Pitchers and catchers report to spring training for the White Sox in five days. Now we know who will be in full camp when that starts.
The White Sox announced a group of 21 non-roster invitees to spring training on Thursday. As per usual, most of the list is veteran depth for the big league team, but there are some prospects as well. Most notable in that group is Andrew Vaughn.
Vaughn is going to be one of the focuses of spring training for the South Siders. Not only is he the team’s best position player prospect, but he could be the starting designated hitter in 2021. The White Sox haven’t signed a free agent to fill the spot left by Edwin Encarnacion after his disappointing 2020.
Could Vaughn make the team out of camp? The White Sox haven’t had position players debut at the start of the year without a contract extension. Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert both signed deals before their big league debuts. That seems less likely with Vaughn considering he has played only 55 minor league games. Jimenez and Robert mashed at every stop of the minors when they signed their deals. Vaughn hasn’t played above A-ball.
That may make the White Sox hesitant to lock up Vaughn and/or bring him up for Opening Day, but that could put more weight on his spring performance. If Vaughn has a standout spring against big league pitching, his MLB debut could be imminent. Still, the White Sox have every reason to play the service time game and give Vaughn some game action in the minors before throwing him into the majors.
There will be other prospects in big league camp as well, but most of them were expected because they are on the 40-man roster. A number of them have already made their MLB debuts (Garrett Crochet, Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal, Jonathan Stiever, Luis Gonzalez, Jimmy Lambert, Zack Burdi and Bernardo Flores). Blake Rutherford, Micker Adolfo, Jake Burger, Gavin Sheets and Tyler Johnson will be hoping to impress to break through in 2021.
Burger and Sheets are of particular note for different reasons. Burger returned to action in the middle of 2020 after multiple Achilles’ heel injuries. Seeing what he can do, even in a spring training setting, will be fascinating to watch. Meanwhile, Sheets will have a chance to show off how serious his move to the outfield is.
Kade McClure is another name to watch. Reports of McClure reaching 95 mph with his fastball during fall instructional league has caught the attention of prospect evaluators. Josh Norris of Baseball America mentioned that on a recent episode of the FutureSox Podcast.
Relievers Bennett Sousa and Danny Dopico also will join camp from within the system. Both are fringy prospects, but have intriguing enough stuff to make it if they take a step forward.
Some other names further down the system in terms of age and experience will be in minor league camp. Recently signed Yoelqui Cespedes will be among that group.
White Sox pitchers and catchers will report to Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 16. Position players are set to arrive Feb. 21. The first game is Feb. 27 against a Milwaukee Brewers split squad.
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The addition of Lucroy makes for some serious head scratching. Here’s a guy who, though an all-star earlier in his career, has, at 34, no discernible skill-set advantage over Collins, Mercedes or Zavala. As a hitter, maybe, but not as a receiver. Makes me wonder what was the point in drafting Collins to begin with. If he’s such a good hitter, platoon him with Vaughn. But if he can’t catch, then cut him loose already — trade him for another pitcher, for instance. But don’t keep stringing this kid along…