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White Sox prospect update: Checking in on Jared Kelley, Jonathan Stiever, Yoelqui Céspedes and more
White Sox assistant GM Chris Getz discusses a group of White Sox prospects to keep an eye on.
theathletic.com
Giving the Athletic a little free publicity here from behind the paywall. Top future pitchers are getting straightened out - lots of minor league strength in the middle infield:
White Sox prospect update: Checking in on Jared Kelley, Jonathan Stiever, Yoelqui Céspedes and more
By James Fegan Aug 5, 2021
The White Sox turned strong years from Konnor Pilkington and Bailey Horn into deals for César Hernández and Ryan Tepera last week, but much of their farm system could be discussed along similar lines as 2019 second-round pick Matthew Thompson. The full-season assignment for the 20-year-old right-hander at Low-A Kannapolis was challenging. The surface-level numbers (6.47 ERA, 12.6 percent walk rate) are unappetizing. But the real focus is how he closes the final six weeks.
“We knew that their first full season wasn’t going to be smooth sailing or necessarily up to perhaps even their expectations,” said assistant general manager Chris Getz. “It was really about how they finished and the last two months of their season, certainly more important than their first two months. And to see Matt put together a couple quality starts here recently has been really encouraging.”
Thompson returned from the injured list for a hip flexor issue in July, and his last two starts have seen him allow just a solo home run over 11 innings, striking out a batter per frame while issuing just one walk, as his velocity trended into the mid-90s. The White Sox would prefer all their pitching prospects to have pristine hip flexors, and 2019 third-round pick Andrew Dalquist‘s season attests that they don’t need IL stints to manage workloads. But as they’ve implored Thompson to involve his changeup earlier in his game plan, Getz found a silver lining in Thompson taking a mid-season break to observe how other pitchers work through their outings.
And it doesn’t take long to glean that Thompson has probably watched more than his teammates, and mixed in a Marcus Stroman start or two. With his red socks regularly hiked up to his knees, Thompson seems to love pausing in his delivery like Stroman and balancing on his back leg with his front foot frozen in the air, just to throw off opposing hitters trying to time him up. Since Thompson’s early years in the organization were focused on riding his back leg to improve his four-seam fastball ride, it’s a welcome skill, even if it’s not something that’s precisely taught.
“It speaks to his athleticism, and then also the understanding of how to help his attack against hitters,” Getz said. “We do like building a foundational consistent delivery. However, we want Matthew to be confident, to be himself out there. So from time to time, when he alters his timing, we’re OK with it. And we’ve reached a point where we feel like he’s really about to take off here.”
In his return from an IL stint for forearm soreness, 2020 second-round pick Jared Kelley does not have the same level of momentum apparent in his results. The 19-year-old’s best outing to date was the three scoreless innings he threw in late May before his injury, and with his 22 walks in 18 2/3 innings this year spiking his ERA, the focus is more on the raw elements the Sox are trying to build out in Kelley’s first real professional season. Already in possession of what scouts view as a plus changeup, Getz says the biggest focus for Kelley has been sharpening a reliable slider, which he is also trying to pair with a more consistent shape on his 95-97 mph fastball. Right now, Kelley’s fastball does a lot of different things, and the Sox are getting him to be in more control of what it does and where he targets it in the zone, and for which purpose.
“It’s more of a natural running fastball,” Getz said. “That’s connected a bit to his arm stroke and the consistency of his arm stroke. If you look at the axis of his fastball, it’ll fluctuate at times. When he locks it in, it’s pretty good and more of a riding fastball than a running fastball. But as his career progresses, I could see Jared as a guy that uses multiple fastballs, perhaps like a Lance Lynn-type. But as we want to continue to build a strong foundation, we’re trying to simplify things.”
After an IL stint, Jared Kelley is working to find his form in his first full professional season. (USA Baseball)
The most encouraging point of Dalquist’s season might have come Wednesday afternoon, as he struck out a career-high eight over 4 2/3 innings, with Baseball America’s Josh Norris reporting that he touched the 97 mph velocity band that he was touted as having the projectable frame for, but is flashing for the first time. For a first professional season, Dalquist taking the ball on schedule 16 times this year and staying healthy as his innings and pitch count have slowly ratcheted up might be one of his biggest accomplishments. As with the other members of this prep pitcher trio, 34 walks in 55 1/3 innings have discolored his ERA (5.53), but Dalquist’s athleticism and repeatable motion give him a specific toolset to believe this should be a temporary ailment as the Sox work with him on a number of delivery cues.
“He walks into this season with four quality pitches, and you can project those to be quality pitches not only in Kannapolis, but as a major leaguer,” Getz said. “He has been probably the most consistent amongst that trio, but we know there’s more in there. Drew is a very, very sharp kid. Very determined, asks a lot of questions. Always, always listening, and now it’s about applying all that information.”
Look at Jonathan Stiever‘s strikeouts (27.2 percent) and walks (8.6 percent) at Triple-A Charlotte, and it’s easy to imagine an alternate world where the 24-year-old is providing pitching depth to the major league club rather than representing another arm the Sox believe is better than his surface numbers (6.05 ERA). Between the oddities of bouncing between the alternate site, the taxi squad, a relief outing as the 27th man, and having the bandbox of Truist Field as a home stadium at Triple A, Getz is looking beyond 12 home runs allowed in 64 minor league innings.
“Jonathan’s had a very solid season in a very unusual year,” Getz said. “Thankfully, there’s some necessary adjusted numbers that help us in a ballpark like Charlotte, that you see some very encouraging signs. And we’ve certainly seen what we’ve seen in the past from Jonathan Stiever, when he was in A-ball.”
Acknowledging it could be next year or even still this one when Stiever next has the opportunity to help the White Sox, Getz said he’s “very confident” that he will prove to be a major league starter despite a strange progression since dominating the Carolina League in 2019. Since that breakout, Stiever has not experienced the straight-line path of progressing through Double A, but Getz points to the raw ingredients, including his 2019 mid-90s velocity returning.
“You look at the fastball, you look at the slider, the way the consistency of the curveball continues to get better where it was a little shaky early on, and there’s days when the changeup’s been solid as well,” Getz said. “The repertoire is there. He’s a physical kid, loves to compete, has four pitches. He’s a major league starter.”
