22 hours ago22 hr In the game thread, CWS mentioned our diminished minor league pitching. I dug and found enough stuff to split it out for those interested. I looked from Draft class in 2020 to 2025. I had limited data from 20 and 21 but only in the last two years have we really drafted position players heavily.In 2020, picks 1-3 and 5 were pitchers. Only Crochet became something.2021 , limited data only 4 draftees I think still playing including Burke and McDougal picks 3 and 5.2022 10/20 draftees pitchers including 1-3 and 5-8. So far only notables are Schultz, Pallette and Cannon.2023 9/20 Draftees including 2,3,5,6,9,10. Only Taylor notable. MLB rated 12/22 top WS prospects pitchers with only Burke and Schultz in majors now.2024 Draft shifted to position players after H Smith at 1. MLB rated 13 of top 20 pitchers with Taylor and Leasure making MLB.2025 Draft again position player heavy with Gabe Davis at 5 the first pitcher and only 8 of 20 pitchers drafted most later.My takeaways ? They put a lot of resources into pitching via the number and often high rounds(granted 8-10 ish range often underslot senior signs) but have little to show for it currently. Injuries, poor development, poor evaluations all probably at work. It wasn't like a ton of guys were traded who became something. Currently 8 of top 20 are pitchers but all are returning from injury or struggling. The closest to an exception being Sandlin but he was delayed this spring. Hopefully some get healthy and can help in the second half but I was surprised how bad/bust rate things have been because I always thought of the Sox as decent to good developing pitching. (not a ton of high school arms who naturally take a little longer notable exceptions Schultz and McDougal) I would be very surprised if after a pick or two in this coming draft that they don't go very heavy pitching with college pitchers especially fourth round on. Anyway, my thoughts on a slow Monday.
20 hours ago20 hr I suspect most teams would look like this over a certain period of time. We've had bad luck with injuries and we've gotten nothing out of LA which is how a lot of clubs keep their staffs fed I'd wager. It's cheaper to invest 250k in some 16 year old over and over again than pay some 3rd round college pitcher his signing bonus, and the latin kid has a helluva lot less mileage on the arm and the rest will be in a pro environment. Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by chitownsportsfan
19 hours ago19 hr To add to the above, here are the over-slot pitchers since 2020. 20-2 (47) Kelley $1,419,800 21-3 (94) Burke $281,80021-5 (155) McDougal $510,00022-2 (62) Palette $340,800 22-3 (101) Cannon $319,00024-1 (5) Smith $236,30024-2c (68) Larson $200,40024-8 (229) Combs $15,30025-5 (137) Davis $53,100Why in the world pay overslot for 3 year college pitching? Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by GreenSox
19 hours ago19 hr For reference, when I look at the AA rotation listed on Roster Resource I see three non-drafted free agents and one minor league free agent. That leaves two guys who were drafted by the Sox or signed as international free agents in Gabe Davis (5th round pick) and Lucas Gordon (6th round pick).Back in 2024, the Barons’ rotation consisted of Noah Schultz, Drew Thorpe, Mason Adams, Jairo Iriarte, Ky Bush, Jake Eder, Tyler Schweitzer, & Riley Gowens. Every single one of those guys made 10+ starts for the Barons.Just a massive fall-off in terms of talent. Obviously that 2024 AA rotation was highly inflated due to a lot of sell-off trades, but take half of them and it would still blow the 2026 version out the water.And the real problem is the High A & Low A rotations reflect the same types of talent, which is a lot of undrafted free agents, college Sr. picks, and other draft picks in the 11 to 20 rounds. There is only one LatAm signing in any of the three rotations I mentioned. LatAm has always been a problem to some extent, but it shows its ugly face much more when don’t have a regular reinforcements.
18 hours ago18 hr 1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:For reference, when I look at the AA rotation listed on Roster Resource I see three non-drafted free agents and one minor league free agent. That leaves two guys who were drafted by the Sox or signed as international free agents in Gabe Davis (5th round pick) and Lucas Gordon (6th round pick).Back in 2024, the Barons’ rotation consisted of Noah Schultz, Drew Thorpe, Mason Adams, Jairo Iriarte, Ky Bush, Jake Eder, Tyler Schweitzer, & Riley Gowens. Every single one of those guys made 10+ starts for the Barons.Just a massive fall-off in terms of talent. Obviously that 2024 AA rotation was highly inflated due to a lot of sell-off trades, but take half of them and it would still blow the 2026 version out the water.And the real problem is the High A & Low A rotations reflect the same types of talent, which is a lot of undrafted free agents, college Sr. picks, and other draft picks in the 11 to 20 rounds. There is only one LatAm signing in any of the three rotations I mentioned. LatAm has always been a problem to some extent, but it shows its ugly face much more when don’t have a regular reinforcements.I wouldn’t be mad if they pulled an Angels and drafted pitching with every pick (after #1 of course). Maybe sprinkle in a couple outfielders too, but pitching is definitely the biggest need of this organization currently.
17 hours ago17 hr I know high school pitching is a risky demographic, but it's also a huge strength of this class. I'm popping a few high ceiling prep arms if I'm Shirley. Especially with the savings that are going to come with the first pick. The system is in desperate need of arms.
17 hours ago17 hr 27 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:I wouldn’t be mad if they pulled an Angels and drafted pitching with every pick (after #1 of course). Maybe sprinkle in a couple outfielders too, but pitching is definitely the biggest need of this organization currently.Ideally we go Roch or Lackey in the 1st, Thome in the 2nd, overslot HS prep pitchers in rounds 3 & 4, and a whole lot of college pitching thereafter.Kannapolis’ lineup is young and guys may need to repeat. And there is some talent in the ACL and possibly DSL that will be ready for full season shots next year. Throw in Thome and I think we can survive one pitching heavy draft.
17 hours ago17 hr Drafting MI has worked out well for the Sox. Our SS, 1B and LF as well as #1 prospect are MI. We seem to be pretty good at it. Keep drafting that way and trade some for pitching prospects? The #2 pick for the Angels in their all-pitcher draft is a member of the Sox!
17 hours ago17 hr 53 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:I wouldn’t be mad if they pulled an Angels and drafted pitching with every pick (after #1 of course). Maybe sprinkle in a couple outfielders too, but pitching is definitely the biggest need of this organization currently.Drafting pitching definitely makes sense, but lets not try to model anything after the Angels please lol.
13 hours ago13 hr 4 hours ago, GreenSox said:Drafting MI has worked out well for the Sox. Our SS, 1B and LF as well as #1 prospect are MI. We seem to be pretty good at it. Keep drafting that way and trade some for pitching prospects? The #2 pick for the Angels in their all-pitcher draft is a member of the Sox!Vargas started out as a middle infielder as well...
13 hours ago13 hr 4 hours ago, DirtySox said:Drafting pitching definitely makes sense, but lets not try to model anything after the Angels please lol.Guardians Rays BrewersKeep it simple.
5 hours ago5 hr 12 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:Ideally we go Roch or Lackey in the 1st, Thome in the 2nd, overslot HS prep pitchers in rounds 3 & 4, and a whole lot of college pitching thereafter.Kannapolis’ lineup is young and guys may need to repeat. And there is some talent in the ACL and possibly DSL that will be ready for full season shots next year. Throw in Thome and I think we can survive one pitching heavy draft.Do you actually want Thome in the second? Or do you think they will just take him there because of Jim’s connections to the team?
4 hours ago4 hr Author It is almost another topic but I find it amazing that pitchers' salaries have increased as much as they have while their innings pitched just continue to nose dive. I am at the point of wondering if you should draft pitching and without a fair or team friendly extension, churn them like the NFL does with running backs. Think Brewers and Rays have kinda done that. Pitchers innings have dropped from 250>200>180>150 ish.
3 hours ago3 hr 1 hour ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:Do you actually want Thome in the second? Or do you think they will just take him there because of Jim’s connections to the team?Thome is a legit talent. I don't think he lasts to pick 77. He's ranked 54th at Overslot and 56th at BA. A non-zero chance he's even picked before 41. We've already heard suggestions that he will be telling teams his number is high, but would sign for less with Chicago. But I imagine other teams already suspect as such and might be willing to call his bluff.
2 hours ago2 hr 1 hour ago, BamaDoc said:It is almost another topic but I find it amazing that pitchers' salaries have increased as much as they have while their innings pitched just continue to nose dive. I am at the point of wondering if you should draft pitching and without a fair or team friendly extension, churn them like the NFL does with running backs. Think Brewers and Rays have kinda done that. Pitchers innings have dropped from 250>200>180>150 ish.Agreed.
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