Looking now and into the future, the Chicago White Sox acquired 31-year-old second baseman Cesar Hernandez from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor league left-handed starter Konnor Pilkington. Hernandez owns a club option in 2022 worth $6 million, which provides the organization positional flexibility as Nick Madrigal works to return from a torn right hamstring.
Pilkington was a third round draft selection by the White Sox in 2018. In his fourth season as a professional, the 23-year-old owns a 4.13 ERA across 205 minor league innings with an impressive 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The former Mississippi State Bulldog proved to be a reliable starter across his time in the Sox’ system, making 25 starts combined between Low-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem in 2019. Assigned to Double-A Birmingham at the beginning of 2021, Pilkington accumulated 62 innings in 14 starts and posted a 3.48 ERA, 0.919 WHIP while allowing just 36 hits and striking out 71 compared to 21 walks.
Pilkington flashed a plus curveball coming out of the draft that translated into his best secondary offering as a professional. He later developed a slider to complete his four-pitch repertoire, which includes a changeup that is graded as average.
Pilkington’s most intriguing attribute includes operating at a brisk pace on the mound combined with an impressive pitch mix that’s resulted in a .172 opponent’s batting average and 5.2 hits allowed per nine innings in Double-A, despite working with below average velocity.
The promising former White Sox prospect was ticketed to be included in FutureSox’ midseason top 30 list — likely in the bottom 15 range. His departure is a result of the organization taking advantage of expendable value during a timeline that includes World Series expectations.
Turning 24 in September, Pilkington is set to complete his fourth year as a professional. As a result, the left-hander will be eligible for the 2021 Rule 5 Draft in December if Cleveland unexpectedly leaves him off the team’s 40-man roster. With roster spots becoming more crowded during the current competitive window, the White Sox were unlikely to add Pilkington to the 40-man this offseason.
Corresponding Move
In order to make room for newly acquired Cesar Hernandez, the White Sox released right-handed reliever Tyler Johnson. Johnson, 25, was placed on the injured list in May and made several rehab assignments before being activated to the Charlotte Knights roster on June 15.
He was put back on the injured list on July 24 and underwent knee surgery. According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, it appears the organization will work to welcome Johnson back.
Konnor Pilkington forced us to pay attention to his game during the 2019 minor league season. All indications suggest he will be a Major League arm sometime in the very near future. We wish Konnor all the best moving forward.
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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