Lost in the drama of Jose Abreu's immediate future and whether birthing-related metaphors are worth using multiple times, Rick Hahn issued a Jake Burger update at the general managers meeting in Arizona.
There's no need to clarify the variety of Jake Burger update, because there's only one kind.
No news has been bad news for Burger and his recovery from a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon, but so has any news. The White Sox set June 1 as a return date for Burger during spring training. After a week of no mentions or sightings, Hahn told reporters that Burger was still sidelined with a bruised heel, but downplayed its significance and said Burger would return to action in the "not-too-distant future."
Three weeks later, Hahn had to cede that affiliate ball wasn't in the cards. At that point, Hahn held out hope that Burger could return for instructional league activity this fall.
Alas.
It's a tough situation for everybody. The team doesn't want to publicly lose faith in a first-round selection whose body hasn't allowed him a chance to start his career in earnest, especially one whose personality has commanded respect from even those who weren't that high his talent as an 11th-overall pick. There's no harm in keeping the possibility of a tremendous comeback story aloft, but losing the entirety of his age-22 and age-23 seasons pushes him out of the picture.
So does Andrew Vaughn. The White Sox already moved on when they drafted a right-handed first-base-only prospect with the third-overall pick.
Vaughn will be able to mask a lot if he's able to meet expectations. CBS Sports ranked Vaughn the 25th best prospect in baseball on Wednesday, which is four spots lower than MLB Pipeline and Jim Callis ranked him in their post-draft revision.
On one hand, it seems foolish to put two picks' worth of pressure onto the shoulders of an undersized first baseman. On the other hand, there doesn't seem to be a Vaughn skeptic anywhere. On an unsettling third hand, White Sox draft picks invite skepticism until they prove themselves in the pros, because sometimes even that bat-first profile never arrives. On the fourth hand -- you know what? these are paws, I've been counting paws -- Nick Madrigal showed how easily a top-flight college bat with an unquestioned hit tool can erase doubts from a so-so debut season.
Still, Vaughn strikes me as the most complicated White Sox prospect to assess. Luis Robert's contact issues might hamstring him in the majors, but I've seen that play out before. Michael Kopech could dominate unless the aftereffects of Tommy John surgery hold him back, but that too is a familiar storyline around baseball. Madrigal's skill set is extreme, but the final issue is straightforward, in that his contact needs to be strong enough to scare pitchers. He'll contribute everywhere else.
Vaughn's spectrum of impact strikes me as surprisingly wide for a player with such narrow skills. With his combination of patience, power and plate coverage, he's absolutely the kind of bat the White Sox need, unless he's the kind of profile the White Sox won't lose sleep over in a deal for a player who does more, better and faster.
