With MLB’s September roster expansion having begun, the White Sox used one of their two newly available roster spots to surprise one of the farm system’s biggest stars of 2021. Robert Murray broke the early news that infielder Romy Gonzalez would be called up today. The announcement caps an incredible year for the former 18th round Draft Pick (2018), whose 2021 season started in Double-A Birmingham and included a brief stint with Triple-A Charlotte before making it to Chicago.
In order to make room for Gonzalez, who is not on the 40-man roster, the White Sox designated Jake Lamb for assignment in addition to a bevy of other moves including the return of Gavin Sheets to the big leagues as well.
Romy Gonzalez would have been Rule 5 eligible this off-season and would have to be protected on the 40-man roster anyway, so the call-up does not come as a surprise — certainly not after the season the 24-year old has been having. The chances of him surviving the Rule 5 Draft with the White Sox organization have been reduced to ‘slim to none’ after a breakout 2021.
RAKIN’ ROMY
The call-up puts an exclamation mark on an amazing season for the 24-year old Miami native. After hitting just four home runs in 352 at-bats in Kannapolis (.693 OPS), and after losing the 2020 season to the pandemic, Gonzalez turned things around in drastic fashion for 2021, which he told our Jeff Cohen about recently.
The White Sox noticed his off-season work and gave Romy an aggressive assignment to Double-A for 2021, having him skip Winston-Salem altogether. The Floridian impressed in Birmingham and posted a .267/.355/.502 triple-slash in 303 at-bats (11 doubles and 20 home runs). Even more impressive, perhaps, was the fact that 11 of his 20 bombs were hit at home, at spacious, offensively challenging confines of Regions Field. FutureSox’ Jason Lowenthal noticed the ‘Romy turnaround’ as early as May 17.
In Birmingham, Romy posted a 135 wRC+ with an .857 OPS. He also became MiLB’s second 20-20 player this season. The AA performance turned heads, and Gonzalez started moving up prospect rankings. Here at FutureSox, he entered the Top 30 for the first time, straight at number 16 in our midseason list update.
SCOUTING REPORT
In our Top-30 profile on Romy, we noted that: “No singular player in the White Sox system has burst onto the scene this year quite like Gonzalez. During the lost 2020 season, Gonzalez worked on his body and got into better shape, and the hard work and effort has paid off. (…) The Miami native possesses solid bat speed and strength at the plate and is able to spray the ball to all parts of the field.
There are some swing and miss concerns in his aggressive approach at the plate, but Gonzalez has displayed a solid BB% (11.3) while also swiping 21 bases. Gonzalez had mostly played the outfield, until the 2019 instructional league when shortstop became his primary focus. The former Hurricane has average arm strength for shortstop, but could use some refinement of his hands and range at the position. Having played all the positions outside of catcher and pitcher, he may profile best as an offensive-minded utility man.”
Gonzalez moved up to Triple-A Charlotte on August 20th, and thrived there. In just 32 at-bats, he posted a 1.132 OPS and hit three home runs, four doubles and drive in 10 runs. Two of those home runs came in Romy’s debut with the Knights, on August 21st. The second bomb, which capped a 5-RBI game for Gonzalez, was a walk-off.
PROFESSIONAL HITTER
Helms told FutureSox Knights-correspondent Jeff Cohen even more about Gonzalez after the 24-year-old’s incredible debut. Helms: “You could tell when he walked in the clubhouse last night and when he got here today, he was the first person to come to me to ask about defensive positioning. “You can see it in his eyes, he wants it. Usually, guys are a little timid and a little scared because it is their first Triple-A game, they’re not going to come to the manager right away. But it was almost like he has been here all year.
He didn’t care that today was his first start in Triple-A. He went out there and took it to them, he did not look timid, he was aggressive and he knew what he was doing. His instincts on the field, moving over with two strikes on certain guys — you could see him reading their swings.”
“He’s a professional hitter. He’s a guy who can hit in the middle of most lineups. He has tremendous power to the opposite field and plays a really tremendous shortstop.”
The stats back up what Helms told Jeff, because in his 9 games in Charlotte, Gonzalez has looked the part. He now gets a chance to help out the big league team in their postseason race. A good audition could lead to a 26-man roster spot for the 2022 season as well, as the White Sox could use another slugging utility infielder.
For more on Romy, make sure to check out the FutureSox Podcast Top 30 episode, linked below.
Photo credit: Laura Wolff Photo
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