When will White Sox roster transformation finally turn into wins?
What is the timeline for the roster transformation?
If Chicago White Sox fans had any say all of the top prospects would be called up tomorrow. Hahn happens to be a bit more patient, but it is reasonable to believe that a couple of those prospects will be in Chicago by the end of the summer.
Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech are the two top-rated players in the system, and though Hahn does not plan to rush them, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one or both of them in the big leagues this season. Jimenez got off to a slow start at AA Birmingham but is now treating the Southern League like it’s backyard wiffle ball.
https://twitter.com/jarvishart/status/993613902796738560
I think it's time for Eloy Jimenez to face AAA pitching https://t.co/X1b9DxI9hM
— Josh Nelson - Sox Machine (@soxmachine_josh) May 9, 2018
It’s tough to find anyone in the organization, or anywhere for that matter, who doesn’t believe that Jimenez will play in multiple All-Star games once he reaches the big leagues. Once he is up, he will join Moncada as one of the faces of the franchise going forward.
Kopech has been fairly dominant thus far at AAA Charlotte giving up 10 runs on 22 hits with 38 strikeouts over 30 innings. He has done this all while “developing” his changeup. Hahn would love for him to spend all of 2018 in Charlotte, but it doesn’t seem likely given the ineffectiveness of the White Sox starting pitching to this point.
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There is little doubt that Kopech is a top of the rotation starter; it’s only a matter of time. And that time will be sooner than later.
The White Sox don’t have MLB Pipeline’s No. 3-rated farm system because of just two guys. It’s a deep and talented system that includes several pitchers and position players that should be ready to contribute over the next couple of years.
The arrival of guys like Alec Hansen, Dane Dunning, Dylan Cease along with the return (hopefully) of Carlos Rodon could make for a dominating pitching staff. All three should see the big leagues by 2020 and possibly next season.
Outside of Jimenez and Kopech, the most heralded White Sox prospect might be Luis Robert. The 20-year old Cuban outfielder was the top-ranked international amateur prospect when the White Sox signed him this past offseason and with that comes high expectations.
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Robert is finally close to starting his season at Winston-Salem after a spring training injury. The expectation is that he will climb through the system quickly and should be on the big league roster by 2020. He would likely join Jimenez and possibly Blake Rutherford or Micker Adolfo in a stacked outfield.
The list of prospects goes on, but the general consensus seems to be that the White Sox will be contending by 2020 and could even make some noise next season.