Sure he can walk a lot of guys, but this righty reliever has the tools to prove efficiency at the next level
Chase Plymell
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´4´´
205 pounds
Age: 26
First Appearance on the South Side Sox Top 100
2024 High Level Charlotte (Triple-A)
Age relative to high level -1.0 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system 17
Overall 2024 stats 5-2 ⚾️ 38 games (2 finishes) ⚾️ 76 1⁄3 IP ⚾️ 3.42 ERA ⚾️ 1.179 WHIP ⚾️ 53 K ⚾️ 25 BB
Chase Plymell grew up in central Missouri, and began his journey to MLB playing for State Fair Community College in his hometown before transferring to University of Central Missouri for his last two years of college ball. Because the pandemic cut his 2020 season short, Plymell was able to return to UCM in 2021 and was phenomenal, with a 1.88 ERA over 31 1⁄3 innings.
Chase went undrafted in 2021, but began drawing the attention of MLB scouts with his performance in 14 games in the MLB Development League. The White Sox jumped on the opportunity to sign Plymell that September, giving him his first pro experience (ACL White Sox, two hitless innings).
Plymell had a relatively decent start in his full season as a pro, with the Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers; though he didn’t have a dominating campaign he still had many strong outings and flashes of talent. Over 34 1⁄3 innings with the Ballers, Chase posted a 4.19 ERA and a 1.340 WHIP, though his 2.71 FIP tells a bit of a different story when you remove the factors that he can’t control as a pitcher. Plymell had a 29.7% K% compared to a 4.8% BB%, walked only seven batters, and he was able to force a ground ball nearly 45% of the time — proving his skills as legitimate.
Chase Plymell came out of the bullpen for the #Ballers after Sommer exits. He fills up the strike zone throwing 38 of 51 for strikes. He pitches the rest of the game and gets the W, allowing 2H and 0R’s. He stymies the Wood Ducks with 6 K’s. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/bsJEOO42j4
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) June 8, 2022
Plymell spent the second half of the 2022 season with the High-A Winston-Salem Dash, and his performance was not nearly as efficient. Plymell pitched for 27 2⁄3 innings with the Dash and ballooned his ERA to 7.81, with a K% dropped to 20.7%. His BB% was two times his walk rate in Low-A ball (12.9%) for 5.86 walks per nine innings (18 total). Chase finished with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.677 WHIP for the 2022 season, with a lot of work ahead of him in the offseason.
Plymell entered his second full year (2023) with the High-A Dash and made a lot of progress refining his performance at this level. In 26 games and 49 2⁄3 innings Plymell logged a 3.26 ERA, and while walks were still a bit of a challenge (12.9% BB%) he was at least able to raise his K% to 24.3%.
Chase Plymell doing Chase Plymell things. 21/29 for strikes. He K's 3 in 2 IP. #Dash #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/WDhBPUl87I
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) May 3, 2023
Plymell advanced to the Double-A Birmingham Barons to close out the season, but once again the midseason shift didn’t treat him well. Though it was a much smaller sample size, increased free passes continued to be detrimental to his overall stats and production. Plymell’s 8.50 ERA with the Barons was not a pretty way to end the season, and his WHIP inflated immensely (2.222). Batters posted a .337 batting average against him and were getting on base at a high rate from walks as well (6 BB/9).
The good news is that the volatility to Plymell’s performance leveled out in 2024 after working through the offseason. This past season, he split his time almost evenly between Birmingham and the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. For the first half of the season, he wasn’t striking out guys at as high of a rate as he was the last few years, but his BB% was significantly lowered (5.1%) and his 1.122 WHIP and 3.99 FIP were back into a more inspiring range.
Plymell put up a 3.42 ERA across the entire season, and actually had a stronger ERA (3.08) and opponent BA (.213) after moving up to Triple-A. But once again, control became an issue: A 5.92 K/9 laid up against a 4.03 BB/9 is tough to ignore.
Plymell’s top pitches that he relies on are his fastball and slider, which he throws 50.9% and 34.9% of the time, respectively. There’s about an 11 mph difference between the two pitches, as his fastball velocity averages out in the low-90s.
Plymell’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Walks 64
Durability 61
K/BB 57
Strikeouts 42
Hittable 37
vsPower 37
Average 49.67
Are you sick of talking about walks yet? Same, but in order for Plymell to continue to thrive in the higher levels, he will have to make adjustments as he returns to Charlotte to begin 2025. The good news for Plymell is that with every stall he’s encountered while moving up the ladder, he’s countered after an offseason of work and come back stronger.
100. Cole McConnell, CF
99. Drake Logan, LF
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
93. Loidel Chapelli, 2B
92. Eddie Park, CF
91. Chase Plymell, RHRP
