The White Sox added two prospects to the 40-man roster on Friday providing them protection from the Rule 5 draft. Bennett Sousa and Jason Bilous are valuable names in the White Sox farm system.
Bennett Sousa
At 26 years old, Sousa does not appear on our Top 30 prospect list, but as a left-handed reliever the White Sox felt another team may snag him in the Rule 5 Draft, which is scheduled for December 8, barring an MLB lockout. Sousa split time between Charlotte and Birmingham in 2021 totaling 47 innings with a WHIP of 1.20 and 13.50 strikeouts per nine. For comparative purposes, 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes led all of major league baseball with a rate of 12.5 SO/9. Dylan Cease was number two at 12.3.
At 6’3″ 210 pounds, Sousa features a mid-90s fastball to go with a mid-80s slider and a change up. He’s a candidate to be a bullpen piece at the big league level in 2022.
Jason Bilous
Drafted in the 13th round in 2018, Bilous features above average stuff with a 60-grade fastball that sits mid-90’s and 55-grade slider. He also throws a curve and changeup graded as average. Control has been an issue for Bilous, however. Across 221 MiLB innings, the right-hander owns a 4.8 BB/9. He walked 32 in 79.2 2021 innings, but also struck out 106.
Bilous made his first appearance on our Top 30 prospect list this August — coming in at number 20. Splitting time between Winston-Salem and Birmingham in 2021, he made 20 starts with a WHIP of 1.431 and an ERA of 5.76. The White Sox clearly see upside in the hard-throwing righty. Adding him to the 40-man suggests he offers Major League quality offerings that the Sox did not want to risk losing come the Rule 5 Draft.
THE UNPROTECTED
With the 40-man roster currently sitting at 35, it’s notable that a couple of player were left unprotected. Kade McClure and Hunter Schryver are two candidates for departure via the Rule 5 draft.
Kade McClure
The 6th round pick in 2017 moved up four spots to number 19 in our midseason rankings. An increase in velocity to the mid 90s raised his profile within the organization. He also throws a above-average slider and solid curve, with a splitter to complete his arsenal.
McClure split time between Charlotte and Birmingham last season. In 24 starts across 2021, the tall righty posted a 5.04 ERA, a WHIP of 1.367 while striking out 113 over 105 innings. In 37 Triple-A innings, McClure’s ERA ballooned to 7.05 to go with a WHIP of 1.649. He averaged less than a strikeout per inning at the highest level of the minors.
Hunter Schryver
As a 26-year-old left-handed reliever, Schryver has a similar profile to Sousa. He spent all of 2021 with Charlotte making 40 appearances covering 43.1 innings. Like McClure, Schryver had a ERA approaching 5.00, and a WHIP of 1.615. He struck out 48 hitters compared to 28 walks last season.
The Others
The White Sox had a few other candidates eligible for 40-man protection that were left off the roster, and could be subject to moving on in 2022.
- Carlos Perez – Catcher
- Luke Schilling – Right-handed reliever
- Luis Mieses – Outfielder
- Lenyn Sosa – Infielder
Photo credit: Birmingham Barons
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Long term, are the White Sox minor leagues better positioned to fill 2B or RF in 2023 and beyond?
Wayne, Thanks for reading. Interesting question. It’s easy to say RF as you have players like Cespedes and Adolfo in the upper minors. Looking at 2B, they have Romy and Yolbert Sanchez, but they are more utility types. There’s also guys like Lenyn Sosa or Jose Rodriguez, who are presently SS, but could slide over. Given the presence of Cespedes, I’d say RF.