As exciting as it will be to watch prospects like Gavin Sheets, Jake Burger, Blake Rutherford or Luis Gonzalez have a breakout year in Charlotte this season, it is the Knights’ pitching staff that will have the greatest impact on the fortunes of the Chicago White Sox major league club in 2021.
After just a 60-game season in 2020, major league pitchers are on reduced workloads this year, and minor league depth could easily make or break a team’s playoff chances. So much so that it would not be a surprise if the majority of pitchers in Charlotte on Opening Day log time in Chicago in 2021.
Conversely, for the hitting prospects, a breakout year makes them more likely to be in demand at the trade deadline if/when the White Sox reload for the stretch drive.
The Opening Day roster features 11 players on the White Sox 40-man roster. Overall, eight of the FutureSox top 30 prospects are slated for Charlotte. Four are hitters: Sheets (11), Gonzalez (12), Rutherford (13) and Burger (16). Four are pitchers: Jonathan Stiever (6), Jimmy Lambert (15), Zack Burdi (17) and Tyler Johnson (26). Gonzalez was called up on May 3 to replace the injured Luis Robert, though he will likely return to Charlotte when Adam Engel returns to the White Sox, barring any further injuries to the Chicago outfield.
In addition, the Knights feature a mix of veteran bats and starting pitchers as well as a handful of relievers on the cusp of the majors.
Pitching: What to Look For
The Knights start the season with 18 pitchers on the roster, with Lambert and Stiever headlining the starting staff.
Lambert, 26, gets the ball on Opening Day, returning to the mound after Tommy John surgery in 2019.
“He’s healthy,” says Knights manager Wes Helms. “He’s got his strength back and his stuff is electric. He’s got one of the better curveballs in the game. His velocity is back. His curveball is special. He has one of those Bieber-like curveballs.”
Toeing the rubber in Game 2 of the season-opening series is Stiever, who had a successful 2019 campaign in Winston-Salem and impressed as well in 2020 at the alternate site.
Two major league veterans — Reynaldo Lopez and Mike Wright — will provide starter depth for the Knights and White Sox, though neither has yet pitched with enough consistency in his major league career. With a 26-34 lifetime record, Lopez has been a source of frustration to White Sox fans. Likewise, Wright, 31, is 10-12 with a 6.00 ERA over 258 innings with the Orioles and Mariners.
Likely filling out the rotation are two intriguing candidates: Tanner Banks and Kyle Kubat. Banks, 29, has climbed steadily through the White Sox system since being drafted by the club in 2014. Overall, he has put together a nice resume: a 46-38 record, a 3.42 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Kubat, 27, was acquired from the Royals in 2017. But it was his transition from the bullpen to starter that seems to turn his career around. Across Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Charlotte in 2019, Kubat posted an 11-5 record, with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.
Unlike Major League Baseball, which has very defined roles for relief pitchers, Triple-A pitchers are utilized more based on workloads and other needs such that there will likely not be just one player this year who will close games. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t several highly regarded bullpen arms in Charlotte.
Chief among them is Johnson, who pitched well in Winston-Salem and Birmingham in 2019 before his season was derailed by injury. Johnson, 25, relies on a 65-grade fastball that he is able to locate well in the bottom of the zone along with an improving slider.
Among other relievers of note are Zack Burdi, who was the White Sox’ 26th overall pick in 2016 and on a fast-track to Chicago that same year before he tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery. Prior to his injury, Burdi featured a fastball that reached 100 mph. Ryan Burr is another highly-regarded reliever on the Charlotte staff who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2019.
The bullpen features a number of lefties, including Kodi Medeiros, the former 12th overall pick of the 2014 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Medeiros struggled last year in Birmingham but has shown improvement since transitioning to the bullpen. Nik Turley, 31, was claimed off waivers in March from the Oakland A’s. Matt Tomshaw, 32, rejoined the organization after an indy ball stint in 2020. Jacob Lindgren, 28, reached Winston-Salem in 2019 and has impressive minor league stats, including a 2.18 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP across 82.2 innings. Finally, Hunter Schryver, who was acquired in 2018 for international signing pool money and then spent 2019 in Birmingham and Charlotte.
Rounding out the pen are four righties. Danny Dopico, 27, posted excellent numbers in 2019 in Birmingham. Tayron Guerrero, 30, was claimed off waivers from the Marlins in December 2019 after pitching at the Triple-A level. Felix Paulino, 26, moves up to Charlotte after spending 2019 in Birmingham. Connor Sadzeck, 29, signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in December 2020 after spending 2019 with the Mariners’ major league club.
Offense: What to Look For
The Knights offense features a lot of question marks as the season unfolds. All eyes will be on Burger, who takes the field after losing the 2018 and 2019 seasons to two Achilles’ tears. The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Burger spent his first year of ball in Low-A Kannapolis before waylaid by injuries. Charlotte is an aggressive assignment for Burger, who has yet to play in High-A or Double-A. His 60-grade power should play well in hitter-friendly Truist Field if everything clicks for the 25-year-old.
The White Sox are also hoping to see a power breakout from first baseman Sheets. Unlike Burger, Sheets’ assignment to Charlotte comes as no surprise after a solid 2019 in a tough hitters’ ballpark in Birmingham. There’s a lot to like about Sheets — if the home runs start flying at a greater clip. A first baseman all his career, Sheets spent this past offseason learning the outfield to increase his versatility. The plan is for Sheets to play the outfield two to three games a week.
The White Sox are also anxiously hoping to see a boost in power from Rutherford. Acquired from the Yankees in 2017 when he was a top-100 prospect, Rutherford spent 2018 in Winston-Salem and 2019 in Birmingham, where results were mixed. This year could be a make-or-break season for the lefty hitter, who has yet to demonstrate the raw power to be an every day major leaguer.
Gonzalez is yet another White Sox prospect who spent 2019 at Birmingham with just so-so results. A potential five-tool player who is likely to stick in centerfield, Gonzalez will go as far as his hit tool can carry him. Filling in for Robert offers him a rare opportunity to showcase his skills.
Joel Booker, who had a strong 2018 in Winston-Salem and Birmingham before cooling off in 2019, is also in the outfield. So are veterans Mikie Mahtook and Nick Williams, both of whom were highly-ranked prospects whose careers have stalled. Mahtook was a first-round selection by the Rays in 2011 who moved quickly through the minors and debuted in 2015, with good results. But an injury in 2016 was followed by two rough seasons in Detroit and one in Philadelphia before signing as a free agent with the White Sox this year. Williams, meanwhile, was a second-round pick of the Rangers in 2012. Over his career, he earned a reputation as a good-bat, weak-glove player. He has already had some time with the White Sox this season.
Home runs were not an issue for catcher Seby Zavala in his first stint in Charlotte, which included part of the 2018 season and all of 2019. In 331 plate appearances in 2019 with the Knights, Zavala bashed 20 homers, though the 2021 season will reveal how much of the catcher’s power was fueled by the juiced ball that was used in Triple-A ball two years ago.
Nate Nolan will be the backup. He spent portions of 2019 in Winston-Salem, Birmingham and Charlotte, and was rated as the best defensive catcher in the White Sox system by Baseball America. Joe DeCarlo, who spent 2019 in Double-A for the Mariners, adds extra depth at catcher.
Danny Mendick, who started the season on the White Sox roster and is likely first man up when there is a middle infield need in Chicago, is the most familiar name in the middle infield. Three veterans: Tim Beckham, Marco Hernandez and Matt Reynolds, fill out the infield. Beckham was the first overall pick in 2008 draft.
Coaching Staff
Technically, Wes Helms is “returning” as Knights manager after his promotion from Birmingham to Charlotte in 2020, along with pitching coach Matt Zaleski and hitting coach Chris Johnson.
A Whole New Schedule
Major league baseball made several adjustments to the minor league schedule to minimize travel in the age of Covid. Gone are the three- or four-day home stands, replaced instead by 20 weeks of six-game series. Teams will play their opponents every Tuesday through Sunday, with Monday being an off day for travel.
To further minimize travel, teams will play opponents that are closest to them geographically. So even though there are 20 teams in the newly created Triple-A East (formerly known as the International League), the Knights will only play five opponents this year: Durham (Rays), Gwinnett (Atlanta), Norfolk (Orioles), Jacksonville (Marlins), and Nashville (Brewers).
Overall, the Knights will play 120 games. When MLB delayed the start of the season by a month, the April games were simply eliminated and the schedule begins by picking up where it would have been otherwise on May 4.
Of those 120 games, 90 will be equally divided against the farm teams of the Orioles, Rays and Marlins, plus 18 versus the Braves and 12 with the Brewers.
More Covid — And its Impact on the Roster
Triple-A teams will be allowed to carry 33 players, 28 of whom are active each game.
MLB is putting all its teams into two tiers (bubbles) this season. One tier includes all major league and Triple-A teams. The second tier is Double-A teams and lower.
This approach lets players move freely between Chicago and Charlotte, while players moving up from Double-A and lower will need to be tested and quarantined before they can join their new teams.
All of the Knights coaches are fully vaccinated. The players received their second vaccines this week upon arriving in Charlotte.
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Great write up Slappy / Toe on the Rubber Cohen. Nice to see you also acquired a sponsor.
Very nice comprehensive reporting job!
Where will Kelly and Thompson be this year?