Another case of health driving fortunes, and in a crowded middle infield this first-rounder could drown
Braden Shewmake
Shortstop
6´3´´
200 pounds
Age: 27
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 31
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -1.7 years
SSS rank among all shortstops in the system 10
Overall 2023 Triple-A stats 122 games ⚾️ 16 HR ⚾️ 69 RBI ⚾️ .234/.299/.407 ⚾️ 39 BB ⚾️ 104 K ⚾️ 27-of-28 (96.4%) SB
Braden Shewmake came over to the White Sox in November as part of the massive trade for Aaron Bummer. With it were dashed any hopes for seeing time for a perennial division-winner/playoff club in the near future, as the drop from Atlanta to Chicago is as precipitous as they come.
Shewmake was Atlanta’s first-rounder in 2019, clawing his way up to get a two-game cup of coffee in the bigs in 2023. The lefthander raked at Texas A&M, but has struggled to get his footing in the upper minors: In 122 Triple-A games in 2023, Shewmake put up a .706 OPS with some decent power (16 HRs) but woeful on-base (.299). On the other hand, he made the most of his times on base by turning a lot of singles into doubles with STELLAR base-stealing (27 swipes, one time caught).
But Shewmake had a star-crossed season after coming to Chicago, with a sprained ankle in the middle of spring training just starting the cavalcade. The shortstop healed quickly enough to break camp with the big club, but played poorly in April (.125/.134/.203) and was flushed down to Charlotte, where he played only 10 games before another injury. That one, though deemed mild enough for just the seven-day IL on June 2, cost him the rest of 2024.
Barely still now even a prospect, in a perfect world Shewmake would have gotten playing time aplenty (a la Miguel Vargas) to see if he could sink or swim in the bigs (his skills didn’t disappear, going 5-for-6 in steals during his limited MLB action). But when a player is injured, there’s no chance for trial.
Shewmake’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Contact 79 (unchanged from last season)
Runs 66 (+2)
Speed 65 (-5)
Durability 56 (-16)
XBH 55 (-6)
Hitting 46 (-17)
RBIs 46 (-14)
Power 44 (-14)
Average Rating 57.13 (-8.75)
The good news for Shewmake, if there is any after a lost season coming at a huge opportunity cost, is that 2025 shapes up to be just as hopeless as 2024 was in the standings. More than ever, under zero pressure or expectation to win, the club should be rolling the bats and bag of balls out onto the field and rewarding time to the most worthy, pedigree be damned. Yes, every trade the White Sox make seemingly involved a Shewmakesque middle infielder nipping for playing time, but a worthy major-leaguer will win out, somewhere, sometime.
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
90. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHRP
89. Tristan Stivors, RHRP
88. Pierce George, RHRP
87. Wes Kath, 3B
86. Daniel González, LHRP
85. Mikey Kane, 1B
84. Shane Murphy, LHSP
83. Connor McCullough, RHSP
82. Braden Shewmake, SS
