The White Sox have accumulated some interesting pitching depth from the left side prior to the 2022 season. It was seen as an area of weakness during the 2021 season in which the bullpen finished 2nd in baseball in fWAR. Garrett Crochet and Aaron Bummer comprise a stellar pair that will be primary options out of the big league bullpen. There are some others that could factor in soon as well. One of these hurlers could be 24-year-old Dominican Yoán Aybar who was claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees late last week. Righty Jonathan Stiever was placed on the 60-day injured list to accommodate the 40-man move.
Aybar is a 6-2 210 pound lefty that spent four seasons as an outfielder in the Boston Red Sox’s system originally. The transition to the mound started in 2018 after myriad struggles. The southpaw has shown dominant stuff in relief that needs to be harnessed. The Dominican sits 94-97 mph with his fastball and he’s reached 100 mph. Fangraphs called his fastball a 60-grade pitch prior to last season. The lefty shows the makings of a plus slider as well but the pitch has been inconsistent. He also shows “loose but lengthy arm strength” and works exclusively from the stretch according to Baseball America. He was ranked as the #25 prospect in the Boston system back in 2020. Conversion guys that pan out generally do it quickly but delivery and pitch mix will be significant factors for Aybar’s success going forward.
Some video of Aybar courtesy of 2080 Baseball from 2019
The 24-year-old threw 46.1 innings in Double-A in 2021 in the Colorado organization. He averaged 10.3 K/9 but also averaged 6.4 BB/9 with an ERA of 6.22. In 51.2 innings in High-A back in 2019, Aybar struck out over 11 per nine and he didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Rockies designated the southpaw for assignment to make room for outfielder Kris Bryant and the New York Yankees tried to sneak him through again after claiming him last week. The White Sox optioned the left-hander to Double-A Birmingham on Friday.
Aybar isn’t the only left-handed depth in camp currently. The White Sox added Anderson Severino and Bennett Sousa to their 40-man roster this off-season and signed former first rounder Brandon Finnegan as a non-roster invite. Severino is now 27-years-old and joined the White Sox’s organization last year after spending seven seasons with the Yankees. The 5-10 190 pounder just ranked 20th in the system for MLB Pipeline in their most recent top 30 organizational list. With a 70-grade fastball and 55-grade curveball, there’s stuff to work with here. Severino possesses premium stuff with a fastball regularly hitting triple digits. He also throws an upper 70’s curveball and low 80’s slider.
There’s a lot of effort in his delivery and Severino has struggled with walks throughout his professional career to this point. A corner might have been turned with the White Sox last year though under the tutelage of Knights pitching coach Matt Zaleski. In Charlotte, the 27-year-old posted a 0.64 ERA with a FIP of 2.01 while averaging 12.86 K/9 over the course of 14 innings in the International League. He still walked too many (4.5 BB/9) but it was an improvement over the seven per nine that he walked in Birmingham. The lefty posted a 3.13 ERA with the Barons in 31.2 innings. As a member of the 40-man roster, Severino should pitch in Chicago at some point in 2022.
Bennett Sousa was drafted out of Virginia in the 10th round of the 2018 draft and signed for $10K as a senior. The 26-year-old southpaw really came on in 2021 with improved stuff after the pandemic layoff and working at the alternate site. He’s thrown more strikes as a professional than he ever did in college and he was added to the 40-man roster this winter. MLB Pipeline recently ranked the 6-3 220 pound lefty as the #25 prospect in the system. Sousa’s fastball is generally 94-98 mph but it’s mostly straight from a high three-quarters delivery. He also hides the ball well.
His best offering though is a plus slider that runs 88-91 mph that displays horizontal and vertical action. Sousa has been very tough on lefties in the minor leagues and it could be a contributing factor advancing him to the majors at some point in 2022. In 24.2 innings with the Barons in Birmingham, the southpaw posted a 3.28 ERA with a 3.50 xFIP while averaging 13.86 K/9 with way too many walks. After a promotion to Charlotte, Sousa posted a 2.83 FIP while averaging 13 K/9 and 1.99 BB/9 over the course of 22.2 innings with the Knights.
The White Sox have also added Brandon Finnegan on a minor league deal this off-season. The 28-year-old was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 2014 draft and made his debut that season. The southpaw hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018. The 5-11 212 pounder will likely serve as bullpen depth in Charlotte but there’s pedigree here and relievers are weird. Finnegan posted a 5.53 ERA with 55.1 innings with the Reds’ affiliate in Triple-A last season. Hunter Schryver and Tanner Banks could factor into the mix for the White Sox from the left side as well.
Rosters are likely to expand with no limit on pitcher additions to start the 2022 major league season but it’s unknown how many southpaws the White Sox will choose to keep. The White Sox employ multiple relievers that were among the top 45 in the sport according to Fangraphs last season led by Liam Hendriks who has been the best reliever in baseball. From the left side, Bummer and Crochet are top tier. The 22-year-old Crochet was very good last season in 54.1 innings. He averaged 10.77 K/9 with a 2.80 FIP while accumulating 1.3 fWAR. Bummer had some struggles and was injured and still finished with 1.2 fWAR while averaging 12 K/9 with a 2.96 FIP.
Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly have been added to the mix from the right side and Kyle Crick was an intriguing addition as a non-roster invite as well who was recently highlighted by James Fegan of The Athletic. Which southpaws could potentially join the mix in 2022? That is to be determined at this point but the club has assembled some young depth that could pay dividends throughout 2022.
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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