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Chicago White Sox: Will Reynaldo Lopez follow Yoan Moncada to the majors soon?

By Khari Thompson

(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Now that the Chicago White Sox have brought top prospect Yoan Moncada to the big leagues, it could be time for other prospects to follow in his footsteps. Is Reynaldo Lopez the next guy in line to make the leap?

By calling up Yoan Moncada, the Chicago White Sox gave their fans a first, long-awaited taste of their promising future. And though he went hitless, Moncada looked ready for the stage, drawing an impressive walk in his first at-bat.

With their top prospect now in the big leagues, who’s the next man up for the White Sox? Yesterday, Rick Hahn hinted that a few players, like Moncada, might be ready for some major-league challenges. As such, White Sox fans can likely expect more young guns to arrive sooner rather than later.

Given the trades of Jose Quintana, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson, the South Siders’ next call-up figures to be a pitcher that can pitch from the bullpen or possibly spot start. Here’s how Hahn explained his “two-pronged” assessment of a pitcher’s major-league readiness to the Chicago Tribune’s Colleen Kane.

"“One is when they’ll have the opportunity to take the ball every fifth day, which obviously a trade like (the Jose Quintana deal) enhances that possibility,” Hahn said. “But two, and frankly far more importantly, is when we feel they’ve done everything they need to do at the minor-league level and they’re ready for that last stage of development that happens at the big-league level.”"

From that vantage point, a few guys may have to wait until September—when rosters expand from 25 to 40—to get their big-league work in. Michael Kopech, though overpowering hitters all year with a ridiculous 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, has less than 20 starts above A-ball and has no Class AAA experience. And while both Carson Fulmer and Lucas Giolito have major league experience, both have struggled at Class AAA Charlotte.

However, if you want someone that could get promoted before September, Reynaldo Lopez might be your guy.

The Case for Lopez

Part of the Adam Eaton-to-Washington-Nationals haul, Lopez has recently been on fire at Class AAA Charlotte. After hitting a mid-June rough patch, he has produced four quality starts in a row. Furthermore, he’s averaged more than eight strikeouts a game, including fanning twelve back on July 16th. And during that time, he has lowered his ERA from 4.48 to 3.78.

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Lopez certainly appears to have “done everything he needs to” in the minors to earn a promotion. For one, he now has pitched nearly 150 innings in Triple-A, combining his Nationals and Sox stints. Plus, he has shown the ability to adjust through adversity as well as produce dominant stretches.

Also, like Fulmer and Giolito, Lopez has previous experience as a September call-up last year. He pitched 44 total innings in 11 games for the Nationals last year (six starts), posting a 5-3 record, 42 strikeouts, 22 walks and an ERA of 4.91.

Naturally, those numbers illustrate typical growing pains for a young pitcher, as is expected from a first-time major leaguer. However, they also show that Lopez pitched comparatively better in the big leagues than his current Charlotte counterparts did in their call-up stints.

Then, look at this year: Lopez’s performance has been far more impressive than either Fulmer or Giolito. Factor that in, and he looks like an almost sure call-up within the next month. Of course, Fulmer and Giolito will be up in September along with other impressive prospects, like Kopech. But Lopez deserves his shot to come up next behind Moncada.

Next: Who's next on the trading block for the Chicago White Sox?

Hopefully, he can use this as momentum toward earning a spot in the Chicago White Sox’s rotation next year. Then, along with Moncada, he can start ushering Sox fans into the youth movement they’ve long been waiting for.

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