The White Sox have 43 players taking part in the currently ongoing Summer Camp, but on Tuesday they also announced 16 players that will be on the team’s taxi squad.
The extra players will be used as further depth through the 2020 season and will workout in suburban Schaumburg. Garrett Crochet, the No. 11 pick in last month’s draft, is among the players included.
In addition to Crochet, six of the 16 players included are FutureSox top 30 prospects. Add that on to the 11 currently scrimmaging with the White Sox and 17 of the preseason top 30 are with the big league team in some way. Michael Kopech would have made it 18, but he opted out for the 2020 season.
Crochet’s inclusion speaks to the chance he has to make his MLB debut this season. That remains slim, but a possibility. Farm director Chris Getz talked about that to reporters on Tuesday.
The rest of the roster features most of the other prospects in the upper minors of the White Sox system that were not already working out at Guaranteed Rate Field. Jonathan Stiever is another pitching prospect worth keeping an eye on. Even without Kopech the White Sox appear to have plenty of pitching depth this year, but Stiever is at least part of that conversation now.
Another pitcher of note is Zack Burdi. It was a mild surprise to see Burdi not included on the Summer Camp roster, but the hard-throwing reliever is still working his way back from an injury-plagued past few years. Even including his brief 2018 Arizona Fall League stint, Burdi has only thrown 67 innings since July 9, 2017.
On the position player side, the outfield trio of Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford and Luis Gonzalez are logical inclusions. All three played in Double-A Birmingham last season, albeit with some struggles. They are talented players with experience in the upper minors. They make sense as outfield depth if needed, although none are probably high on that list.
The only notable prospect with experience above A-ball to not be included is first baseman Gavin Sheets. Sheets had a solid second half for Birmingham last year after a slow start. He is eligible for the Rule V draft this winter (unless there are rule changes to that). The White Sox have plenty of first base/DH depth, especially with 2018 first-round pick Andrew Vaughn impressing in camp.
Many of the younger prospects in the White Sox system will be left to work out on their own in some form. Teenage pitching prospects Matthew Thompson, Andrew Dalquist and Jared Kelley highlight that group.
Then there’s Jake Burger. Burger isn’t going to Schaumburg, but he is taking a step in his return to the field. Burger, a St. Louis native, will play in the CarShield Collegiate League, which plays in suburban St. Louis. He was slated to manage one of the six teams in the league. Now he will be playing as well.
Photo Credit: Alison McNabb/Tennessee Athletics
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So which catcher from Chicago gets sent to Schaumburg? Zavala cannot catch all of them in practice?
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