Farm Fortnight: Drew Thorpe’s promotion highlights White Sox system’s pitching depth

When it comes to covering the White Sox on an everyday basis, one person's "noticing something" is another person's "jinxing something," so I've been waiting for the right time to note the run of great health on the organization's pitching front.

The promotion of Drew Thorpe seems like such a moment.

(Knocks on wood.)

Thorpe, who will make his MLB debut against Seattle tonight, represents the first real opportunity to shake up the minor-league rotations, at least those below Triple-A. And even when bringing Charlotte into the equation, the Knights' rotation has only been compromised by the needs of the major league team. Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon have been able to take the ball when asked to, and now Sean Burke has joined them as well.

The Birmingham Barons have played 57 games, and prior to Thorpe's advancement, their original five-man rotation stayed on rotation the entire time. Only one start has been made on spot duty, and that was Connor McCullough in a doubleheader. Winston-Salem's rotation hasn't been as stout as Birmingham's, but it's been as stable, with Shane Murphy relegated to piggybacking duty (and late-notice Charlotte service) because a day hasn't opened for him. Kannapolis had to make room for Grant Taylor, which the White Sox did by promoting Drew McDaniel to Winston-Salem. The other four Cannon Ballers starters have made every turn.

With Thorpe in Chicago for the time being, the White Sox have some options for shifting pitchers around, at least if they want to continue running Birmingham's five-man rotation on schedule while preserving Noah Schultz's Saturdays-only slate. Avenues for advancement have been few and far between up until this point, at least on the pitching side.

(Knocks on wood.)

Continue reading on the progress of 60 White Sox prospects over the last two weeks. Some of them are position players.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Worcester; 2-4 vs. Jacksonville
• Record: 25-37
• Next two series: @Durham, vs. Gwinnett
• Individual stats

Last fortnight, I said that "every week the Charlotte Knights avoid being in last place is a victory." Welp, the Knights are in last place in their division, 2½ games behind Lehigh Valley, and tied for the worst record in the International League. It doesn't help that the White Sox are promoting directly from Double-A, so any internal improvement from Birmingham -- at least outside of the bullpen -- requires a connection at Midway or O'Hare.

The good news is that Nick Nastrini is back at Triple-A, which is where it looks like he belongs as he attempts to figure out why strike-throwing is proving so elusive at the MLB level. Bryan Ramos is settling in nicely, and the White Sox shouldn't feel rushed to call him back into action. Touki Toussaint is rediscovering his ability to be useful in spot starts, and they added Michael Chavis for infield depth. It'd just help if their top prospect started hitting again.

Position Players

*Colson Montgomery had another quiet pair of series, hitting .244/.326/.317 over 11 games before getting the final Sunday of the Jacksonville series off. He did hit a homer, but it would've been a double in just about every other park, minor or major league. Throw in three errors, giving him six over his last 17 games, and you can see why some prospect evaluators are buying more into Schultz's stock as the organization's top prospect.

*Bryan Ramos briefly rehabbed with Charlotte, but the White Sox optioned him to Triple-A after the game on May 29, marking the start of his first real developmental time spent with the Knights. It's going well so far, as he's hitting .300/.326/.425 with a homer, two doubles and two walks over 10 games.

*Adam Hackenberg struck out in more than half of his 23 plate appearances over the last two weeks, continuing a surprising development for somebody who's generally had control of the strike zone throughout his minor league career. He's not getting any kind of power boost in a trade-off.

Pitchers

*Sean Burke returned from shoulder purgatory, giving the White Sox another starting pitching prospect worth following, especially since he's sitting in the mid-90s. Read James Fegan's story about all of the experience Burke gained while missing his best stuff.

*Prelander Berroa tied together five consecutive scoreless outings across the Worcester and Jacksonville series, although he walked four batters over five innings and threw just 51 percent of his pitches for strikes. You'd like to see the high times inspire a little more confidence.

*Josimar Cousin could be overlooked in Birmingham. The Barons rotation throws at least five innings every night, limiting the amount of extended outings and virtually eliminating the need for appearances on consecutive days. That said, he maximized his opportunities over eight outings with Birmimngham, and he's made a seamless transition to Charlotte, throwing two perfect innings over the course of three days on 16 total pitches.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 3-4 vs. Rocket City; 4-2 @Tennessee
• Record: 37-20
• Next two series: vs. Pensacola, @Montgomery
• Individual stats

The Birmingham Barons held a three-game lead over the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League Northern division, and they gained a game by taking four of six in Kodak, some of it played under the watchful gaze of Tony La Russa.

The offense, which had been slightly disappointing as a unit, was able to cover for a couple of messy starts by the otherwise staunch rotation, which will have to entertain an alternate arrangement with Drew Thorpe in Chicago. It's a day-and-night difference when Edgar Quero is rolling, because his ability to pair his above-average plate discipline with occasional power surges gives the lineup -- and organization -- a player who can weather BABIP dips, and as you'll see below, if he is currently On One.

Position Players

*Edgar Quero has played eight games in June, and he has eight multi-hit games. He was named the Southern League's Player of the Week after going 13-for-21 with three homers, two doubles, five walks and a hit by pitch over six games against Tennessee. After a few weeks where he struggled to control the strike zone (by his standards, anyway), he's back to taking ball four with confidence. He'll take a couple of steps across the plate toward the dugout to casually remove his armor before going in the other direction to take his base.

*Wilfred Veras still oscillates between big games and 0-fers, but he's starting to show progress in other areas. He's opened June with three walks in eight games, along with four stolen bases, which was a surprising facet of his game last year. With Duke Ellis in Chicago, he's also playing a corner outfield spot every day now, alternating between right and left.

*Brooks Baldwin continues to be one helluva Double-A ballplayer. He hit .340/.404/.468 over the last 12 games, with as many walks as strikeouts (five apiece) and a 4-for-4 performance on the basepaths. The two games I saw him in Knoxville, he came a triple shy of the cycle, turned two line drives into double plays and stole a base with one of those Todd Frazier walking leads.

*Jacob Gonzalez is in the middle of his first lull since the very start of his season. he hit .213/.322/.255 while playing all 13 games. He did get hit by five pitches, which might be the way the Southern League is adjusting to him after Gonzalez's work emphasizing covering the outer half. Or maybe it's a little bit of a random cool-off.

*Terrell Tatum is back in the mode where he loses a lot of plate appearances to strikeouts. He racked up 20 of them over 60 plate appearances during a two-week period where he hit .143/.300/.184. He earned 11 free bases -- nine walks, two HBPs -- but too many deep counts go against him, and pitchers are only going to be more aggressive in the strike zone against him if he's promoted.

*Tim Elko carried his May hot streak all the way through the end of the month, and sustained it into June. He hit .341/.400/.455 over 12 games, and also stole his first base as a professional, which seems like a heat-check move if there ever was one.

*Jacob Burke plays a strong enough center field to keep him in the bottom of the order, but he hit just .128/.191/.154 over the last 12 games, which makes it possible that he'll be the one to lose playing time if Ellis returns to Double-A.

Pitchers

*Drew Thorpe will be a good test of Paul Janish's philosophy of calling up players directly from Double-A. Bryan Ramos beat him from Birmingham to Chicago, but Thorpe will break the seal on the pitching side. He allowed just one run and nine baserunners over 12 innings, six apiece against Rocket City and Tennessee, so he deserved a promotion of some kind. Why not Chicago? We'll see if that's a rhetorical question after his MLB debut in Seattle Tuesday night.

*Jairo Iriarte got beat up a little bit, allowing 11 runs on 15 hits and four walks over 10⅓ innings, although the Barons offense bailed him out in both games.

*Jake Eder threw his best start of the season, holding Rocket City scoreless over 6⅓ innings while striking out eight on May 31. He then followed it up with a rocky 3⅔ innings against Tennessee, which was just the second time in 55 starts that a member of the original Birmingham five-man rotation failed to complete four innings.

*Ky Bush, for instance, threw 18 innings over his three starts during the last two series. Opponents are hitting just .183/.271/.250 against him this season, and he lowered all three by limiting the Smokies to a single and three walks over six innings on Sunday.

*Mason Adams had the other three-appearance fortnight due to the doubleheader against the Trash Pandas, and he allowed a total of three runs over 18 innings. He allowed nine hits over five innings after piggybacking on Noah Schultz on Saturday, which is the most traffic he's dealt with in a single game this year. Even then, it was more than good enough to finish the job. I'll have a post about him later this week.

*Noah Schultz overpowered Rocket City, striking out seven Pandas over 3⅔ shutout innings, before giving up his first Double-A run in his third start on Saturday, which came against Tennessee. His location wasn't particularly sharp, but he still proved that he's difficult to square up enough times over the course of an inning.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Hickory; 3-3 @Rome
• Record: 28-29
• Next two series: vs. Greensboro, @Ashevile
• Individual stats

In between first-place teams above them and below them, the Dash continue to be a thoroughly .500 unit. There are worse things to be, but it's reflective of a roster comprising players that still have work to do shoring up their games at the level.

They did receive Ryan Galanie from Kannapolis, and there should be at least a couple more Cannon Ballers following suit now that their first-half title looks more or less secure. Grant Taylor is the only one of them who looks like a lock for above-average production from the onset, but you never know when another Brooks Baldwin will emerge.

Position Players

*Samuel Zavala went hitless against Hickory, going 0-for-16 with two walks and an HBP over five games. He then rebounded with an effective series against Rome, hitting .353/.500/.647 with a homer, two doubles and a walk over 22 plate appearances. It's been up and down like that all season for him.

*DJ Gladney missed more than two weeks with a lat injury, homered in his first game back, then left his second game with what appeared to be a reaggravation of the same area.

*Loidel Chapelli had a nice week, hitting .280/.406/.360, but he only played in three games of the Rome series, missing Friday's and Sunday's games. He's usually out of the lineup for at least one game every series, so we'll see if this carries over into the fresh week.

*Wes Kath is running a 25 percent strikeout over his last 14 games, which is both a small sample and a big deal for him. He's hitting .304/.418/.435 over that time. He only has one homer and five extra-base hits over his last 20 games, which would be a nit if you're looking for one to pick.

*Calvin Harris allowed 20 steals in 20 attempts the last time we checked, but now they're 29-for-31, so that's progress. It offset a quiet week at the plate, as he hit .205/.289/.256 while rotating between catching and DHing.

*Eddie Park drew his first High-A walk on May 29, then drew four more over the following 11 games. It's been an otherwise quiet start for him -- .247/.289/.282 in his first 20 games with Winston-Salem, but he sat the finale of the Hickory series and the opener of the set against Rome, so perhaps he's playing through something.

Pitchers

*Peyton Pallette has allowed just three runs (two earned) over his last three outings. He hasn't been able to complete five innings in any of them due to pitch-count limits, but the consistency of his effectiveness is novel. The strikeout-to-walk rate still leaves a lot to be desired, as he recorded just five strikeouts against four walks over 9⅓ innings.

*Tanner McDougal has the same ERA as Pallette, but he's gone about it a very different way. He struck out 15 batters over 10 innings across his last two starts. He also allowed seven runs, but all of them were scored in the fifth inning or later. The first four innings have been pretty breezy.

*Juan Carela dealt with the return of his early-season control problems, as he issued eight free bases against just five strikeouts over 10 innings.

*Tyler Schweitzer saw his streak of four consecutive quality starts snapped by giving up three runs over four laborious innings against Rome, so he's allowed to have a clunker.

*Shane Murphy was promoted to Charlotte when the promotion of Jonathan Cannon left the Knights without a scheduled starter. He was roughed up for eight runs over four innings, which 1) is understandable and 2) accounts for pretty much all of the damage he's suffered this season.

*Riley Gowens threw eight shutout innings against Rome on Saturday, giving him a full handful of dominant starts over 10 outings with the Dash. He's the oldest member of the rotation and he's had the most repeatable success, so if the White Sox are looking for a Thorpe replacement in Double-A, he could be a candidate.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 5-1 vs. Columbia; 5-1 @Fredericksburg
• Record: 36-20
• Next two series: @Delmarva, vs. Myrtle Beach
• Individual stats

In the blink of an eye, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers became the scourge of the Carolina League. They rode a nine-game winning streak to the top of the standings, with the league's best record (a half-game better than Carolina) and an insane run differential (+140; Carolina is at +38). They hold a 5½ game lead over Columbia, and while they lost their best hitter to Winston-Salem with Ryan Galanie, they haven't shown any ill effects from the loss. The promotion of George Wolkow offsets it in terms of excitement, although the 5½-year age gap will be evident when looking at the disparity in consistency.

The pitching staff, which is 20-4 with a 2.25 ERA over the last 30 days, got a huge boost from Grant Taylor, and it seems like only a matter of time before he moves on up. The intact pitching depth has allowed just about every promotion to be deliberate and intentional, and in this case, it's possible the Sox are waiting to secure a postseason berth before creating a gap.

Position Players

*Ronny Hernandez is Edgar Quero Lite right now, as he's hitting .476/.633/.619 over his last seven games, including his first A-ball homer. He still has plenty of work in other areas (power, slowing down the running game), but the strike zone control is impressive for a 19-year-old.

*Rikuu Nishida opened June by reaching 16 times over seven games. It's largely station-to-station -- no extra-base hits, only one steal -- but he's doing a lot of the work leading the Ballers to a first-half crown.

*Ryan Burrowes was one of the few Ballers who didn't seem to have fun during the Fredericksburg series. He went 2-for-19 with 12 strikeouts over five games, including three hitless games to round out the week.

*George Wolkow also struck out ton, whiffing 14 times in his first 22 plate appearances with Kannapolis, but he did hit a pair of homers, including one that went 457 feet. That has to be at least a little cathartic.

Pitchers

*Grant Taylor has now pitched 14 consecutive scoreless innings in Kannapolis, including three consecutive starts of four shutout frames. He's also walked just one batter against 25 strikeouts with the Ballers, so he's barely breaking a sweat.

*Seth Keener got bogged down by bad counts in his last start against Fredericksburg, allowing nine baserunners and three runs over 4⅓ innings, but he keeps finding ways to dodge disaster without his best stuff.

*Lucas Gordon hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his 10 starts this year. The league is only hitting .163 against him, so he's another candidate for a bump if a spot in Winston-Salem opens.

*Aldrin Batista had cooled down after his hot start, but his five innings of one-run ball against Fredericksburg was his best work in more than a month. The in-between wasn't terrible for a guy who'd just turned 21, as evidenced by his respectable season line.

*Jake Peppers recorded his first walkless outing during six innings of one-run ball against Fredericksburg on Wednesday. Whenever he's displayed above-average control, he's followed it up with immediate regression.

ACL White Sox

• Record: 9-16
• Individual stats

With Ryan Burrowes and George Wolkow moving up to Kannapolis, the ACL White Sox are bereft of their biggest names, at least during times where Luis Robert Jr., Tommy Pham or Andrew Benintendi aren't rehabbing with them.

Contrary to their record -- but in accordance with their -13 run differential -- they're not without talent, just shorter on depth since the promotions of their best prospects.

Position Players

Javier Mogollon missed nearly two weeks before returning to the lineup on May 30. He resumed showing power and speed, with a lot of strikeouts in between those displays. Abraham Nunez is showing decent contact ability for an 18-year-old in his stateside debut, and the batch of triples is one of those welcome statistical anomalies. Between Stiven Flores and Angelo Hernandez, the lineup usually features a catcher who's hitting pretty well.

On the flip side, Erick Hernandez hasn't been a big part of the regular outfield/DH rotation, which would be a pretty disappointing turn for the rare seven-figure teenage international signing.

Pitchers

Jordany Chirinos, who just turned 18 on May 4, broke new ground with five shutout innings on Saturday. He's allowed just one run over his last four outings spanning 15 innings, which is a nice recovery from a guy who opened his season by walking the only four batters he faced. Luis Reyes also rebounded nicely from a tough outing with a pair of strong starts that combine for a complete game (9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K).

They're offset by Christian Oppor, who's having control issues, and Maximo Martinez, who can't get out of a game without giving up a homer.

DSL White Sox

• Record: 1-2
• Individual stats

The Dominican Summer League season just started, so everything we covered in the DSL White Sox preview hasn't reached the expiration date.

Position Players

We're only looking at three games of data at this time, so let's coast to the finish here.

Pitchers

Ditto, except let's take a second to note that Yhoiker Fajardo's professional debut might end up being the most impressive line posted by any White Sox DSL pitcher this season.

White Sox Minor Keys: June 10, 2024

ACL Rockies 11, ACL White Sox 10 (7 innings)

• Tommy Pham went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first rehab game.
• Andrew Benintendi, also rehabbing, went 2-for-3 with a homer, double and walk.
• Javier Mogollon maximized his 1-for-4, two strikeout performance with a grand slam.
• Adrian Gil was 0-for-4 with a K.
• Abraham Nunez, 3-for-4 with a stolen base.
• Angelo Hernandez went 1-for-2 with a double, HBP and a strikeout.
• Christian Oppor: 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

DSL White Sox 5, DSL Padres Brown 2 (7 innings)

• Christian Gonzalez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Jurdrick Profar singled, walked twice, struck out once and was caught stealing.
• Eduardo Herrera was 0-for-2 with two walks.
• Jesus Premoli, 1-for-4 with a double.
• Jehancarlos Mendez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
• Orlando Suarez: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP