I’m a big fan of how the White Sox have been operating for a while now. The system rarely hears plaudits from the pundits but continues to get results. Perhaps Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger won’t be stars, but they’ve provided crucial depth during a contention window in a time of dire need. Codi Heuer struggled in 2021 after a sleek rookie season in 2020, but GM Rick Hahn was still able ship across town in the Craig Kimbrel deal and extract functional value within the window. Along that same road, I cannot express how impressed I am that they moved Nick Madrigal to push for a title. Here was a guy they’d picked 4th overall who hadn’t experienced so much as a hiccup in his career, but the present moment is our only guarantee in life, and especially in baseball, where the 2022 season is far from certain thanks to the expiring competitive balance agreement. Madrigal’s service clock is already well underway, so selling him is far different from moving a teenager whose six-year, 40-man roster clock has just begun. The White Sox didn’t have many of those guys to sell anyway, perhaps, but I think they might right now.
Our first man up today is SS Jose Rodriguez, who ranked 5th on my preseason organizational rundown published December 20 right here at Razzball, where we find the following words of Christmas-week merriment:
“Just a guy who, for any number of reasons, despite obvious physical gifts and big fantasy upside, is totally under the radar in fantasy baseball. Hip torque comes naturally to Rodriguez, and he generates easy power with a compact swing. His lower half remains balanced throughout and allows him to watch, wait and fire late. He’s been aggressive to this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big walk rate in his future when he faces upper level and/or familiar opponents who know how much he can hurt them. One thing that has Rodriguez so high on this list is I think he can play just about anywhere on defense, which will allow his bat to hit the gas on his promotion schedule.”
That’s me quoting me, a jolly-sounding Nick, on the lead up to Christmas, talking about a guy who’d only played rookie ball, but I’d double or triple down on all that stuff half-an-orbit later. Rodriguez graduated Low A in Kannapolis at 20, playing everyday shortstop and leading off. Now he’s at High-A Winston-Salem, doing the same, or batting 2nd like he did last night. It’s a tough but fitting assignment. Faced a hot Quinn Priester last night, and generally speaking, the leap from Low-A to High-A at this time of year is going to be extreme. New arms are funneling into that level, now that it’s the first place to get an affiliated, official pro game. Like, all the time. Then again, they’re not new humans. Just haven’t pitched at the level.
Sorry, tangent brain train is coming on strong here. Daughter is sick with coughing and wailing and moaning. Tough to keep thoughts on the tracks. Back to the skeleton.
While a bunch of teams would’ve likely developed Garrett Crochet as a starter, the Sox sent him straight to the majors, where he’s dominated from the jump. I mention Crochet here only because the club’s approach to Yoelqui Cespedes was likewise a half-step differently aggressive than I might’ve expected, but it’s working out well. An assignment to High-A for a 23-year-old isn’t stunning by any means, but after a long layoff from the game, Cespedes is performing admirably (129 wRC+) and will likely head to AA soon. I’ll have some egg on my face if Cespedes becomes an impact bat for our game because I’ve been a little dismissive of his potential. Should probably stop doubting the Sox, or at least check myself before I wreck myself spouting concerns about their process.
Except when it comes to the Yerminator. That was a mess.
Lucky for us, we’ve got something of a sequel on our hands in Texas C Yohel Pozo. Pick him up wherever you can. From first name to body type to batting stance to free-swinging minor league dominance that could carry over for an early career burst, Pozo looks like our best chance to melt the liquid metal of fantasy baseball judgment day.
From one Adonis to another, we check in on San Francisco heartthrob OF Diego Rincones, who has homered in his last two games, now slashing .400/.417/.686 in August. If the DH comes to National League Parks in 2022, we’ll see Rincones digging in at some point next year.
Staying in San Francisco, Luis Matos is making a play for top prospect in the system, from a fantasy perspective. Marco Luciano is striking out a lot in High-A, which, like I said, shouldn’t really concern us much because that jump is huge right now, and Matos hasn’t made it yet, but I have no concerns about Matos making contact all the way up the chain, and I think he’ll maintain speed and power at every level (11 HR, 18 SB this year). If Luciano keeps whiffing, and Matos joins him in High-A without missing a beat, the debate happening inside my head this morning will be echoed throughout the interwebs.
Stil in San Fran where everything looks good, Armani Smith is putting himself on the fantasy map. He’s 23 in High-A, so grain of salt and such, but he’s hitting well and, more interestingly for our purposes, talking shop on Roger Munter’s There R Giants Podcast, where Smith explains how the Giants employ virtual reality–something I cannot imagine most teams have at the ready on the road in A-ball. Really interesting stuff, timing young hitters for how long it takes them to recognize spin, location, pitch type against the best in the game. I know Mookie Betts popped for blowing by the records on the Red Sox vision and reaction time VR stuff way back when, and I would be absolutely thrilled to see what each team has in this regard, how far down it goes within the system, and how the players feel about it. Pretty clear in the interview that Armani Smith loves it and gets a lot of out it. Couldn’t help but wonder while listening if the team knew he was saying the stuff he was. I doubt he was giving away a whole lot that other teams don’t know; it’s just we rarely get that clear a look at something a team might want to keep secret.
One more Giant and I’m sorry for focusing on them so much but they’re on fire. Could just talk exclusively about the Giants, Reds and Dodgers and do a fairly decent job covering the minors these days. Hell might as well do two more Giants with that intro: RHPs Ryan Murphy and Prelander Berroa. Murphy is one of the guys making High-A hard on hitters, having tossed two shutout starts there since his promotion. He’ll turn 22 in October and will likely open next season in AA after thrashing opponents all year (132 Ks in 86.1 IP) in 2021, his first pro season after being drafted in the 5th round of 2020. Berroa is a 21-year-old who’s struck out 99 guys in 69.2 IP and is likely to join Murphy in Eugene before the season ends. He’s 5’11” and features a whiff-heavy combination of rising fastball atop the zone and wipeout slider down and out. Seems to be really getting the hang of that one-two punch, rocking a 24.4 K-BB rate over his last ten starts.
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