Chicago White Sox Roster
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The Chicago White Sox have an opening in their starting rotation after they designated right-hander Brad Keller for assignment, but manager Pedro Grifol didn't sound like he was jumping at the chance to give right-hander Michael Soroka another shot in the rotation. "Soroka had a good [relief] appearance, but I don't know if he's going to be the guy we want to do that. "We'll make that move when we have to, which would be Wednesday-Thursday," Grifol said. The 26-year-old Soroka was recently demoted to the bullpen, but he looked much better in a long-relief role on Saturday, tossing four scoreless innings while striking out seven. However, he did walk four and has surrendered 33 runs (31 earned) on 42 hits (10 home runs) while walking 24 and striking out 24 in 43 2/3 innings in his nine starts. We don't blame the White Sox for being hesitant to go back to Soroka as a starter.
In 2023, Chicago White Sox shortstop prospect Brooks Baldwin posted impressive numbers in 93 minor-league games. Splitting time between Low-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem, he slashed .269/.349/.460 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 58 RBI, and 42 walks. As a result, he was assigned to Double-A Birmingham to begin the 2024 season. So far, Baldwin has been even better. Through his first 155 plate appearances, he's slashing .353/.439/.474 with 10 doubles, two home runs, 21 RBI, and 19 walks. Despite the dip in his home-run rate, Baldwin has shown he can excel at the Double-A level. At the beginning of the season, he was just the 24th overall prospect in the White Sox's farm system, according to MLB.com. If he keeps playing well, he'll almost certainly climb the leaderboards.
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher prospect Drew Thorpe was dominant through his first six starts in 2024. In 35 2/3 innings with Double-A Birmingham, he had allowed just 21 hits, four runs (1.01 ERA), and nine walks while collecting 33 strikeouts. However, in his seventh start, he gave up three runs in the first inning against Pensacola Blue Wahoos and was pulled after just two outs. Fortunately, Thorpe bounced back on Saturday against the Chattanooga Lookouts, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings, collecting seven strikeouts, and allowing just two hits and two walks. Overall, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 1.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 3.08 K/BB through his first eight appearances. Thorpe is a likely candidate to pitch in majors this season, making him a solid prospect stash in redraft formats.
Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hip) is expected to play in live games at the team's spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz., at some point this week. "We anticipate some game action later this week," general manager Chris Getz said. "He seems to have turned the corner and is trending well." The White Sox are bringing Robert along slowly as he deals with an injury similar to the one that caused him to miss more than three months in 2021. Once the 26-year-old begins playing in games, he'll be much closer to a return to Chicago's lineup, but the White Sox aren't going to rush the oft-injured outfielder back. There is no current timetable for his return, but the Cuban slugger should be stashed in an injured list spot in all fantasy formats. Robert was a first-time All-Star in 2023 but was hitting .214 (6-for-28) with two homers and four RBI in seven games at the time of his injury.
The Chicago White Sox are promoting their No. 1 pitching prospect Noah Schultz to Double-A Birmingham. Schultz, 20, is a consensus Top-50 prospect and one of the best pitching prospects on the farm. The left-hander was 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA for High-A Winston-Salem in seven starts with 42 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. The former first-round pick is in his second season in the White Sox system, but continues to impress with one of the best sliders in the minor leagues. Birmingham will be a good challenge for the 6'9 southpaw and managers in dynasty leagues should take note of his promotion as his progression could lead to his big-league debut as soon as 2025 or 2026.