Even though the 2024 White Sox are terrible, the starting rotation looks promising. Led by blossoming ace Garrett Crochet and free agent signing Erick Fedde, the starting rotation is easily the best aspect of the team. And this is just the beginning. The pitching depth throughout the organization is deeper than it has been in a long time.
While Fedde will almost certainly get dealt at the trade deadline, the White Sox current starting rotation will still feature several talented arms who will likely be here for a while even after his departure. 24-year-old Garrett Crochet has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season and will likely be an All-Star. 23-year-old Jonathan Cannon is coming off the best start of his MLB career and seems to be finding his footing at the MLB level. 23-year-old Drew Thorpe struggled in his last start, but he is a top prospect for a reason and will likely be in the White Sox rotation for years to come.
It is not just the major league rotation that looks promising. The White Sox minor league pitching depth also looks better than it has in a long time. 24-year-old Nick Nastrini is currently in AAA with the Charlotte Knights and has struggled this season, but he has a pedigree for a reason and will hopefully bounce back sooner rather than later. 24-year-old Sean Burke is also in the Knights’ rotation. We could also see them in Chicago later this season once Fedde, Chris Flexen, and Mike Clevinger depart at the trade deadline.
The White Sox AA starting rotation is arguably the most stacked rotation in minor league baseball. The Birmingham Barons rotation features 20-year-old Noah Schultz, 22-year-old Jairo Iriarte, 23-year-old Tyler Schweitzer, 24-year-old Ky Bush and Mason Adams, and 25-year-old Jake Eder. All of these pitchers are some of the top pitching prospects in the White Sox organization and will undoubtedly be part of the team’s future pitching staff at the MLB level over the next few years.
The High A Winston-Salem Dash rotation also features several intriguing young pitchers in the form of 21-year-old Tanner McDougal, 22-year-old Juan Carela, 23-year-old Peyton Pallette, and 24-year-old Riley Gowens. Similarly, the Low A Kannapolis Cannonballers rotation has several exciting arms as well in 22-year-old Grant Taylor, Lucas Gordon, Seth Kenner, and 21-year-old Aldrin Batista.
Even the rookie leagues of the White Sox farm system have potential gems. 19-year-old Christian Oppor leads the staff in the Arizona Complex League, while 17-year-old Orlando Suarez has been performing well in the Dominican Summer League. This wave of pitchers will take longer to develop, but the White Sox have had issues with their starting pitching depth in the lower levels of the minors in recent years. Not anymore.
While the White Sox already have more pitching depth in the minors than they have had in a long time, the names listed above will be only some of the organization’s promising young arms. The team will add even more pitching to the system within the next month through the draft and their haul at the trade deadline. The pool of young pitching in the organization will only get deeper.
Not every pitching prospect the White Sox have will pan out or even reach the big leagues. That is just the nature of MLB and prospect development. However, with Brian Bannister, the White Sox director of pitching leading the way, the pitching pipeline the organization has built is looking better than it has in a long time. Having so many promising young pitchers competing for rotation spots in the minors is a great problem to have. Building a deep stable of arms is crucial, especially for an organization like the White Sox who do not spend big money on free-agent pitching. They have to develop their own starting pitchers to succeed in the long run. And they are definitely on the right track in this regard.
