Wrangling 2020 White Sox prospects: Onward and upward

Luis Robert speaks to the media at SoxFest 2020 (Photo by Josh Nelson)

It’s prospect week at Sox Machine.

Since the relaunch of this site, I’ve used the final full week before spring training to categorize the White Sox farm system. If you’re a relative newcomer to the community, here’s last year’s rundown.

One change of note: I’m using “wrangling” instead of “grouping” because 1) there’s some visual alliteration there, and 2) I got tired of triple-checking that I included the “u” in every instance, lest I stumble into my very own “Dog Fister” brush with infamy. I suppose I could find unintentional vulgarity by forgetting the “r,” but that result would be too absurd to be upsetting.

Just like last year, let’s open with the players whose 2019 performances were more or less unimpeachable. If I had higher standards, this post would only include three players, not five. But I’m equally concerned with posts being of reasonable lengths, so I shifted a couple guys who would normally fall into the “big questions” post under “age for level.” Indeed, they’re on the older side, but they forced their way onto a 40-man roster that didn’t look hospitable for players of their position, so we can tip our hats to that.

FULL SPEED AHEAD

Players who only have to prove their games hold up at the highest levels

Luis Robert: A year ago, Robert had been only able to flash maybe 2½ of his five tools, and maybe 2 out of 5 games. His thumb hampered him throughout the season and limited him to just 50 regular-season games, although he was able to pick up extra work (and some momentum) in the Arizona Fall League.

In this post last February, I set the goal for 100 games. He played 122. I didn’t set any offensive benchmarks, but it probably wouldn’t have been anywhere close to the .328/.376/.624 line he put up across the highest three levels of the White Sox farm system. Maybe I would’ve said “30 doubles,” “10 triples,” “30 homers” or “30 stolen bases” as individual targets, but not all at the same time. The production was ludicrous.

The 19-percent gap between his strikeout and walk rates is the only reason to suppress enthusiasm about his early chances, especially since he’ll be playing in his first-ever March and April games above the Mason-Dixon Line. His strike zone is large for reasons good (plate coverage) and bad (pitch recognition), and sometimes he can get disoriented for a game or two, or whenever Keith Law is in attendance. Robert had five games with three or more strikeouts over the last month at Charlotte.

But Robert plays a real center field, and he can generate hits and bases where others don’t see them due to his motor and horsepower, so he stands a good chance at contributing even while he’s figuring it out. Clearing the bar for White Sox center field improvement only requires lifting one’s feet.

Nick Madrigal: After an unremarkable showing in his pro debut in 2018 — likely hampered by the wrist he broke that February — Madrigal delivered on his potential by hitting .311/.377/.414 acrosss three levels, drawing 44 walks to just 16 strikeouts over 532 plate appearances. Madrigal made contact on nearly 95 percent of his swings, by far the most in the minors. He also plays a strong second base, with quick actions making up for a lack of true arm strength.

There’s an MLB player in this profile all raring to go in the Marco Scutaro/David Eckstein/Placido Polanco mold. The question comes down to power, and whether he can get to even 10 homers in a season. He doesn’t need to, but he needs to scare MLB pitchers enough to draw 50 walks or so.

In his interview with 670 The Score, new White Sox hitting Frank Menechino tried to impress upon him the idea of a smaller attack zone down in Charlotte.

“He’s got short movement to the ball, and he can put the ball in play, but sometimes that’s a bad thing. […] When you can put the ball in play and you can hit a lot of different balls in the strike zone, you start offering at a lot of different pitches instead of being greedy and saying, “I know I can hit that, but I’m going to wait for this that I can really hit good.”

Menechino went on to say that he wants Madrigal to use that bat-to-any-ball ability with two strikes, when any contact is paramount.

TRENDING UP

The players who cleared their biggest hurdle of 2019, with work remaining

Jonathan Stiever: Nobody raised their stock more in the White Sox farm system than Stiever, who rose from relative obscurity (fifth round in 2018) and posted the most impressive season among starting pitchers. Granted, Dylan Cease lost his prospect status and Michael Kopech, Dane Dunning and Jimmy Lambert all dealt with Tommy John surgery, but Stiever would’ve stood out even with some measure of competition.

Stiever racked up 154 strikeouts against just 27 walks over 145 innings divided evenly between Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, and he was far more effective at the tougher level (2.15 ERA, compared to 4.74). He seems to have settled on a riding fastball/power curve approach that works for him. The slider and changeup seem farther behind, but he’s regarded as plenty athletic, which lessens concerns about repeating a delivery. With one year of substantial adjustments under his belt, the idea is that further improvement — command, a changeup — is more a matter of fine-tuning. That’s if he stays healthy, as Kopech, Dunning, Lambert and others can attest.

Danny Mendick: After a decent, well-rounded season in Birmingham at age 24 in 2018, Mendick had two challenges in front of him: Do it again at Triple-A, and hope some of the mess in front of him cleared out.

Sure enough, he hit .279/.368/.444 at Charlotte, he performed well enough in limited action during his September call-up, and infielders previously blocking him like Jose Rondón and Yolmer Sánchez are no longer in the system.

The White Sox haven’t yet acquired a veteran infielder, so Mendick has a little bit of control over his destiny for the first time in his career. He might not be able to keep Nick Madrigal down, but he could inherit the Rondón role as the primary infield backup. His greatest strength is a lack of weaknesses, and his greatest weakness is a lack of strengths. He plays three infield positions passably, but he’s not the best defender at any. He can hit a homer, but his power is subject to ballpark forces. He drew walks in the minors, but has to scare pitchers before finding them in the majors. He can hit both righties and lefties, but crushes neither.

He might end up falling down the memory hole like Rondón, Tyler Saladino and so many others, but coming out of Northeast schools and the 22nd round, he’s already accomplished plenty.

Yermin Mercedes: Writers love him for the reason scouts don’t — his swing leaves nothing to the imagination. It worked for him in 2019, as he hit .317/.388/.581 between Birmingham and Charlotte. He clubbed 23 homers over 95 games while striking out just 67 times. He was partially a creation of BB&T Ballpark (1.117 home OPS), but he also fared well on the road, and he hit well in Birmingham while so many others failed.

The White Sox acted as though they weren’t prepared for his success. They didn’t call him up in September — and DH at-bats were available — but they added him to the 40-man roster as one of five catchers. And is Mercedes even a catcher? He actually grades out well as a receiver, but his motions behind the plate are lacking, and he doesn’t have the reputation for game-calling, either.

Mercedes is a tweener in a lot of senses, but considering he was 26 before the season and has spent his entire pro career serving as bat-first catching depth in the lower levels, forcing the organization to consider him is a feat unto itself. Now we’ll watch him air it out in spring training and see what happens.

Coming Tuesday: Injuries and relievers.

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SonOfCron

Hopefully Robert’s hair is the most disappointing thing about him all season.

lil jimmy

I die my hair brown to hide the orange. This photo gives me the courage to let it grow out.

GoGoSoxFan

You’d look good in an orange Mohawk. Go for it lj.

Jason.Wade17

Let’s be honest, you are using the term “wrangling”, because now as a Nashville native, you have a certain quota of cowboy phrases to meet.

Papa Giorgio

Everybody wangling chung tonight