Loaded Class A Winston-Salem roster gives White Sox hope for the future
After winning their first two games of the season, the Chicago White Sox have gone 2-11 and been snowed out four times.
The Sox's pitching staff has the highest ERA (5.64) in baseball, and the offense was 5-for-62 with runners in scoring position before breaking out (8-for-20) in Wednesday's marathon 12-11 loss at Oakland in 14 innings.
Manager Rick Renteria likes the fight he has been seeing through a trying first three weeks of the season, but a lack of talent on the current 25-man roster is already being exposed.
Much like last year - the first season of the rebuild - many White Sox fans are already tuning out.
That doesn't mean they're completely turning off.
There is plenty to see in the Sox's minor-league system, starting at Class AAA Charlotte.
That's where Michael Kopech is pitching, and the 21-year-old righty is already making a strong push toward the majors with a 0.90 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10 innings over his first 2 starts.
Moving down to AA Birmingham, prized outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez was added to the Barons' roster Thursday after missing the first 13 games of the season with a strained pectoral muscle.
Like Kopech, Jimenez is on track to join the Sox at some point this season.
Dropping to the high Class A level, Winston-Salem is the team creating the most early excitement in the White Sox's system.
Former Sox infielder and Hall of Fame candidate Omar Vizquel is in his first year as the Dash's manager, and he was anxious for the season to start.
"I think the White Sox have one of the best farm systems there is right now with all of the trades that happened," Vizquel said. "Right after they traded (David) Robertson and (Tommy) Kahnle and (Jose) Quintana and (Todd) Frazier, I think the type of players that we got in return are top of the game. You've got to be excited to watch these guys play and have the opportunity to be around them."
Winston-Salem has been playing at an extremely high level in the early going, thanks to a roster stacked with prospects acquired in trades last season.
The Yankees got Robertson, Kahnle and Frazier in a July 18 deal that sent outfielder Blake Rutherford and three other players to the Sox. New York's first-round draft pick in 2016, Rutherford didn't show much in 30 games with low A Kannapolis after joining the White Sox.
The 20-year-old outfielder slashed .213/.289/.254 with no home runs and 5 RBI for Kannapolis, but the Sox weren't overly concerned.
"It was the first time he was traded and that can be tough to deal with," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "And at 20, he was one of the younger players in the (South Atlantic) league. He fits into that potential mold of a high-impact offensive player who can also help you defensively."
Much more comfortable in his surroundings this season, Rutherford was third in the Carolina League with a .357 batting average through Wednesday's play.
Teammate Micker Adolfo, who is Winston-Salem's designated hitter after an elbow injury in spring training removed him from the outfield, leads the Carolina League with a .364 average and is tied for first with 12 RBI.
Outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe is fourth in the league with a .353 average.
On the pitching side a pair of promising pitching prospects - Dane Dunning and Dylan Cease - are two of the top starters in the league.
Dunning, acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade, is 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA and a league-high 23 strikeouts. Cease, acquired with Jimenez in last July's trade that sent Quintana to the Cubs, is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15⅔ innings.
As an added bonus, outfield prospect Luis Robert is expected to join Winston-Salem's lineup at some point in May. Ranked No. 58 on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list, the 20-year-old Robert is recovering from a March 7 thumb injury.