To the extent that I have rules and regulations in my White Sox prospect rankings, I've leaned more into making my enthusiasm a point of differentiation. "White Sox coverage with a personal touch" is the Sox Machine Promise™, and so if I have a hunch about one prospect over another who hasn't made me feel anything, I may as well play it.
For instance, I decided to trust Marco Paddy's track record with Cuban signees over the White Sox's track record with high school draft picks in putting Oscar Colás atop my list, and it's a decision that's paying early dividends according to James Fegan:
The reasonable approach by many prospect outlets was to place Colás among the top five players in the White Sox system, but hold off on crowning him No. 1 until knowing how he would handle the adjustment he just described. Our own Keith Law ranked Colás third in the Sox system with the same acknowledgment that there is a real chance that he’s the best prospect in the organization.
How would those lists shake out if they were end-of-spring-training prospect lists? Well, league scouts have issued a consistent report on his backfield action: lots of loud contact, plenty of power and a fit physique that could see him manning center field for a larger portion of his minor-league career.
Likewise, I placed Sean Burke in the 10th spot while leaving all of the White Sox's recent prep arms on the outside looking in, and I'm taking Chris Getz's comments as an endorsement.
Asked who could star in the Dash rotation and find themselves in the upper levels and close to the majors by the end of 2022, the first name Getz brought up was last year’s third-round pick, right-hander Sean Burke, who struck out 32.3 percent of hitters in his brief affiliated debut at Low-A Kannapolis.
“He’s a four-pitch guy, he’s got pretty good stuff across the board, his delivery’s under control,” Getz said. “Has the ability to pound the zone, and when he does, his stuff really plays and (he) can navigate deep into games. So he’s a guy, not too dissimilar to a Colas, want to get him started in a good spot and would expect he progresses fairly quickly being that he’s got some years of baseball under his belt and knowing his makeup.”
Follow your heart, is all I'm saying.
Norfolk 7, Charlotte 5
- Jake Burger went 2-for-2 with an HBP, but left after trying to stretch a single into a double.
- Carlos Pérez went 1-for-4 with another extra-base hit (double).
- Tyler Johnson picked up where he left off in Charlotte, regrettably: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
- Andrew Perez would prefer to have his Charlotte debut back: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
Highlights:
*Burger's slide wasn't pretty, but it didn't look like he experienced anything catastrophic at second base, so hopefully the White Sox are only being super-cautious in the early going.
