Chicago White Sox: Who to watch as pitchers and catchers report

What might we expect from this young squad of Chicago White Sox pitchers and catchers this spring?

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Day, Chicago White Sox fans!

Baseball season has finally arrived, and the arduous journey toward becoming a title contender again begins now for the South Siders.

Today, the first round of intriguing young stars, the ones running the battery, will start getting their work in at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix. Position players will report on Feb. 18.

Though guys like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Jake Burger will garner a lot of attention when that time rolls around, there’s plenty to talk about with the guys on the mound and behind the plate.

Six of the Chicago White Sox’s 10 top prospects are either a pitcher or a catcher, according to MLB.com’s Top 30 by team tab: RHP Michael Kopech (2), RHP Dylan Cease (5), RHP Alec Hansen (6), C Zack Collins (7), RHP Dane Dunning (8) and RHP Carson Fulmer (9).

And that doesn’t even mention a few prospects who started working into the Major League rotation last season (RHPs Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez specifically) and the still-young and intriguing left-hander Carlos Rodon.

Assuming health, Rodon, Giolito and Lopez should feature in the rotation to start the year along with James Shields.

We’ll revisit rotation projections at the end of the spring when things look a bit more concrete. But for now, let’s take stock of some of this young talent.

Kopech, in particular, has a chance to end up as the fifth starter on this team before the year is out.

Though the White Sox will likely prefer to let him work on his command at Class AAA Charlotte to start the season, his stuff is so electrifying that he’ll probably overwhelm AAA hitters as long as he keeps the ball in the zone. That, along with developing secondary pitches, will force the Chicago White Sox to call him up at some point.

Truth be told, Fulmer, who showed sharp improvement last season versus his first big-league stint with the Sox, could get a shot to break camp as a starter.

Experience will likely play a factor there. The former No. 8-overall pick has thrown more than 200 innings in AA or higher as opposed to 134 for Kopech. And again, with Kopech not even being 22 yet, there’s no rush to bring him up yet.

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Solid performances from Hansen, Cease and Dunning will decide the next stage in their development, with all possibly starting the season in AA Birmingham.

Hansen, who pitched 10 innings there last season, could make a play for AAA Charlotte with a big spring. Like with Kopech, developing his changeup is the key.

Collins, though, could provide an especially interesting look into the future of the Chicago White Sox this spring. We know that the kid can hit for power (19 home runs, 53 RBI, .445 in 113 minor league games last year). He also had 87 walks, which helped him build a healthy OBP of .370.

But can he: 1. cut down on the strikeouts (129 in 2017), and 2. keep improving his defensive skills?

Next: Jake Burger will surprise White Sox this spring

If he steadily improves, the White Sox will definitely give a look in September to assess where he is. And next year, who knows what can happen? It’s not like Welington Castillo, Kevan Smith and Omar Narvaez are overly imposing competition.

The Chicago White Sox have a long way to go before answering some of these questions about their young squad. But if you’re a fan, you can’t deny how fun watching the process unfold will be.