While the beginning of the 2021 minor league season has not been too friendly to some White Sox affiliates (Kannapolis has two wins in their first 24 games and Charlotte is 8-14), several players down on the farm are off to great starts from an individual standpoint.
Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger are looking good at triple-A Charlotte, Micker Adolfo is putting the double-A Birmingham Barons on his back; all-in-all the future looks bright for the next generation of White Sox prospects.
The further down you get in the system the harder it can be to identify who will grow into a more promising name in the future, but sometimes those guys make it easy to spot them among the crowd.
The high-A Winston-Salem Dash have gotten off to a decent start as they are currently sitting in fourth place out of seven in their division with a .500 winning percentage through 24 games. More noteworthy than the record, however, is the development of the players.
Winston-Salem has seen the emergence of a few quality pitchers in the early weeks of the season, and the position players are starting to kick things into gear as well. One player that has stood out among the rest so far is third baseman Luis Curbelo.
Curbelo’s name has been brought up before in our Tending to the Farm series here on FutureSox, but as he continues his red-hot start to the 2021 campaign, the 23-year-old is worth monotoring.
Curbelo was chosen by the White Sox in the 6th round of the 2016 draft. After playing one season in the Arizona Fall League in 2016 and spending time in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 2017, Curbelo landed in low-A Kannapolis for 2018 and 2019. Curbelo’s counting stats in 2019 were solid as the 6-foot-3 infielder collected 13 home runs, 54 RBI, 20 doubles, and seven triples, but struck out 181 times in 120 games played.
In addition to that, his slash line left a lot to be desired. Curbelo’s 2019 batting average was a minuscule .214, with an on-base percentage of .253 and a slugging percentage of .373 – totaling a .626 OPS. He also committed 29 errors splitting time between a few infield positions, but mostly at third base.
Aside from the stats that would stand out on the back of a baseball card, Luis Curbelo’s 2019 season wasn’t much to get excited about. The White Sox had plenty of other prospects to focus on, and with Curbelo playing so low in the system it was easy to gloss over his production.
The cancellation of the 2020 minor league season did not seem to bother Curbelo too much as it looks like he is picking up where he left off at the end of 2019.
So far in 2021, Curbelo has made noticeable improvements at the plate. Through 21 games his batting average (.266) and on-base percentage (.310) are more than respectable, and he leads the team in several major categories including hits (21), home runs (7), RBI (21), doubles (5), OBP, SLG (.620), and OPS (.930). He has also tightened up his glove work with only three errors in the field to this point.
One concern, though, remains the strikeout totals. With 32 punch-out’s in 84 plate appearances it’s clear that his 2019 aggressiveness is still there. For Curbelo to continue to climb up the minor league ranks his strike zone discipline will need some work. Still, though, all signs point to a refined and more polished Luis Curbelo in 2021.
Unfortunately for Curbelo, the third base position in the Chicago White Sox organization is one of the most upwardly blocked positions to play. Yoan Moncada is a multi-year mainstay at the Major League level and will not be moving any time soon, and Jake Burger has been nothing short of impressive for the Charlotte Knights.
Despite a tough climb ahead in the organization, baseball has a way of working itself out and if the talent is true, Curbelo will find a home.
With players like Lenyn Sosa, Yolbert Sanchez, and Bryce Bush around him in the Winston-Salem lineup, Curbelo should continue to be a big run-producer for the Dash. If his strike zone awareness improves over time, and his defense stays consistent, then look to see him either move up with the Sox or move teams in a trade.
Photo credit: Anders Johanson/FutureSox
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box on the right-side bar (or at the bottom on a mobile device) and click create subscription. Our list is completely spam free and you can opt out at any time. Also, consider supporting FutureSox on Patreon! You can get early access to special articles and Patreon-only posts, in addition to more benefits.
Shop our exclusive merchandise! Show your support with FutureSox apparel.