In recent years, many teams eschewed instructional league games and opted for mini-camp environments instead. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world, however, many organizations have decided to change course. Josh Norris of Baseball America summarized the details earlier this week.
The instructional league season will take place in early October out in Arizona. There is no official word on what if anything will be taking place for the clubs who have facilities in Florida. On October 5, the 15 Major League Baseball clubs with spring training homes in Arizona will begin playing games against each other.
There will be two leagues out in the desert. Eight teams located on the west side of the Phoenix area will play each other from October 5-November 14. The seven remaining clubs located on the eastern side will play from October 6-November 12. Clubs will play between 15 and 40 games, depending on how many they decided to schedule.
The Chicago White Sox play in Glendale which is on the western side. They’ll be one of the groups comprising that eight-team league. They will start on October 10 and will be cutting the season a bit short with a scheduled end date of October 31.
FutureSox has obtained the list of players currently scheduled to play for the Sox club in Arizona. Many of the young players on the roster were expected, but information can also be gleaned from taking note of who won’t be in attendance as well.
These games should provide much needed in-game action for many White Sox prospects who weren’t afforded regular reps at the organization’s alternate site in Schaumburg, Ill. The players will also be paid to participate in fall instructs, which is somewhat atypical and another definite positive for many players who have been working out on their own since March.
Who is Going?
Outfielders: Benyamin Bailey, James Beard, Bryce Bush, Duke Ellis, Logan Glass, Chase Krogman, Cabera Weaver
Infielders: Jake Burger, DJ Gladney, Bryan Ramos, Jose Rodriguez, Yolbert Sanchez, Lenyn Sosa, Gavin Sheets
Catchers: Daniel Gonzalez, Jefferson Mendoza, Tyler Osik, Carlos Perez
Partial List: Micker Adolfo, Luis Gonzalez, Blake Rutherford, Andrew Vaughn
There are seven outfielders scheduled to take part in instructional league action and the White Sox have Micker Adolfo, Luis Gonzalez and Blake Rutherford in a partial capacity as well. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has reported that players currently on a club’s 40-man roster are unable to participate in instructional league games. The three outfielders listed above fit that description.
Adolfo and Rutherford are both members of the 40-man roster and they have spent the summer in Chicago’s northwest suburbs getting their work in with the crew in Schaumburg. Rutherford is 23 years old and was the 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound outfielder struggled a bit in Double-A in 2019 and he’s only hit 19 homers in his minor league career. A power surge will be necessary for Rutherford to live up to his once lofty prospect status and that’s what the development team at the alternate site was tasked with.
“We’ve simplified an approach that fits his profile”, said White Sox Director of Player Development Chris Getz. “We’ve focused on putting him in a position to drive the baseball, mostly to the pull side and backspinning balls the opposite way as well.”
Getz emphasized that a setting like what Schaumburg provided really benefited Rutherford and allowed him to improve without the daily grind of trying to win baseball games. It’s tough to constantly tinker with a swing and work on mechanics in the heat of an actual season.
Getz made it clear that the alternate site was a positive development for Rutherford.
“He’s really benefited from this type of setup,” Getz said. “We hope to continue to build that into the offseason and next year. If I had to pick a player who’d made the greatest strides, Blake would be in the mix.”
Rutherford really learned how to tap into his power in Schaumburg and was one of the home run leaders in the group. Instructional league games are another avenue for him to improve his game and move closer to a potential big league debut.
Adolfo is 24 and has also spent the summer in Schaumburg working on his game. Micker has had trouble staying healthy, but he’s a big and strong man with prodigious raw power. The Dominican outfielder has one more option, but his time in the organization is dwindling. He likely gets one final chance next season, but he’ll be on display for scouts in Arizona in the mean time.
Luis Gonzalez was a third-round draft pick out of New Mexico in 2017. The versatile outfielder made his big league debut in 2020.
Two other important players that aren’t on the 40-man roster, but might be soon will be participating in instructional league action as well. Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets will be heading to Arizona with much younger players.
Burger has been the feel good story of the summer in regards to Sox prospects. The former first-rounder is back and healthy after missing two years of development rehabbing multiple Achilles tears. The former 11th overall pick lost 25 pounds and was getting some action in Schaumburg after moonlighting in the CarShield Collegiate League earlier in the summer. Burger is Rule 5 eligible this December and the organization will likely add the hitter to their 40-man roster at that time.
Getz was effusive in his praise of Jake Burger in talking with the media on Monday.
When you have a player that now overcomes what he has, that might bring more joy than anything to be quite honest with you. Now that he’s gone through that, any sort of road block that he’s faced now in baseball, but in life, you point to that experience and now he should have more confidence working through whatever is in front of him. When he came by Schaumburg for the first time, looking at him physically, talking to him, I knew we were in a really, really good spot. Now watching him play, getting his reps at third base and it looks like the old Jake Burger. The at-bats and the life in his body and the way he’s interacting with his teammates, I’m so happy for the kid. Then, kind of a secondary piece is happy for the organization. Really to invest in a player like that and a person like that and to overcome what he has and be in a position now and be the player that we thought he could always be, it doesn’t get much better than that. He’s a guy that will go to instructional league from here, continue to build off of what we’ve accomplished here. Then we can look back at this year and be really confident going into 2021.
Similarly to Burger, Sheets is Rule 5 eligible in December, but unlike the former Missouri State product, Sheets wasn’t with the group at the alternate site. The second-rounder from 2017 made light of a tough situation though and he feels like he’s in the best position physically that he’s been in as a professional. Sheets led the Southern League in RBIs and saw a solid uptick in power down the stretch with the Barons.
Playing regularly in Charlotte was something that the lefty slugger was looking forward to, but he worked on getting to his power more often and transitioning to the outfield in his workouts. Sheets will try to prove to the Sox and the rest of the league that he belongs in the big leagues during his three-week stay in instructs.
A trio of prep outfielders from the 2019 draft will inhabit the grass in Glendale as well. James Beard (fourth round), Logan Glass (22nd round) and Chase Krogman (34th round) are all 19 years old and got their feet wet playing in the Arizona League last year. Beard is one of the fastest players in the minors and he was drafted as a raw athlete out of Mississippi. Glass and Krogman chose to sign with the White Sox instead of playing in college and while the lack of baseball hasn’t been ideal for either guy, they’re both young enough to prosper anyway. Krogman played in the same league as Burger this summer and he’s a name to watch going into next season.
Bryce Bush had a rough year in his first season in A ball in 2019. The former 33rd rounder battled a plethora of injuries but his upside is immense. Bush told FutureSox that he was feeling “great” after his workouts and was looking forward to getting back to it after having a season plus taken from him.
The former Michigan prep star has power to all fields and plus bat speed, but he will move to an outfield corner on a full time basis. He was expected to repeat in Low-A, but he has the opportunity now to make up for some lost time.
As if there weren’t enough outfielders on this roster, Cabera Weaver and Duke Ellis will join the club as well. Weaver was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 draft as a Georgia prep. He played in Great Falls last year and offers plus speed and defense. Weaver didn’t make our midseason top 30 list, but he was featured in the just missed portion. Ellis signed a free agent contract with the White Sox this year after playing college baseball at Texas.
Benyamin Bailey was a recently signed amateur out of Panama and he was the No. 22 prospect in the system according to our midseason update. The 19-year-old was expected to make his stateside debut in Arizona this year after posting a 166 wRC+ and a sterling 21% walk rate for the DSL White Sox. Ben Badler of Baseball America had a glowing review of the 6-foot-4, 215-pound outfielder when he joined the FutureSox podcast. In 55 games in the Dominican Summer League, Bailey hit .324/.477/.454 with a very respectable strikeout rate.
DJ Gladney hit eight homers in his Arizona League debut as an 18-year-old after signing in the 16th round. The third baseman has plus raw power to all fields and has impressed White Sox coaches since entering the organization. On the FutureSox podcast, minor league coach Devin DeYoung offered some praise of Gladney’s work ethic throughout the pandemic. Gladney was hitting regularly and the White Sox tracked his progress using the Motus sleeve that was provided to him. He should make his full season debut in 2021 and his potential is high. Joining Gladney in the infield will be Bryan Ramos, Jose Rodriguez, Yolbert Sanchez and Lenyn Sosa.
Ramos, an 18-year-old Cuban, got his first taste of stateside ball last year and he performed almost instantly. The third baseman hit .277/.353/.415 with four homers in 51 games. Posting a 110 wRC+ in his first year was an accomplishment. Ramos will get some time at second base in camp as well.
Another Cuban in camp is Sanchez and he’s getting his first stateside action. The 23-year-old shortstop is dynamic defender that was signed for $2.5 million last year. Sanchez has some questions pertaining to his bat, but he posted a 130 wRC+ in the Dominican Summer League. The White Sox think Yolbert is more advanced than the industry consensus and Marco Paddy has been correct quite a bit. The slick fielding infielder hit .297/.386/.441 with two homers in the DSL over the course of 29 games albeit against much younger competition.
Rodriguez was a $50,000 signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2018 and he’s done nothing but hit since entering the organization. The 19-year-old has played second base and shortstop and he posted a 121 wRC+ in the AZL. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound infielder slugged .505 on his way to a .213 ISO percentage with nine homers. Rodriguez was expected to play on the infield in Low-A to begin 2020.
Sosa has struggled at the plate, but was scheduled to begin the season with the Dash in the Advanced-A Carolina League. The 20-year-old has been solid defensively since signing for $300,000 out of Venezuela, but he also hit seven home runs for Kannapolis.
Jefferson Mendoza, Tyler Osik, Carlos Perez and Daniel Gonzalez will do the catching for the instructs squad. Mendoza has been listed as a top 30 prospect for the White Sox at multiple publications and he’s No. 30 on our midseason update. Signed out of Venezuela for $300,000 in 2017 mostly for his blocking and receiving ability, he struggled with the bat at the outset. Mendoza possesses a plus throwing arm as well, but he came around as an offensive performer in 2019. The 6-foot right-handed hitter batted .305/.391/.484 with a 141 wRC+ and three homers in the DSL. Mendoza has starting catcher upside and should receive a stateside opportunity in 2021.
Perez is a 24-year-old who profiles as a backup and played 89 games with Winston-Salem in 2019. Gonzalez is another catcher that profiles more as a backup than a starter. Osik was drafted in the 27th round out of Central Florida in 2019. Osik was drafted as a first baseman, but he’s transitioning to backstop for the White Sox. He posted a .909 OPS with five home runs in Kannapolis and it’ll be interesting to see his growth at the position.
Pitchers (RH): Jason Bilous, Cooper Bradford, Isaiah Carranza, Adisyn Coffey, Andrew Dalquist, Caleb Freeman, Alec Hansen, Jared Kelley, Kade McClure, McKinley Moore, Wilber Perez, Kaleb Roper, Yoelvin Silven, Chase Solesky, Matthew Thompson
Pitchers (LH): Ronaldo Guzman, Bailey Horn, Konnor Pilkington, Avery Weems
Rehab: Jimmy Lambert
Partial Roster: Garrett Crochet
Jared Kelley, Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist were all drafted as a prep righties recently in a strategic shift overall for the White Sox. Kelley has premium stuff with a big fastball and plus changeup. The 19-year-old has gotten valuable experience this summer. Jared joined the FutureSox podcast soon after he was drafted and talked about a multitude of topics.
Thompson and Dalquist were taken in the second and third rounds respectively in the 2019 draft. Neither player pitched very much in rookie ball, but they were expected to make the jump to full season to begin 2021. That didn’t happen, but they were under the employ of coaches in Schaumburg.
Getz recognized Everett Teaford (Director of Pitching) and Matt Zaleski (Triple-A Pitching Coach) as the infrastructure of the pitching development in Schaumburg.
“They’re both excellent instructors,” Getz said. “I’ve been really proud of how our alternate site has come together. The reason its gone so well is due to the group of people we have there. Staff, players and we’ve had some pitchers come over and join our major league club and perform well.”
Dalquist praised the organization for their use of technology at the alternate site and in spring training and he learned some valuable insight in regards to becoming a professional. Kelley, Thompson and Dalquist possess significance upside and should be rotation mates in the White Sox minor league system going forward.
Kade McClure was drafted out of Louisville in the sixth round back in 2017 and he was seen as a pretty safe mid-to-back of the rotation starter. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound righty has battled some injuries in his professional career, but he was slated to pitch in Double-A in 2020. The 24-year-old posted a 3.39 ERA in Winston-Salem in 2019, but his strikeout rate was down. McClure is Rule 5 eligible in December and it’s an important offseason for the former Cardinal.
Alec Hansen has been a mixed bag during his five years in the White Sox system. Hansen was selected in the second round back in 2016 and came from Oklahoma with premium stuff. At one point during his junior season, he looked like the favorite to go No. 1 overall. Hansen struggled to close out the year, but bounced back in the minors and reached top 100 prospect status. The 25-year-old is now trying to salvage his career out of the bullpen. Hansen has always been a mess mechanically with fluctuating stuff. The 6-foot-7 right-hander posted a 5.45 ERA in Double-A and averaged more than 8 BB/9 innings.
Isaiah Carranza and Jason Bilous were selected on day three of the 2018 draft. Both players were ranked on the back portion of the top 200 draft prospect’s list at MLBPipeline. Bilous was a 13th rounder out of Coastal Carolina. He throws very hard, but has always struggled with command and control. Delivery repetition has been an area of focus. Jason posted a 3.70 ERA with 9.72 K/9 in Kannapolis as a starter. Bilous was likely to pitch in High-A in 2020, but he could transition to a relief role in the future and the stuff is good enough for high leverage innings potentially.
Carranza underwent Tommy John surgery almost immediately upon arrival in the Chicago organization. The 6-foot-5, 180-pounder projected as a back end starter out of Azusa Pacific. Isaiah is projectable with a mid 90s heater and an inconsistent slider and changeup as well. The 23-year-old is finally healthy and back pitching regularly.
Five righties drafted in 2019 will be participating in Arizona as well. Caleb Freeman was a 15th rounder out of Texas Tech that earned praise from then Scouting Director Nick Hostetler. Freeman struggled as a starter in college, but he was electric in shorter stints in the Cape Cod League. The 22-year-old struck out 33 in 20 innings in rookie ball.
McKinley Moore was selected in the 14th round out of Arkansas-Little Rock. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder has great stuff, but struggles with command. Moore walks too many, but he struck out 32 hitters in 22.1 innings and throws consistently in the high 90’s. Chase Solesky, Cooper Bradford and Kaleb Roper were also chosen on day three in 2019 and they’ll be on this squad too.
Adisyn Coffey was the third selection of the White Sox in the 2020 draft and the two-way player will be focusing on pitching during instructional league. Coffey is athletic and has mid-90s velocity with a solid delivery. He attended Wabash Community College.
Yoelvin Silven is a 21-year-old who struggled in seven innings with Great Falls in 2019, but posted a 3.48 ERA in the AZL.
Wilber Perez is a 22-year-old Dominican who posted a 2.83 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 45 walks in 70 innings with Low-A Kannapolis.
Jimmy Lambert made his big league debut for the White Sox this year and he will be pitching as well. Lambert was a fifth round pick out of Fresno State in 2016. He made the big league roster out of summer camp. He quickly returned to the injured list with forearm soreness, however, and he’s working his way back currently.
Ronaldo Guzman, Bailey Horn, Konnor Pilkingon and Avery Weems are the southpaws on the instructional league roster. Guzman is a 17-year-old lefty that Ben Badler of Baseball America called an “intriguing sleeper” prior to the 2019 campaign. He posted a 4.53 ERA with a 3.19 FIP in the DSL but showed an athletic and very repeatable delivery. Guzman struck out 76 hitters in 51.2 innings and employs a low 90s fastball with an already advanced changeup. He was expected to receive a stateside opportunity as a teenager.
Konnor Pilkington was selected in the third round of the 2018 draft out of Mississippi State. Once thought of as a surefire first-rounder, the stuff backed up for the Bulldogs and he fell in the draft. The 23-year-old has been inconsistent in the Sox’s system, but he did post a 3.61 FIP in 19 starts at Winston-Salem. Pilkington started the 2019 season with Kannapolis in Low-A where he averaged over 11 K/9. He was expected to start the year in Double-A with the Birmingham Barons and he projects as a back end starter.
Bailey Horn was the White Sox’s fifth rounder in the 2020 draft. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound southpaw posted a 2.08 ERA as the Friday night starter for the Auburn Tigers in 2020. Horn struck out 27 hitters in 17.1 innings and the White Sox loved his “SEC pedigree and competitive edge.” The lefty shows a high spin fastball that sits in the 92-94 mph range and a quality slider. Horn has a loose and easy delivery and he’ll likely pitch in A ball in 2021.
Avery Weems was a sixth round senior sign out of Arizona in 2019. The 23-year-old posted a 2.47 ERA and 2.36 FIP with 11.4 K/9 and 1.33 BB/9 in 47 innings in Great Falls.
The instructional league roster as a whole is much older than it would typically be, but without a minor league season in 2020 and the recent cancellation of the Arizona Fall League, it’s necessary in this regard. Reports have indicated that 40-man players won’t be eligible to play due to issues with the union and there are a few on the White Sox’s roster. It’s also evident at this point that southpaw Garrett Crochet and first baseman Andrew Vaughn will be with the big league team and placed in the playoff pool.
Getz still thinks that this instructional league time will be very valuable for the organization.
“It’s vital to get this time with all of our players, certainly our younger players that are just getting their careers going,” Getz said. “It is about reps. It’s about getting on the mound, side sessions, game innings, intra-squads, getting at-bats, just playing baseball. Being around these guys and getting them on a regimented schedule, whether it be in the weight room, early work, batting practice, playing some games.
“It’s been certainly personally frustrating, organizationally frustrating that we haven’t had a minor league season for these guys to continue their development, but we’re going to make the best of this situation just like we have with the alternate site. I think there are pieces that we’ve observed and learned at the alternate site that now we can apply in an instructional league setting or even further in the future, throughout a minor league season or spring training. 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.”
Featured image credit Clinton Cole, FutureSox
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Do you know if theses games will be open to general public? I will be in AZ in October.