Everyone was extremely excited about the baseball season getting under way. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken precedence in these times; we’re all scrambling to think about what could have been. The White Sox were about to embark on a season of contention for the first time in many years. The foundation has been laid and the bearing of fruit has begun. Some of the organization’s top prospects were expected to descend upon Chicago, while others are knocking on the doorstep of the major leagues. There were many White Sox storylines to look forward to.
Our writers were looking forward to seeing the various storylines unfold prior to the world stopping in its tracks. In this series, they discuss a few of them.
LUIS ROBERT’S AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CHASE
It was ostensibly supposed to be the number one storyline on White Sox fans minds in 2020: Luis Robert‘s potential domination of the American League. After destroying the Carolina League (.453/.512/.920), Southern League (.314/.362/.518) and International League (.297/.341/.634) in 2019, the Cuban phenom was all but set to take the Major League by storm. And what a race it could have been…
The 2020 American League rookie field was to be limited, with Robert and Oakland left-hander Jesus Luzardo taking the top contender spots across the board. A very young Jo Adell (LA Angels) or outside shots such as Detroit’s Casey Mize or Tampa Bay’s Brendan McKay had some potential to make a run for a ROY if given a shot, but going down the list, you’d soon hit names like Toronto’s wildcard flame thrower Nate Pearson, Oakland’s former first-round lefty A.J. Puk and catcher Sean Murphy, or Chicago’s own Nick Madrigal. Heck, even a 28-year old Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, in his first year playing stateside, could have surprised.
MORE LIKELY THAN NOT
Truth be told, finding someone who’d pick any of these players over Robert for pre-season Rookie of the Year pick would have been a difficult task. There is, of course, no exact science to picking a ROY before Opening Day. After all, we’ve seen many surprising winners over the last few years. Just look at 2019, when pre-season favorites Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jimenez did not factor in the top 3, despite having had very good rookie seasons. (I’m still not over John Means‘ 155 okayish-innings or Brandon Lowe‘s 296 at-bats getting picked over Eloy’s .828 OPS, 31 bombs and 79 RBI’s, by the way).
There could have been another one of those dark horse contenders in 2020 who swiped the award out from under the nose of one of the favorites. Of course, there is always a possibility that Robert not-so-great strikeout-to-walk ratio (he K’d 129 times in 2019, while walking only 28 times) could have come back to haunt him.
There is also a possibility that he’d hit 25 homeruns, steal 25 bases, and play gold glove caliber center field. Either way, it would have been amazing to follow up-close. It’s no fun that we have to wait longer for Robert to take his position on a big league field.
JIMMY LAMBERT’S RETURN FROM TOMMY JOHN SURGERY
Right-hander Jimmy Lambert‘s breakout 2018 season, in which he struck out 110 in 95.2 innings, had everyone excited to see what he could do in 2019. Starting the season where he left off in 2018 (Birmingham) Lambert pitched well in 11 starts, but the expected improvement over his first 25 Double-A innings in 2018 did not materialize. After 59.1 innings, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP were indications of a greater problem. The then-24-year-old required Tommy John surgery in June of 2019, joining Michael Kopech, Ryan Burr, Dane Dunning and Carlos Rodon as the other Sox pitchers who had recently undergone the procedure.
After a handful of months on the shelf, Lambert picked up a baseball again in late November and started his throwing program. All eyes were set on a return to the mound by late 2020.
THE RETURN OF ‘STUFF’
Even though there is always a wildcard factor in a pitcher’s return after Tommy John surgery, recent years have proven the surgery to be more routine than anything. Sox fans saw Michael Kopech return with his signature triple-digit fastball in Spring Training. Even the slower-to-develop cases (Zack Burdi comes to mind) showed up to camp healthy and ready to go after elbow reconstruction.
Save for any potential setbacks, there is no reason to believe Lambert cannot return to form once his rehab is completed. It’s been more a case of regaining feel for pitches after TJ than it is of stuff returning. For Lambert, it should be no different. His arsenal is fairly setback-proof. A 96 mph fastball, combined with an above average slider and curve, and a solid change-up give him all the tools to return at some point in 2020 (or 2021, depending on — you know — baseball).
COULD CODI HEUER AND TYLER JOHNSON CONTRIBUTE IN THE MAJORS IN 2020?
If you would have asked me this before Spring Training, I would have answered: “Johnson, yes. Heuer, no”. Post-Spring Training, however, my eyes have been opened to Codi Heuer‘s skill set as a potential killer bullpen arm. I will readily admit I was late to the Heuer party. After following Tyler Johnson more closely since 2018, I was fully on board with his chances to contribute out of the Big League pen in 2020. The fastball, the slider/curve, the carry, and the ability to battle through adversity and adapt a new throwing motion have me all-in on the 24-year old as a legitimate bullpen candidate, as soon as 2020.
Heuer was a different story for me, and it took said eye-opening few weeks in March (and this excellent article by our own Sean Williams) for me to buy in. Let me preface that by saying that I did not nót like Heuer as a prospect; I just wasn’t as enamored with him as some of my colleagues here at FutureSox. Nothing popped off the statlines for me to think of the 23-year old as a potential contributor out of the big league pen in 2020 (though 0 homeruns given up in 67.2 innings in 2019 is kinda sweet).
Then came Spring Training, and the good ‘ole eye test. Heuer finished the spring with 5.2 IP, 7 K’s, 2 walks, 2 HRs given up and a 3.18 ERA. Again, that may not be a statline to immediately take notice of. That changes when you watch him pitch in person, though.
“HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU HIT THAT PITCH?”
That says it all. Heuer has made enormous strides over the last few months and looked at times completely unhittable in the spring. A high-octane fastball with hard sink gives Heuer a pitch that can flat-out dominate. With another couple of months of minor league experience under his belt, it wouldn’t have been a crazy thought to consider Heuer a candidate to make it to Chicago before the season was over. Alas, we’ll probably never know, but file both Johnson and Heuer under ‘2021 bullpen candidates’ for sure.
COULD CALEB FREEMAN FOLLOW A SIMILAR PATH AS CODI HEUER?
As a 2019 15th round reliever out of Texas Tech, Caleb Freeman was not on many prospect-to-watch boards, especially because the 6’1″ right-hander from Abilene, TX struggled mightily in college. In his three seasons as Red Raider, he posted ERA’s of 8.18, 5.18 and 6.89. Worse: he combined those numbers with very high walk rates and mediocre strikeout rates (both on average in the mid-7’s).
Once committed to Tech as their closer, his high velocity fastball fell to the low-90s at times, and his control was nowhere to be found for most of his time in Lubbock, TX. BaseballAmerica even dropped a 20 on the 20-80 scouting scale in the ‘Control’ and ‘Command’ columns for the Texan. When the White Sox selected him as the 440th overall pick in 2019, few prospect evaluators batted an eye. If they did, it was probably not for positive reasons.
Yet here we are, talking about the righty in a ‘Storyline’ article. And it kind of makes sense too, as Freeman has looked nothing like the wild, unimpressive reliever he was in college. As a member of the White Sox organization, he has cut his walk and hit rates in half, doubled his strikeout rate, and dominated the Arizona, Pioneer and South Atlantic League at times. For his minor league career, Freeman’s ERA now stands at 2.19 in 24.2 innings pitched, with an impressive 38 strikeouts and only 9 walks over that stretch. Opponents have hit only .170 off of him; a far cry from his days in college.
SUCCESSFUL TRAJECTORY
That leaves everyone on the outside looking in wondering: what can the White Sox minor league development do with Freeman, if a mere three months in the minors already brought about such a massive improvement? Could Freeman follow a similar path as the aforementioned Codi Heuer, who went from the Pioneer League in 2018 straight to Winston-Salem and later Birmingham in 2019? Freeman has (so far) not run into much trouble in Rookie ball or Single-A. 2020 would have been an interesting season to see if he could have taken the same fast-track route Heuer has. Had it been for a normal season, we could have been talking about Freeman in spring 2021 the way we’re talking about Heuer in 2020.
WHICH LEFTY COULD BE COUNTED ON IN THE MAJORS: LINDGREN, MEDEIROS OR FRARE?
Let me preface this storyline by saying that if the 2020 White Sox were (forced to) have to count on Jacob Lindgren, Kodi Medeiros or Caleb Frare, something went terribly wrong in the big league bullpen. That’s not to say that this trio consists of bad pitchers; it is merely an observation that Jace Fry and Aaron Bummer should be able to hold the fort as the two better options at left-handed reliever. If anything were to happen to the recently extended Bummer, the Sox relief corps could be in big trouble.
This does not mean, however, that there is no shot at all for the three aforementioned minor league lefties to find their way to Chicago. All three are clearly talented. Frare has already experienced a modicum of big league success in the past, whereas Lindgren is a former 2nd round draft pick by the Yankees and Medeiros a former first-round pick by the Brewers. So who could be the lefty to count on in 2020?
TOUGH DECISION
It’s hard to pick either of the three right now; not because of talent, but because of the many unknowns. Based purely on raw stuff, Lindgren is the fairly obvious top choice. With a top-notch fastball/slider combination and eye-popping minor league numbers in 2019 (28 strikeouts in 28.2 innings, 7 walks), there is much to like about the 27-year old’s chances to finally make the Big Leagues in 2020. However, he has undergone two Tommy John surgeries between 2016 and 2018, so… there’s that.
Medeiros was moved to the bullpen only recently, after getting lit up in Double-A as a starter. He fared much better as a reliever, posting a 2.57 ERA in 42.1 relief innings for the Barons. His stuff plays better as a reliever, and he did alright in Spring Training (3 K’s in 4.0 IP, 1 walk, 5 hits). He does need more experience though. At just 23-years old, Medeiros should not be the guy to count on in the Majors just yet.
That leaves us with Caleb Frare. Frare pitched well in Chicago in 2018, only to be shuttled back and forth between the Majors and Minors in early 2019. Before long, however, he was sent down for the rest of the season in early May. A couple of bad outings and several injuries later, he was non-tendered by the White Sox. The organization did re-sign him on a Minor League deal, but Frare’s status for 2020 was up for grabs. He did not do himself any favors in Spring Training. After giving up 7 runs on 6 hits (3 homeruns) and four walks in 3.1 innings, Frare has a lot to figure out in Charlotte.
Long story short: the answer is Lindgren.
WILL BLAKE RUTHERFORD’S ADDED STRENGTH PAY DIVIDENDS IN THE POWER DEPARTMENT?
I’ve been very high on Blake Rutherford since before he got drafted by the Yankees in 2016. As I wrote in my individual top 30 explanation (sorry, Patreon-only for the full 1,750 words — sign up here for only $2/month if you’re interested!):
The outfielder hasn’t lived up to his pre-draft shine yet, but he had a much better second than first half in 2019 and… well, I guess I’m curious to see where it leads. I like the player. Sue me.
Needless to say, I was extremely excited to see what Rutherford could do in Spring Training and his likely second attempt at Double-A (note: Rutherford was indeed optioned to Double-A before Spring Training abruptly ended). And of course, there was early video of the lefty, hitting bombs in camp, looking swole and ready to put his detractors in his rear view mirror.
Despite getting ample playing time in Spring Training and appearing in 10 games, Rutherford was not able to take his impressive batting practice showings to game action. He hit only .154 with a .385 OPS, but for him too, there was something to the eye test. The 22-year old hit multiple balls incredibly hard, but more often than not right at fielders. He even had a two-run homerun brought back by Dodgers outfielder Cody Thomas, robbing him of game-changing big fly. (This is also a good video to watch if you’re missing Jason Benetti’s dulcet voice calling a baseball game).
Of course, adding muscle only works if you’re actually making contact with the baseball. All indications in late-2019 and early 2020 were that Rutherford found a way to make contact more and more. If you hit them, the bombs will come.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox