Opening day for the White Sox season was already a week ago, but the minor leagues are just getting started.
The four full-season White Sox affiliates all get started on Thursday. The opening day rosters for those teams show where the team’s top prospects are starting in 2019. Eloy Jimenez is no longer in the minor league system, but there are plenty of other talented prospects still making their push towards the majors.
Triple-A Charlotte
Dylan Cease making the move to Triple-A highlights the Knights roster. Cease is MLB Pipeline’s third-rated White Sox prospect behind Jimenez and Michael Kopech.
He got promoted to Double-A Birmingham at the midway point of last season. Apparently a half season is all he needed to get moved up again. Cease could be on the Kopech track of getting promoted to the White Sox sometime in the second half of 2019. He could potentially come up earlier than Kopech’s August 21 debut if things go well in Charlotte. Kopech struggled for extended stretches in 2018 before going on a run that led to his promotion.
MLB
On the hitting side, catcher Zack Collins and Seby Zavala both make the move from Double-A. The timeshare between the two will be something to watch, especially considering Collins still needs to prove he can stick at catcher long-term.
Double-A Birmingham
The Barons don’t have a headline prospect like Cease, but there are plenty of notable bats worth tracking in the lineup. The outfield is chock full of prospects with Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez and Luis Alexander Basabe. Basabe is starting the year on the injured list with a broken bone in his hand and could return in late May.
Micker Adolfo is another big bat in the Barons’ lineup, but will be limited to DH while still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Rutherford, Gonzalez and Adolfo will all be making their Double-A debuts. In the infield, Laz Rivera and Gavin Sheets are top 20 prospects also making the jump to a new level.
There aren’t as many eye-catching names on the pitching staff. Reliever Tyler Johnson is still at extended spring training, but is expected to join Birmingham when he returns from injury. Johnson is a potential quick riser who could reach the White Sox bullpen at some point in 2019.
Single-A Winston-Salem
Top-five prospects Nick Madrigal and Luis Robert both return to Winston-Salem.
Madrigal could be a quick riser after hitting .306 in 26 games with the Dash last season after getting drafted. Robert is back in Winston-Salem after an injury plagued 2018 limited him to 50 games, 32 of which were with the Dash. Both players could find themselves in Birmingham soon.
On the mound, Alec Hansen will continue to try to regain his dominant 2017 form in which he led the minors with 191 strikeouts. He will do so with the Dash and out of the bullpen. Hansen finished 2018 in the Dash rotation, getting demoted from Birmingham. After walking 59 batters in 51 1/3 innings last season, the White Sox will be hoping for any sign of progress from Hansen.
Single-A Kannapolis
By the nature of the level, there aren’t as many high-profile prospects in Kannapolis. However, there are a few recent high draft picks.
Konnor Pilkington, a third-round pick last year, and Jonathan Stiever, a fifth-rounder in 2018, are both slated for the Intimidators rotation.
Second-rounder Steele Walker returns to Kannapolis after hitting .186/.246/.310 in 31 games in the South Atlantic League last season.
Younger prospects Bryce Bush, Amado Nunez and Lenyn Sosa move up to Kannapolis after impressing in rookie ball last summer.
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