The White Sox extended major league Spring Training invites to 27 non-rostered players. Among those already a part of the system includes: right-handed pitchers Jonathan Stiever, Codi Heuer, Tyler Johnson; left-handers Kodi Medeiros, who cleared waivers and was outrighted to Charlotte, and Hunter Schryver.
Andrew Vaughn, Nick Madrigal highlight the invited bats. Gavin Sheets, Daniel Palka, Carlos Perez and Luis Gonzalez were also extended invites.
The Sox announced in a press release that they agreed to minor league deals with the following: Drew Anderson, Ryan Burr, Brady Lail, Alex McRae and Bryan Mitchell, left-handers Ross Detwiler, Caleb Frare, Jacob Lindgren, Adalberto Mejia and Matt Tomshaw, infielders Cheslor Cuthbert, Andrew Romine and Matt Skole, and outfielders Jaycob Brugman and Nicky Delmonico. The aforementioned are also invited to major league camp.
Zack Burdi, Bernardo Flores, Matt Foster, Ian Hamilton, Michael Kopech, Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes, Seby Zavala, Danny Mendick, Micker Adolfo, Luis Alexander Basabe, Blake Rutherford and Luis Robert are among players on the 40-man roster who will attend major league camp.
Michael Kopech is back after recovering from Tommy John surgery across 2019. The top pitching prospect is Major League ready, although the Sox have a decision to make as to where they prefer to assign him to start the year.
Andrew Vaughn will experience his first spring training with the big-league club thanks in large part to an encouraging .832 OPS over his initial 55 games as a professional. Combining his time with the Cal Golden Bears, Vaughn played in 107 baseball games last season.
Nick Madrigal will do everything he can to force the White Sox’s hand this spring. After a bit of a slow start to begin the year, Madrigal flew through the team’s system and finished his 2019 with Charlotte. The soon-to-be 23-year-old has 21 career minor league strikeouts over 163 games (705 plate appearances).
Danny Mendick has a very good case to be the team’s Opening Day second baseman. The utility infielder hit .279 with 26 doubles in 133 games in Triple-A last year. He made a brief stop with the White Sox and managed 12 hits in 39 at-bats.
Gavin Sheets is a prime candidate to have a big year. Sheets had success across a full season in Double-A Birmingham, which leads FutureSox to believe Charlotte is a legitimate landing spot for the 23-year-old to start the season.
The White Sox are looking for healthy seasons from Micker Adolfo and Luis Alexander Basabe. Blake Rutherford also is an interesting name to monitor throughout the spring.
Tyler Johnson, Codi Heuer, Matt Foster, Zack Burdi, Ian Hamilton, Carson Fulmer, Jonathan Stiever and Kodi Medeiros are all fascinating bullpen arms to follow in their own independent ways.
Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala will also showcase their value as two of the five catchers currently on the 40-man roster. Mercedes can rake and Zavala is arguably more well-rounded at the position. It’ll be curious to see how they both translate this spring.
Adalberto Mejia joins the organization as a 26-year-old with four years of Major League experience. Across 154 career innings, Mejia’s ERA stands at 4.62 accumulated previously through the Twins, Angels and Cardinals.
Mejia made 33 appearances last season and relies mostly on his fastball/slider combination. According to his baseball savant page, Mejia’s spin rate is off the charts.
Matt Skole and Nicky Delmonico return to the organization. Skole hit 21 home runs in Charlotte and had 72 at-bats with the White Sox in 2019. Delmonico was released on June 10, 2019. The 27-year-old owns a .227/.315/.393 slash line across 488 major league at-bats.