Considering Terrell Tatum is on the outside looking in on all top White Sox prospects lists, he's an unlikely candidate to lead a story in the Washington Post.
But here he is, front and center in Dave Sheinin's feature on how rule changes have boosted the futures of minor-league speed merchants, especially guys who are now given an automatic green light.
It certainly gave players like Tatum more of what he likes. Before this year, he said, he felt stymied by the White Sox’s unwillingness to let him run, even complaining to a team official last summer. “Y’all aren’t letting me steal,” he said then. “That’s a big part of my game.”
It was that same official who, during this year’s spring training, told Tatum the organization was giving him the green light for 2023 — and implored him to take advantage.
“I feel I’m a hitter first,” Tatum said. “But if I don’t crush the ball — if I hit a dribbler up the third-base line, I can turn that into a hit with my speed. And then steal second. So if I get on base with a walk, or a bunt or a swinging bunt, I have a chance to turn that into a double. The new rules just allow me to play my complete game.”
The story is a good look into Tatum's process, although the framing is slightly odd because he's actually running about as much as he did in his previous A-ball experience.
- 2021-22: 20 steals in 24 attempts over 34 games (70.6 attempts per 100 games)
- 2023: 14 steals in 17 attempts over 24 games (70.8)
The biggest obstacle in understanding his potential was the 50-game suspension he served for a positive amphetamine test in July of last season. He's hitting .319/.461/.516 over his first 25 games of 2023, so we should have a better sense of how his game will hold up as he climbs the ladder this time around.
Charlotte 9, Durham 7
- Oscar Colás went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jake Burger started his rehab stint, going 0-for-4 with a walk.
- Liam Hendriks on back-to-back days: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
Notes:
*Hendriks averaged 94.5 mph on his fastball, and gave up a homer on his only curveball.
Greenville 11, Winston-Salem 7
- Terrell Tatum went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Loidel Chapelli was 0-for-3 with a walk, an HBP and two strikeouts.
- DJ Gladney broke out of his slump, going 4-for-5 with a triple and a double.
- Kohl Simas: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Kannapolis 4, Fayetteville 2
- Jordan Sprinkle went 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Brooks Baldwin, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jacob Burke made his 2023 debut, going 0-for-3 with an HBP, two strikeouts and a CS.
