA was 5.85 over 21 games, but honestly, anything you get out of a guy drafted that late is a bonus.

The real issue here is the top of this draft. Madrigal made it to the big leagues in 2020 and started for the Sox in 2021 before tearing his hamstring in June. He and sixth-round pick Heuer, who also made it to the bigs in 2020, were shipped to the Cubs at the trade deadline for reliever Craig Kimbrel. 

Kimbrel was a disaster for the Sox and departed in free agency after the 2021 season. Madrigal is an injury-prone utility guy for the Cubs, and Heuer has not pitched in the majors in either of the past two seasons because of injury.

Second-round pick Walker was traded to the Texas Rangers in December 2019 for outfielder Nomar Mazara. The deal did not work out for either side. Mazara slumped throughout the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Sox, and Walker appeared in just five games with the Rangers in 2022 -- going 1 for 16. He is no longer with the Texas organization. In fact, he spent most of 2023 at High-A West Michigan, an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

Third-rounder Pilkington was traded to Cleveland at the deadline in 2021 for second baseman Cesar Hernandez. Pilkington appeared in 16 games (11 starts) with the Guardians, but eventually was designated for assignment. Hernandez did not play well down the stretch for the 2021 Sox and left in free agency after that season.

Fifth-rounder Stiever made two starts for the 2020 Sox, and one relief appearance in 2021. His career ERA is 14.21. Injuries ruined any shot he might have had, and he was outrighted off the roster.

The sad truth for the Sox is this draft was part of their rebuilding failure. None of these players helped the team, either on the field or in trades to acquire talent. It's pretty much a disaster, as a matter of fact.

Postponement comes at good time for White Sox; road trip ends with 3-2 record

The game between the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians was postponed Wednesday night because of snow. 

The inclement weather showed up at just the right time for the Sox, who would have been underdogs in this Wednesday matchup. The Indians were planning to start Aaron Civale, who is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA. The Cleveland right-hander just shut down the Sox in his last outing a week ago.

The Sox, meanwhile, were short on pitching and planned to have a bullpen day. The South Siders had a successful road trip overall. They split four games in Boston and won Tuesday's game in Cleveland, and thus they will conclude the trip with a 3-2 record.

But Sunday's doubleheader sweep in Boston, Lucas Giolito's short start Monday, and Lance Lynn's trip to the 10-day injured list left the Sox without a starting pitcher available to work on regular rest for Wednesday.

Manager Tony La Russa said after Tuesday's game that the Sox would likely recall Jonathan Stiever from the alternate site to help them get through Wednesday's game. Other candidates to pitch included journeyman Alex McRae, who is currently in the roster spot vacated by Lynn, and Matt Foster.

Not the best setup for a game against a division rival. But thanks to the snow, the Sox avoid playing a game that they were likely to lose, and they never added Stiever, so the roster remains the same as it was Tuesday.

Now, they get a day off Thursday, and that pretty much allows the pitching staff to reset. The Sox host the Texas Rangers in a three-game series starting Friday, and every pitcher on the roster should be available -- except for Carlos Rodon, who started and won Tuesday's ballgame.

When the Sox get back on the field Friday, there will be two story lines. First, former Sox right-hander Dane Dunning, who was traded for Lynn, is the scheduled starter for Texas. Second, the Sox will attempt to get over the .500 mark for the first time in eight tries.

So far this season, the Sox have been 0-0, 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8 and now 9-9. Each time they've reached breakeven, they've lost their next game.

On one hand, the Sox haven't been able to get anything going with any consistency so far this season. But on the other hand, they've managed to tread water while they've struggled.

As frustrating as the team has been to watch, it's not as if they are 6-12 or something. They haven't dug a hole that will take them two weeks of good play to recover from or anything like that.

The next nine games are at home. If they can put together a halfway decent homestand against Texas, Detroit and Cleveland, they can push to the top of the AL Central.

Ethan Katz expected to be named White Sox pitching coach

The White Sox are expected to announce new manager Tony La Russa's full coaching staff sometime this week, but sources are saying Ethan Katz will be the new pitching coach.

Katz, who will replace Don Cooper, was most recently the assistant pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants. However, most Sox fans will recognize the 37-year-old as Lucas Giolito's high school coach.

Three major leaguers -- Giolito, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty -- played for Katz at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. 

That said, Katz has a lot more experience than just coaching star high school pitchers. The Los Angeles Angels hired him in 2013 to coach pitchers in rookie ball, and Katz was moved up to be the pitching coach at the Angels' Midwest League affiliate in Low-A the next season. 

Later, Katz worked in the Seattle Mariners organization, where he won 2016 Coach of the Year in the California League. He made the jump to coaching big leaguers last year, when the Giants promoted him to the aforementioned position of assistant pitching coach.

When Giolito struggled in 2018 -- going 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA -- he turned to Katz in the offseason to help him refine his mechanics. We're all familiar with the story from there. Giolito is now the undisputed ace of the Sox's pitching staff. He's finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting in the American League in each of the past two seasons. He was a 2019 American League All-Star, and assuredly would have been an All-Star in 2020, as well, had an All-Star Game been played.

But this is more than just a hire to cater to Giolito. Katz obviously has a track record of success. He keeps getting promoted everywhere he coaches. And as a 37-year-old, the hope is he will be a better communicator when working with young pitchers than Cooper, whose best success stories are now several years in the past. 

Can Katz unlock the talent of Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning, Michael Kopech and Jonathan Stiever? That's what he's being brought in to do.

Both Cease and Lopez have regressed over the past year, much to the frustration of everyone associated with the Sox, and that regression is one reason the Sox are in the market for more starting pitching this offseason.

If the Sox can do a better job of developing their own pitchers, owner Jerry Reinsdorf's unwillingness to spend and cries of poverty become less of an issue. 

Katz obviously helped Giolito secure his spot in the Sox's rotation for both the short and long term. Now we'll find out whether he can do the same for some of the other young pitchers listed above.

White Sox lose two of three to Cincinnati Reds; AL Central lead at 2 with 7 to play

Dylan Cease

White Sox pitchers Dylan Cease and Ross Detwiler combined to pitch one of the worst innings I've seen at the big-league level in a long, long time Sunday.

The Cincinnati Reds scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning -- on six walks, a hit batsmen and a ground ball that found its way through a shifted infield. Talk about gift-wrapping a game. The Reds went on to win 7-3 and took two out of three in the weekend series.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins took two out of three from the Cubs at Wrigley Field. That means the Sox's lead in the American League Central Division stands at two games with seven to play. Their magic number to clinch the division is four.

Probably the best thing to do would be to just go 4-3 in the remaining seven and not worry about the Twins, right? But the Sox will need to play better than they did this weekend. Let's take a look back at this series with the Reds:

Friday, Sept. 18

Reds 7, White Sox 1: Jonathan Stiever survived his first major-league start against the Detroit Tigers in decent shape, but he got lit up in his outing Friday against the Reds. He lasted only 2.2 innings and gave up six earned runs on five hits. He allowed four home runs, including three in a five-run third inning. 

Stiever had never pitched above High-A before this year, so struggles are to be expected. However, I'm a little concerned about his health. Reports last season had his fastball touching 95 or 96 mph. But after a forearm strain limited him in spring training during March, he doesn't seem to be back to that peak velocity. I'm seeing a lot of 91 and 92 mph fastballs.

The Sox managed only four hits Friday night, so it was a lackluster, day-after-clinching-the-playoffs sort of effort. One bright spot: 2020 first-round draft pick Garrett Crochet worked a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in his big-league debut. His fastball touched 101 mph and showed good life. 

Saturday, Sept. 19

White Sox 5, Reds 0: Stiever was optioned back to the alternate training site after his rough outing Friday, so that Dallas Keuchel could be activated from the 10-day injured list and make the start. 

It was a weird outing for Keuchel. He went four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, which is good, but he didn't get a single groundball out. Not what you normally see from the game's most extreme sinkerballer. Keuchel uncharacteristically walked three, too, but that could be chalked up to rust. At least he got up to 75 pitches. At least he got through the outing without a recurrence of his back problem, and he'll get one more start Thursday to tune up for the postseason.

The Sox hit five solo homers to win this one. Nomar Mazara hit his first dinger of the season in the fifth off Trevor Bauer. Tim Anderson also homered in the fifth. In the eighth, Anderson, Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu hit back-to-back-to-back homers off Robert Stephenson to put the game out of reach.

Four relievers cleaned up the last five innings after Keuchel left. Matt Foster (5-0) retired all six men he faced with two strikeouts to earn the victory.

Sunday, Sept. 20

Reds 7, White Sox 3: Cease, Detwiler and Steve Cishek combined to walk 11 batters and hit three others in this game -- and that was just the first five innings. Meanwhile, Sox batters struck out 14 times. It was so terrible to watch that I don't really want to talk about it.

It was 7-3, but it felt like 13-3. Let's just flush it down the toilet and move on.

Up next for the Sox: a four-game series in Cleveland starting Monday night. The Indians are five games out in the AL Central, so they are still in the hunt and looking to move up the standings. It should be a playoff-level series, and the hope is the Sox got all their bad play out of their system Sunday in Cincinnati.

White Sox announce the 16 members of their Schaumburg taxi squad

Garrett Crochet

The White Sox on Tuesday announced the 16 players who will round out their 60-man pool. Well, actually, I guess it's a 59-man pool with Michael Kopech opting out of the season.

Forty-one players are working out at Guaranteed Rate Field, with two players quarantining after positive tests for COVID-19. Here are the other 16 guys, who will report to Schaumburg Boomers Stadium on Wednesday:

Right-handed pitchers: Zack Burdi, Ryan Burr, Matt Foster, Brady Lail, Alex McRae, Bryan Mitchell, Jonathan Stiever

Left-handed pitchers: Garrett Crochet, Bernardo Flores, Jacob Lindgren, Adalberto Mejia, Bennett Sousa

Catcher: Seby Zavala

Outfielders: Luis Gonzalez, Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford

So, who among these people might be able to help in Chicago during the 60-game sprint to the finish? I'd focus on that list of left-handed pitchers. Aaron Bummer is a fixture in the Sox bullpen, but let's just say I'm not confident that Jace Fry is going to stick around too much longer as the second lefty in relief.

Crochet, the team's first-round draft pick, jumps out as the most interesting name on the list. His 100 mph fastball would play in the big leagues, but how quickly will the Sox want to move with his development? Mejia is not on the 40-man roster, but he has previous experience with three MLB teams, most notably the Minnesota Twins. He could get a look if the Sox have an injury or an ineffectiveness in their bullpen.

Zavala can't hit worth a lick, but he's the third-best receiver in the organization -- once you get past big leaguers Yasmani Grandal and James McCann. That alone makes it worth having him around. Catching depth can erode quickly -- just look at the Kansas City Royals, who are without all three catchers on their 40-man roster. Two tested positive for COVID-19, and a third is injured. The Sox have four catchers in big-league camp, and it's wise to add a fifth guy just in case.

Among the right-handed pitchers, Burr has previous experience with the Sox and is coming back from Tommy John surgery. Burdi, the former first round pick, is trying to revitalize his career after a series of injuries. Stiever is an intriguing prospect who had a big year in 2019, but he was hurt in spring training. I'm guessing 2020 is not his time, but it is good to see him healthy and returning to action in some form.

Those outfielders ... meh ... all three of them are prospects who have lost their shine. A lot of bad things would have to happen to the Sox before we'd see any of them in Chicago.

White Sox make first roster moves of spring training

The White Sox on Friday made their first round of roster cuts. Most notably, No. 5-ranked prospect Jonathan Stiever was reassigned to minor league camp without getting an opportunity to pitch in a Cactus League game.

Stiever, 22, was bothered by soreness during a sideline session, and he was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right forearm. An MRI showed no problems, and Stiever was shut down for three weeks. He currently is about halfway through that three-week period.

When I made my list of top 10 White Sox prospects, I was a little reluctant to put Stiever up real high on the basis of 10 or 12 good minor league starts at the end of last season. Last year's breakout story can quickly become this year's downer, and we know young pitchers often get their careers derailed by injury.

Here's to hoping this is just a minor blip for Stiever.

The Sox also optioned right-handed reliever Matt Foster to Triple-A Charlotte. Pitchers Dane Dunning and Jimmy Lambert were optioned to Double-A Birmingham. Both Dunning and Lambert are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Right-hander Ryan Burr, left-hander Hunter Schryver and first baseman Matt Skole also were reassigned to minor league camp.

Burr spent time in the majors last season, but he also is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Schryver recently underwent Tommy John surgery and is done for this season. Skole, a left-handed hitter who has spent some time in the majors in each of the past two years, is an organizational player who will no doubt begin the season in Triple-A Charlotte.

The Sox now have 60 players in camp.

Everyone else has a top 10 White Sox prospects list -- why shouldn't I?

Luis Robert

This is the time of year when we see a lot of publications updating their prospects lists, both for individual teams and the league in general.

The White Sox have a top-heavy farm system, and the higher-end guys figure to graduate to the majors sometime in 2020. No. 1 to No. 4 on their prospect list seems obvious to most people. It's those spots from No. 5 to No. 10 that are the subject of debate.

Since everyone else seems to be taking a kick at the can at how these guys should rate, why shouldn't I throw my two cents in? Here are my top 10 Sox prospects going into the 2020 season:

1. Luis Robert, CF. Duh, right? Robert will not be on these lists much longer. He will start the season as the Opening Day center fielder in Chicago. He's the consensus top prospect in the organization, and he ranks anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6 when you see rankings of the top prospects in all of baseball.

I wish Robert would have been called to the majors last season. His tools are insane -- power, speed, defense, throwing arm -- there's nothing to complain about in any of those areas. The main problem for Robert is he remains a bit of a wild swinger, and I expect MLB pitchers to exploit that early in his career. Eventually, he'll make the adjustment, but I wanted that learning curve to start in 2019, during games that were inconsequential in the standings.

Now, Robert will have to learn in the 2020 season, during which the Sox have expectations of being much more competitive. We'll see how he holds up. Certainly, there's nothing left to prove in minor-league levels. Robert hit .328/.376/.624 with 32 home runs and 36 steals across three levels last year. Yep, he's ready for his shot.

2. Michael Kopech, RHP. Kopech is a year and a half removed from elbow surgery. His fastball is back where it should be, sitting between 95 and 100 mph. Will the command be there after such a long layoff from competitive ball? Maybe not, but given Kopech's big fastball and his quality secondary pitches -- including a slider and a change -- I don't have any doubt he's one of the five best starting pitchers the Sox have.

But, the Sox will show "an abundance of caution" with Kopech. He's going to start the year in Triple-A Charlotte, but I don't expect him to be there for long. I'd be stunned if he isn't in Chicago by June 1, assuming good health. Even though the Sox insist that Kopech isn't on an innings limit this season, we know they aren't going to overtax him, so I just assume he throw his innings with the Sox later in the season, as opposed to early in the cold, rainy weather in April.

3. Andrew Vaughn, 1B. The third overall pick in the 2019 draft hit his first spring training home run on Friday, and he appears slated to start the season in Double-A Birmingham. Vaughn put up monstrous numbers over three collegiate seasons at California; his career slash line there was .374/.495/.688.

Unlike some other Sox prospects, Vaughn seems willing to take a walk. He had a .384 OBP in 55 games in the Sox's minor-league system in 2019. He has a simple swing and a disciplined approach that will make pitchers work. Obviously, as someone who is limited to first base as a defender, he'll have to hit to stick in the majors. But there's no reason to believe he won't. Maybe we'll see him at the end of 2020, or in 2021.

4. Nick Madrigal, 2B. He won't hit for power, no, but I'm not sure why I should be concerned about that. In a projected lineup that includes Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez, Robert, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, do the Sox need Madrigal to hit balls off the wall and over it? Not in my world.

I'd make Madrigal the starting second baseman from Opening Day on this season. He can field the position at an elite level, and he almost never strikes out -- you may have heard he only struck out 16 times in 532 plate appearances in 2019. He hit .311/.377/.414 across three levels last season, so I don't think there's a whole heckuva lot for him to prove in the minors. I hope the Sox don't send him back to the minors for service time reasons. We should be past that point in the rebuild.

5. Jonathan Stiever, RHP. I'm always wary of hyping guys over 10 or 12 good starts, but I ended up putting Stiever at No. 5 on this list mostly because his good health (knock on wood) separates him from other Sox prospects. Stiever had a rough start to 2019 at Class-A Kannapolis, where he went 4-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 starts.

But something clicked when Stiever got promoted to High-A Winston-Salem, where he went 6-4 with a 2.15 ERA across 12 starts. Stiever's fastball sits in the low 90s, and he's got a good curve. His slider and change are just average, so can he develop a third pitch? And are the gains he made last season sustainable? Stiever figures to start the season in Double-A Birmingham.

6. Dane Dunning, RHP. I had thoughts of putting Dunning at No. 5 on this list, because I'm reasonable certain he'll contribute at the MLB level once he gets healthy. I don't think he has the upside Stiever has, however, and these lists often are about upside. Dunning is recovering from Tommy John surgery and hopes to return to affiliated ball by about June 1.

We could see Dunning in Chicago by the second half of this season. While he's not going to overpower anybody, he has three pitches he can throw for strikes, and well, that's something. A lot of times, guys can stick at the back of the rotation if they can consistently pound the zone with multiple pitches.

7. Luis Alexander Basabe, OF. Basabe's breakout 2018 that saw him hit 15 home runs and earn a spot in the Futures Game has not been forgotten, despite an injury-plagued 2019 season. A broken hamate bone robbed him of his power last season, when he hit only three home runs.

Basabe's slash line last year was .246/.324/.336, and certainly, Birmingham is not a good place for hitters. But, other Sox prospects have produced for the Barons on their way to the majors, and Basabe needs to do the same. The key is lowering his strikeout rate, which was hovering about 30 percent throughout much of last season. Basabe has speed and good defensive tools, so the question is whether the bat comes around.

8. Zack Collins, C. Collins has to get some points because he made it to the majors last season, although his questionable defensive skills behind the plate are likely to send him back to Triple-A to start 2020. Collins received two opportunities in Chicago in 2019, and the first was a disaster. He went 2 for 26 in nine games and got sent back down.

When he came back in September, he had made some adjustments, and it looked better. He slashed .233/.343/.417 with two homers, three doubles, a triple, nine RBIs and nine walks in 71 plate appearances. He also struck out 25 times, which remains a concern, but you figure the Sox will be slow to give up on a left-handed bat and a former first-round draft pick.

9. Blake Rutherford, OF. Hey, let's go wishcasting here. I asked about Rutherford at SoxFest, and director of player development Chris Getz expressed optimism that Rutherford started to turn a corner the second half of last season at Double-A Birmingham. He hit .307/.364/.404 over the last three months of 2019.

That wasn't enough to erase the hideous .185/.226/.291 line he had going into June. We'll keep an eye on Rutherford early in the season to see if he can hold onto his second-half gains. One big problem: He lacks the defensive skill set to play anything other than a corner outfield spot, and he has little power -- only seven home runs last season. He's added 10 to 12 pounds over the offseason, and we'll see if that makes a difference.

10. Matt Thompson, RHP. Just for grins, let's throw a high school pitcher in here, if for no other reason that I'm not high on anybody else. Thompson was the Sox's second-round pick in 2019, and some struggles during his senior season allegedly caused him to take a tumble out of the first round. He's an athletic pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, so we'll see where that goes in the coming years. Realistically, a guy drafted out of high school needs at least four years to make the majors.