Sox Machine -- the institution, not the person -- is going to Kannapolis next week. What members of the White Sox's 2024 draft class might be there when we arrive?
Fifth overall pick Hagen Smith sounds like he might be a while longer.
The left-hander is throwing at the team complex in Arizona presently, but his season with Arkansas ended two months ago, and the White Sox are toeing the line between avoiding a significant "de-load" period and building him up fairly slowly. That is expected to culminate in Smith's first official professional game action coming at the tail-end of the minor league season, and director of player development Paul Janish said they've yet to decide what affiliate it would be at yet. (Though Kannapolis and Birmingham offer late-season playoff series at the end of their schedules)
"The aspiration, assuming everything is good, is to get him out to an affiliate for a couple of outings," Janish said. "It would be a controlled environment when it comes to pitch count and workload and stuff, but ultimately trying to get him out there and get some exposure to it."
Smith largely dominated with just a fastball-slider combination in the SEC, and Janish says there's a world where his command is good enough and his stuff is consistently lively enough that he's a similar pitcher in the majors. While the Sox are cognizant that building out his cutter and changeup could be necessary, it doesn't sound like he's going to be under some specific orders to use his lesser secondaries to a certain amount in games.
Over-slot prep picks Caleb Bonemer and Blake Larson won't be getting to Kannapolis this year, and will instead find action in the bridge league that teams are using at their complexes until full-blown instructional league starts after the season. That means public consumption of their progress won't take place until 2025, but Janish said Bonemer has already socked a pair of homers in recent days' game action.
Despite some scouting projections that Bonemer will mature into a power-hitting third baseman, Janish said he'll play shortstop only for now. He cited the example of Arxy Hernández at Low-A Kannapolis this year, pressed into shortstop duty while Ryan Burrowes was injured earlier this season, and how the Sox feel the reps at short had only served to make Hernández a better third baseman.
"He's definitely going to be one of the best athletes in our organization, just because of his natural ability," Janish said of Bonemer. "I'm a believer in, you've got to make them prove they can't do it. He's so young and athletic, and he's already exhibited some baseball IQ that that leads me to believe he's going to be able to play short for a little while. Am I going to promise you he can play short in the major leagues? No. But he's going to have to prove to us that he can't do it."
As previously reported here, Larson was pitching at IMG Academy in Florida as early as January, so the White Sox weren't inclined to add a huge workload to the end of a long season for him. But moreover, the lanky 18-year-old is very much in a phase of his career where adding strength and core stability is taking priority over on-field results. I don't know why Larson's MLB.com page says he's been assigned to Kannapolis, but talking to the team's director of player development about the plan for Larson twice in the past week lends me some confidence on this topic.
"What Blake Larson does in the next 18 months is in terms of performance, it's important, but at the end of the day it's a long term plan of, let's see if we can provide a way to get him to the big leagues in his early 20s."
The most advanced crop of 2024 draftees making their way to full-season affiliates would figure to be the college bat trio Nick McLain, Casey Saucke and Sam Antonacci. Saucke has already been placed at High-A Winston-Salem, with Antonacci at Low-A Kannapolis.
"I don't worry about sending those guys out to potentially a little bit higher level. If you're taking in where you want them to be 12 months from now, two years from now, I think that benefits them to put them in the fire a little bit," Janish said. "I wouldn't be scared to send one of those guys to Winston at all when the time comes. To be honest, it's not that big of a deal how they perform this last month of the season. Really we're trying to get them ready to go next year."
While Saucke was taken a round behind McLain, he signed to a slightly higher bonus after a breakout junior season of power production, socking 14 homers at Virginia. His chase and resulting strikeout issues temper the enthusiasm, but Janish says Saucke understands that plate approach gains are his path to the majors.
"He's big, strong and fast," Janish said. "If he swings at good pitches and has good at-bats, he's going to have success."
Listed at 5'10", McLain doesn't read as the typical power-hitting corner outfielder, but hit 33 extra-base hits in 48 games during his final season at Arizona State thanks an extremely high fly-ball rate. It's too soon for a defined view of how that will translate to pro ball, but described Janish him as a high-effort player who builds up your appreciation after watching him on a daily basis.
While scouting director Mike Shirley said Antonacci has the ceiling of an everyday second baseman, the Sox will tap into his multi-position capabilities right away and move him all over the diamond.
"He's a more athletic infielder than I thought based on the video," Janish said. "Made some really good plays at second base already; going up the middle, diving, getting up and throwing 'em out at first. The bat-to-ball is elite and I think he's going to be the definition of a guy who develops power later because he'll understand when to take a shot, where his contact point needs to be."
Right-hander Aaron Combs signed for slightly over slot in the eighth round after two seasons in the Tennessee bullpen. While that will dictate his usage for the rest of this season, Janish agrees with Shirley that the talent is present to consider stretching him out and putting him in a rotation in 2025.
"There's a reason he was pitching in high-leverage situations for them, right? Because they can trust him," said Janish, who has a long relationship with the Volunteers coaching staff. "I do think his repertoire lends to him being able to start, at least at the minor league level. He's not going to do that this year. He's going to go out to an affiliate and pitch a little bit. But we're definitely going to discuss him being a starter going into next year and just see how that unfolds."
At the same time, Janish praised Combs' versatility as possibly what makes him intriguing at the highest level. For example, former second-round pick Peyton Pallette has flourished since a mid-season move to the bullpen this year at Winston-Salem, and while Janish isn't closing the door on him starting again, he didn't sound especially inclined to move him from a role where he's having success and could be an impact weapon.
-- Blake Shepardson (11th round) and Pierce George (13th) were taken so closely to each other and offer such similar profiles in terms of triple-digit velocity and pronounced walk troubles in college, that it's very tempting to group them as hard-throwing right-handed relief prospects.
"The first thing you notice about those guys is their physical stature when they walk in," Janish said. "They're both big kids. They're probably going to lead similar paths, hopefully. Understandably there are going to be some ups and downs over the course of their development, but they both have shown flashes of excellence. The velocity is something you can't teach."
They have distinguished themselves in one unfortunate way. Shepardson rolled an ankle at the complex and is unlikely to pitch at an affiliate this year. George is healthy and throwing, and because of his control problems was rarely used at Alabama. Janish specifically wants to up his workload in an environment where he can be allowed to fail and grow. That sure sounds like Low-A baseball to me.
-- The two-way player ambitions for 17th round pick Lyle Miller-Green are sounding increasingly real. Already assigned to Low-A Kannapolis as a first baseman, Janish said they will keep him on a throwing program with plans of having him pitch at instructional league after the season is over. The plan for how much he will pitch in 2025 will proceed from there, but it's also clear that the excitement for the 23-year-old's raw power at the plate is a bit more tangible.
"There's no blueprint for that type of player," Janish said. "We're going to let him go hit because it's real power. If you put him in Chicago and let him take BP with those guys, it would still stick out. It's unique power. We have to exhaust that option and to what degree we can, manage the workload from a pitching standpoint going into next year."
--Last year's second round pick Grant Taylor likely won't pitch again this season due to a lat strain that knocked him out in early June after four starts with Kannapolis. Janish said there's a world where Taylor pitches in the Arizona Fall League after posting a 25-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 innings at Low-A, but that speaks more to how the Sox believe his injury a minor issue long-term than it is the probable outcome. The inclination seems to be to just prepare Taylor for next season, about which Janish is very bullish.
"He's one of the best arms in the organization," Janish said. "He's throwing the ball 100 mph. He's got pure stuff that could have success at the major league level almost immediately. Obviously he's got to continue to work on command, understanding hitters, gameplanning and some of that. But he's a big, strong kid who really likes to be on the mound with the ball. I don't want to call him a surprise, just because he's been hurt and didn't start the year healthy. But he's been one of the most exciting developments of the year."
