The Arizona Rookie League (AZL) is now being referred to as the Arizona Complex League (ACL) amid the restructuring of the minor leagues under the umbrella of Major League Baseball. Play will begin on Monday June 28 and the league typically plays as home to the White Sox younger or typically less-advanced rookie league players. With the removal of Advanced Rookie Level Great Falls, the ACL White Sox could have a different look.
The Fire League is interesting and our contributor Sean Williams witnesses much of the action on the ground level with parents of players and team staffers. The Complex League is a rookie level league played in the spring training facilities of member clubs in the Cactus League. The White Sox play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, which doubles as their spring training home as well. Unlike extended spring training, this is a league with official score keeping and recorded statistics.
It is often referred to as The Fire League because temperatures are often in triple digits around first pitch. The games are free to attend and there are generally no concessions due to games being played on back fields. Games are sparsely populated and it’s usually just team officials, family members of the players and scouts in attendance.
There are currently 32 players on the first version of this roster but more will be joining after the amateur draft in July. The club is comprised of 14 pitchers, three catchers, seven infielders and seven outfielders. The ACL White Sox will be managed by DSL veteran Ever Magallanes. Devin DeYoung takes over as the club’s hitting coach while Drew Hasler will serve as the pitching coach. White Sox veteran staff member Mike Gellinger is the bench coach. Jose Brito is the Assistant Pitching Coach.
Pitchers
Ronaldo Guzman and Cristian Mena are a pair of Dominican teenagers making their stateside debuts in the ACL. Guzman is an 18-year-old southpaw who posted a 2.97 xFIP with 76 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2019. The young lefty possesses a low 90’s fastball with an athletic and repeatable delivery. He throws a curveball and an advanced changeup. Guzman signed for $75K out of the Dominican in 2018 and he might be the most talented pitcher on this young staff. Mena is a 6’2″ 170 pound righty that signed for $250K. Ben Badler of Baseball America called him the “best pitcher signed by the White Sox in the 2019 international class”. The 18-year-old righty has an athletic, projectable body with a feel for three pitches. The fastball currently sits in the low 90’s and he possesses a high spin breaking ball as well.
There are generally no assigned pitching roles in rookie ball and starters don’t often throw the majority of the innings. It should be seen as a collection of pitchers rather than starters and relievers. 26-year-old Vince Arobio is listed on the roster and he’s very likely rehabbing an undisclosed injury. The former 24th rounder has had some success as a professional already and he averaged 11.25 K/9 for the Birmingham Barons in 2019. Lefty Garvin Alston Jr. was a 37th rounder in 2019 and he struggled in eight innings with Kannapolis in Low-A already this season. The 6’4″ 175 pounder posted a 3.00 ERA and averaged 11 K/9 in 18 innings in rookie ball in 2019.
5’11” 170 pound right hander Erick Bello was signed out of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic in 2019. The 18-year-old is skipping the Dominican Summer League and making his professional debut in stateside ball. Erick Perez is a 22-year-old Venezuelan that spent three seasons in the DSL. The 6’1″ 175 pounder posted a 1.92 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched in 2019. The righty has averaged more than ten strikeouts per nine in the DSL. Keiter Perez is a 6’4″ 190 pound right hander that signed in December of 2019. The 20-year-old is making his professional debut as well. Heylin Taveras pitched for Cleveland in rookie ball in 2019 but really struggled. The 21-year-old righty is 5’11” and weighs 165 pounds.
Frander Veras is an interesting 22-year-old right hander that posted a 4.32 ERA in 33.1 innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2019. The 6’5″ 185 pounder shows a fastball that touches 96 mph and also a changeup with late sinking action. He averaged nearly 10 K/9 in 2019. Dilmer Mejia is a 23-year-old southpaw that spent six season in the Atlanta Braves’ organization. The 5’11” 160 pounder threw 11 innings in Low-A with Kannapolis this season and also 1.1 innings in High-A with Winston Salem. The southpaw posted a 2.66 ERA in 118 innings with Atlanta in A ball during the 2019 season. Corey Stone is another southpaw joining the organization. The 22-year-old was a 26th rounder of the Texas Rangers in 2019 and he also threw 1.1 for the Cannon Ballers this year.
Bryce Hutchinson was a 12th round pick of the New York Mets out of high school back in 2017. The 22-year-old didn’t strike out many hitters in 91.2 innings in A ball in 2019 but he managed to post a 3.73 ERA. The righty is 6’6″ 245 pounds and should be given an opportunity to rack up innings in Arizona. Jacob Gilliland is a 21-year-old former day three draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers and he’ll make his organizational debut in the ACL as well. The 6’2″ 180 pound right hander averaged 13.91 K/9 for the Dodgers in rookie ball in 2019. 23-year-old southpaw Cam Beauchamp posted a 1.23 ERA in a small sample in rookie ball with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019. 2019 7th rounder Karan Patel will be joining the pitching staff as well.
Position Players
The highest ranked prospect in rookie ball currently is Panamanian outfielder Benyamin Bailey. The 19-year-old is a big and physical specimen that shows good bat speed. His profile possesses power and patience as displayed in the DSL back in 2019. The 6’4″ 215 pounder burst onto the prospect scene after 55 games in the Dominican due to hitting .324/.477/.454 with a 166 wRC+ and a 21% walk rate. Bailey impressed some scouts during fall instructs but others noted a bad throwing arm suited only for left field and some swing issues as well. In 19 games with Low-A Kannapolis tp begin this season, Benyamin struggled with a triple slash of .156/.226/.195 while striking out in 30% of his plate appearances. The DSL to Low-A jump proved a difficult one but the ACL is an age appropriate placement still for the teenager.
Anderson Comas is a 21-year-old Dominican who was a member of the 2017 international signing class. The 6’3″ 185 pound outfielder is long and lanky and projects as a corner outfielder with a strong arm. The left-handed hitter is very athletic but he has mostly struggled in pro ball to this point. 2019 at Advanced Rookie Level Great Falls was a rough experience statistically despite some success in rookie ball in 2018. He’ll try to re-establish himself at a lower level with hopes of getting back to North Carolina in the near future. Johnabiell Laureano, Misael Gonzalez and Logan Glass are members of the Arizona Complex League roster as well.
Laureano is a 20-year-old outfielder that has spent 15 games in Kannapolis in 2021. He hit just .158/.304/.158 prompting the organization to restart his campaign in rookie ball. The 6’0″ 180 pounder with a right/right profile can play center field and has the arm to play a corner as well. In 2019, Johnabiell punished the DSL with a triple slash of .357/.437/.543 and six homers. Misael Gonzalez was selected in the 12th round out of Puerto Rico in 2019. The young athlete struggled in Arizona in his draft year. The 6’0″ 175 pounder posted stellar run times in the 36 contests he appeared in. Glass is a 20-year-old that was drafted out of Mustang High School in Oklahoma in 2019. The 6’4″ 215 is a strong athlete and he held his own in rookie ball in his first professional taste. The former 22nd rounder hit .284/.342/.403 from the right side in 17 games. He’ll repeat the level.
E.P. Reese and Danny Sinatro were day three picks of the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and both are making their organizational debuts with the White Sox in the ACL. Reese is a 23-year-old left-handed hitter that struggled in Low-A with the Astros’ affiliate in his draft year. The 5’10” 175 pounder was selected in the 25th round and received 11 plate appearances with the Cannon Ballers this year. Sinatro is another 23-year-old left-handed hitter but he had some immediate success in the Dodgers’ system. The 6’0″ 180 pounder was taken in the 32nd round and hit .291/.387/.376 in 41 games in the AZL in 2019.
Jefferson Mendoza is a 20-year-old catcher that was signed out of Venezuela for $300K back in 2017. The 6’0″ 220 pound righty was lauded for his stellar blocking and receiving abilities when he signed. Mendoza possesses a plus throwing arm as well and uses a middle-of-the-field approach at the dish. In 2019, the backstop hit .305/.391/.484 with three homers and a 141 wRC+ in 38 games in the Dominican Summer League. He projects as a starting catcher in the future if everything breaks right and he should be in the lineup regularly. The other catchers on the roster will be Jhoneiker Betancourt and Richard Garcia.
Betancourt is a 21-year-old Venezuelan that also plays first base and he’s spent the past three seasons in the DSL. He hit .314/.442/.429 and he’s a solid defender. Garcia is a 22-year-old Venezuelan that posted a .720 OPS in the DSL in 2019. The 6’1″ 185 pounder hits right handed as well. He’s regarded as a solid defender and he’s spent the past three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. The rest of the infield is comprised of mostly recent international signings.
The prominent name in the infield is shortstop is Elijah Tatis. The 19-year-old signed for $400K in 2019 and he spent one season in the DSL. The 5’11” 155 pounder struggled in 25 games in his first professional sample but he did post a 15% walk rate. The infielder has good hands, footwork and awareness and the organization believes that he will stay at shortstop. He has a simple but repeatable swing and the bloodlines are obvious. Tatis shows average speed and an above average arm but his strength gains are expected to be on display in stateside action. He has added noticeable muscle mass and he’ll be given every opportunity to succeed in Arizona.
Wilfred Veras, Wilber Sanchez, Anthony Espinoza and Edwin Peralta will join Tatis in stateside ball for the first time as well. Veras is the son of former big leaguer Wilton Veras and he’s the cousin of Tatis. The 6’2″ 180 pounder plays third base and he’ll be making his professional debut in Arizona. The 18-year-old impressed White Sox evaluators with his right handed power and strong arm. He’s a below average runner. Sanchez is a 19-year-old middle infielder that hit .288/.391./395 with a 13.5% walk rate in 52 games in the DSL in 2019. Wilber hits right handed and stands 5’10” and 160 pounds. Espinoza is a 19-year-old Venezuelan shortstop that played 55 games in the Dominican in 2019. He’s a quick twitch athlete that shows a good glove and instincts. Espinoza hit .263/.347/.332. Peralta is a 20-year-old Dominican. The 6’3″ 175 pound third sacker hit .241/.372/.306 with solid walk rates in 2019.
Sam Abbott was an eighth rounder in 2017 and he’s now 22-years-old. The 6’4″ 225 pound slugger hits from the left side but he’d relegated to first base defensively. Abbott posted a 114 wRC+ with nine homers in Advanced Rookie Level Great Falls in 2019 . He has huge raw power but he doesn’t get to it enough in games and he still posts staggering strikeout totals. He was originally assigned to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in Low-A but his struggles necessitated this demotion. The final member of the infielder is second baseman Jeremiah Burks. The 24-year-old was drafted in the eighth round by the Detroit Tigers in 2018 out of Fresno State and he posted solid numbers in rookie ball in 2019.
This roster is very young and due to the lost season in 2019, many international signings are making either their professional or stateside baseball debuts. It’s just the name of the game currently in the revamped minor league structure under the umbrella of Major League Baseball. The White Sox generally send their younger or less developed draft picks to Arizona and 2021 will likely be similar. July’s draft is only 20 rounds however and there is no longer and Advanced Rookie Level affiliate in Great Falls. After the All Stark Break and the newly organized draft weekend in early July, this roster will likely have some new players.
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