White Sox farm director Chris Getz hasn’t had an easy job this year. With no minor league season, he and White Sox coaches have had the task of developing players without real game action.
They’ve had more individual time with the players at the alternate site in Schaumburg, but that does not match playing in games. That is coming soon in some form in instructional league action. Still, Getz believes some of the players in Schaumburg have taken big strides.
“There’s just been a lot of quality takeaways, but it’s about getting reps, getting around these guys and getting as much as we can in this short period of time to feel like we’ve accomplished some things this season,” Getz said on Monday.
Getz talked to reporters on Monday and provided an update on a number of big prospects. He had good things to say about how Dane Dunning has adapted to the majors. He also said Jake Burger “looks like the old Jake Burger.” However, one bit of praise from Getz stood out. That was what he said about Blake Rutherford.
“If I had to point to one player that has made the greatest strides, I certainly think Blake would be in that mix,” Getz said.
Getz said they’ve simplified Rutherford’s approach, one that “fits his profile.” Getz was talking about being able to bring out more of Rutherford’s power. As a corner outfielder, Rutherford will have to hit for power to be an everyday major leaguer. However, he hasn’t posted an isolated power (ISO) above .150 since rookie ball.
Rutherford hit .265/.319/.365 last year in Double-A Birmingham. For comparison, Nick Madrigal, who has comically little power, edged Rutherford in ISO with Birmingham last year. They have very different approaches so it’s an imperfect comparison, but it shows how little power Rutherford produced.
That’s why it’s meaningful when Getz says Rutherford is, along with Andrew Vaughn, leading the group of White Sox hitters in home runs in Schaumburg. Rutherford showed power in the Arizona Fall League (four doubles, three triples, two homers in 78 at-bats), but also hit just .179. The hope is that he has figured something out in Schaumburg.
“We’ve focused on putting him in a position to drive the baseball, certainly to the pull side, which has allowed him to drive balls to left field as well and backspinning the baseball, driving it into the gaps,” Getz said. “I think that he’s really benefited from this type of setup and hope to continue to build that into the offseason in the next year.
Vaughn playing multiple positions
Speaking of Vaughn, the 2019 first-rounder has been playing third base and outfield in addition to first base in Schaumburg.
“The versatility, I truly don’t think it hurts anyone to get reps at various positions,” Getz said. “We’ve done it to other players. He’s gotten action at third base. He continues to do that on a daily basis. Certainly he gets his reps at first. We’ve introduced the outfield as well and he does that on a daily basis.”
Of course, Vaughn’s bat has never been in question. If he can add some defensive value by playing a more premium position, especially with Jose Abreu having the best season of his career, that would be a big boost.
“It’s been on a daily basis a bit eye-opening on how consistent he is,” Getz said. “He just has a strong understanding of what it takes to put together a professional at-bat. His body is always under control for quality decision making and he can punish the baseball to all fields, which are ingredients for major league success.”
Crochet walking the walk
Getz said he first met Garrett Crochet, this year’s first-round pick, when he signed his contract in Chicago. He was impressed by his confidence then. Now Crochet has put together two impressive MLB appearances despite not throwing a pitch in the minors. The confidence appears justified.
“He was calmly frustrated that he wasn’t able to pitch more this year in a college season,” Getz said of Crochet. “He wanted to show professional baseball what he was capable of doing and that was cut short. That told me something. It wasn’t I’m better than this guy or I should have been taken higher. It was just belief in his ability. He felt more of a college season, more innings, more eyes on him, more information on him that he perhaps would have been looked as a higher pick. But he was not upset. That’s why I go back to this genuine confidence. He wants to get out there and show people what he’s capable of doing.”
It seems like that shortened college season has benefited the White Sox. Crochet likely would not have fallen to the 11th pick in the draft had he looked like that this spring.
At Schaumburg, Getz was impressed by how quickly Crochet took to instruction. White Sox staff knew his stuff was good enough to pitch in the majors. The question was whether or not he could handle the jump to the majors emotionally.
“After watching his two outings, I think needless to say, he’s handling it well,” Getz said. “We’re all very excited, both organizationally and I’m sure fans, to watch him pitch because it’s a rarity to watch a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher with the story that he has go out there and throw the way he has. We saw the upper 90s, touching 100-plus in Schaumburg. We saw the nasty slider. He’s got a really good changeup, but you don’t know how a kid is going to take to the major league stage in which he went in there and he’s throwing strikes and he’s using all three pitches. I’m excited to see what’s in store.”
Photo credit: Clint Cole/FutureSox
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