The Point of Increasing Returns, or, just got some new Sox

Rick Hahn has spent the last several months doing his best Ash Ketchum impression, trading for and, uh, we’ll go with “signing” rather than “catching” all the top prospects he can get his grimy little hands on. Since last December, he has made 10 trades, with minor league prospects almost exclusively the returns (hey, Tyler Clippard). We just rolled out our midseason top prospect rankings, which you can scour here; some of those new names are on that list and some aren’t. Here’s an overview of how they’ll all been doing since their respective trades to the White Sox. We’ll link to our original write-ups of the trades as well.

Note: Stats may not include last night’s action.

Trade #1: Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Victor Diaz, and Luis Alexander Basabe.

Moncada, the obvious centerpiece of the trade, hit very well for the Knights before his callup to the Sox on July 19th. This year in the minors, he hit .282 with a .377 OBP, 12 home runs, and 17 stolen bases. He struggled a bit at first to hit in the majors, but he’s shown an ability to make solid contact, work deep in counts, and get on base. Not surprisingly, he’s starting to convert that into hits recently. Defensively, he’s made a few standout plays and also almost decapitated his right fielder with his knee, so that’s something to watch out for.

Kopech, the off-centerpiece, has pitched all of 2017 so far with the Double-A Barons, with very good results. His main problem is control — he’s walked 58 in 112 1/3 IP — but he’s also struck out 145 and is maintaining a 3.04 ERA while seeing the walks decrease over time. He’s been hitting triple digits and hasn’t missed a start. There’s no rush, since Kopech is only 21, but it wouldn’t be especially surprising to see him finish the season with the Knights.

Victor Diaz has had a spotty season. He’s currently on the disabled list for the third time. He throws hard when he does throw, but in his 12 innings between Winston-Salem and Kannapolis this year, he’s given up 14 runs and has struck out 14 batters (with 12 walks).

Basabe, still only 20 years old, has struggled with the Dash, slashing .224/.320/.323. His youth is encouraging, and he’s had spells of good hitting; for what little it’s worth, he’s hitting .350 in six games in August so far.

Our initial trade reaction is here and a deeper look at Kopech and Moncada here.

Trade #2: Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals for Dane Dunning, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez.

Most importantly, all three of these pitchers rank on our list of top organizational pitchfaces.

Dunning has been the star of stars here: he stomped the opposition in Kannapolis to the tune of a 0.35 ERA over his first four starts, which earned him a promotion to Winston-Salem. He had a short period of adaptation and has continued to perform at a high level (minus an 8 ER clunker against the Salem Red Sox in July, which he made up for ten days later with a 7 IP/1 ER/11 K outing against them). Between the two leagues, Dunning has racked up 135 strikeouts in 118 IP; 31 walks.

Giolito is having an adjustment year. He’s finally at the point where he’s consistently having more good starts than bad. He pitched a seven-inning no-hitter this May and has two 10+ strikeout games. The control is still an issue, but he’s definitely shown that he still has major-league starting potential, even with the rocky outings.

Reynaldo Lopez (#2 overall on the pitchface ranking) is finally free! The first half of his season in Charlotte came with some control issues and high pitch counts, but he’s been settling into a groove recently, giving up only 9 ER in his last six starts. Overall, he has a 3.79 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 121 IP, and he will make his first start for your White Sox on Friday.

Here’s our initial write-up and here’s what we had to say about Lopez and Dunning.

Trade #3: Ryan Raburn to the Washington Nationals for PTBNL or cash.

The PTBNL ended up being Mick VanVossen, who has a 70-grade name and is having a fine year pitching in relief. VanVossen was a late-round pick in 2015 and, at 24, is old for the league, but 4 ER over 18 1/3 IP is still pretty good. He had a 22/5 K/BB ratio with the Intimidators, which is better than the numbers he was putting up with Hagerstown earlier this year (28/12). VanVossen was just called up to the Dash on August 2nd, and his results are good in limited appearances; however, he was sent back to the Intimidators on the 9th as Andre Davis hit the DL. Overall, since joining the Sox, he’s the proud owner of a 1.93 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23 1/3 IP (6 walks).

Trade #4: Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs for Dylan Cease, Bryant Flete, Eloy Jimenez, and Matt Rose.

This trade was really a coup for the Dash, since three of the four were assigned there. Eloy Jimenez is slashing .369/.430/.714 in 23 games since he came to the Dash, but the question remains: is he good? Signs point to yes. He has yet to cool off in any measurable way, and in a very short amount of time he’s racked up 31 hits (9 doubles, 6 dongs) and earned co-MiLB Player of the Month in July (with Jake Peter). Jimenez is still just 20 years old and is already a mashing machine of fascinating consistency, so we’re pumped.

Flete, a second baseman, was batting .305 at the time of the trade and has struggled to return to that level, hitting .250 since then with the Dash. He’s struck out 14 times and walked 7 in his 22 games in the organization, although two of those walks came during his very first game. He’s not considered a top prospect, but there’s always a chance that he picks it back up and makes a name for himself.

Rose had a hot start in Winston-Salem but has returned more or less to the level he was at with Myrtle Beach before the trade (same league). He’s hitting .266 with the Dash with minimal power and on-base ability so far. He was recently placed on the 7-day DL.

Dylan Cease has made four starts so far for the Intimidators, all decent up until last night’s sub-one-inning affair. At 70 1/3 IP between two teams this season (no including said stinker), Cease is at an all-time single-season personal IP high, so fatigue is something to keep an eye out for. He’s looked solid, striking out seven thrice, and hopes to stick as a starter.

Our write-up of this trade is here.

Trade #5: Future considerations traded to the Texas Rangers for Yeyson Yrizarri.

Future Considerations could have been great, but the Dash needed a shortstop. Yrizarri started off his Sox tenure with a five-game hitting streak, but has cooled off significantly since then. His slash line is .247/.263/.247 with the team. We go more in-depth on Yrizarri here (the future considerations were in this case the ability to spend more money on the J2 market).

Trade #6: Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle, and David Robertson to the New York Yankees for Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo, Blake Rutherford, and Tyler Clippard (lol).

Rutherford, the 18th overall draft pick last year, is patrolling center field for the Intimidators and mashing on the side. The 20-year-old isn’t quite putting up the numbers he did last year, but since the trade, he’s hitting .258 with a .342 OBP. It seems as if he’s starting to settle in as well, as the bat has picked up over the last week or two. Notably, he has 8 walks against 9 strikeouts in his 16 games with the Intimidators so far.

Tito Polo is a true 80 name. He’s 22 years old and has been playing in the outfield for the Barons. He’s more of an under-the-radar prospect and he’s still looking for his first walk in 7 games with the franchise, but the bat has potential. Currently, he’s hitting .269 with the organization, but he’s also recently been placed on the 7-day DL.

Clarkin, too, has already hit the DL with a strained right oblique, but he could have had a worse single start than the one he threw for the Dash. He gave up just two runs over five innings, although he did walk five. Depending on how the Sox want to take it, Clarkin could be done for the season, and we’ll get a better look regardless next year.

The FutureSox write-up of the trade is here.

Trade #7: Anthony Swarzak to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ryan Cordell.

Cordell is also DL-ed, but unlike Clarkin, he came that way. He hasn’t played since June 26th, before the trade, so there are no exciting numbers to cite here. He’s #23 on our prospect ranking, and you can read a write-up on Cordell here.

Trade #8: Dan Jennings to the Tampa Bay Rays for Casey Gillaspie.

We already tried his brother Conor and that didn’t work out, so Casey is the next logical step. Gillaspie had a broken toe when we traded for him, but that toe is now healed. He’s only played in five games since recovering, so it’s not really fair to put up his stats, but here they are anyway: .222/.333/.222 with three walks and four strikeouts. Our write-up on this trade is here.

Trade #9: Melky Cabrera to the Kansas City Royals for Andre Davis and A.J. Puckett.

Davis has had time for two starts with the Dash, one good, one not as good. Between the two, he’s given up three earned runs in 10 1/3 IP. He’s 23, a little old for the league, so his next couple of starts will tell us a lot about where he is in terms of readiness. There are definitely encouraging signs. And yet, now he’s also gone to the disabled list, though the retroactive dating suggests it may be a short stay.

Puckett’s first start for the Dash was last night and he had some early trouble, giving up three runs in the first two innings, but he bounced back with another two scoreless. Best of all, despite giving up some solid contact, he walked zero. You can read more about both prospects here.

Trade #10: Cash considerations to the Baltimore Orioles for Steve Johnson.

This happened as I was writing this. Cash Considerations has some raw power but ultimately, Charlotte will need a pitcher to replace the recently-ascended Reynaldo Lopez.

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