White Sox beef up farm system with promising prospect haul

Associated Press The White Sox were active sellers before the trade deadline, and they added a neede

Before a flurry of trades that began on July 26, the White Sox's minor-league system was not good.

Now, it's not too bad.

"Quite candidly, going back three weeks to the draft, the entire month (of July) has been about putting the Chicago White Sox in as good a position possible as we can going forward," general manager Rick Hahn said. "Based upon what we were able to do in this year's draft and what we've been able to do at the (trade) deadline, the organization is much, much stronger for 2024 and beyond."

A miserable mass of Sox fans expecting a competitive team this year aren't paying much attention to the future, no matter how promising some of the new young talent appears to be.

But for outsiders like Baseball America, a publication devoted to minor-league baseball for over 40 years, the White Sox did quite well for themselves.

"Historically, only about one in five prospects traded at the deadline go on to have consequential major-league careers," Baseball America wrote. "Some of those can turn into stars, however, as Yordan Alvarez, Dylan Cease, Josh Hader and many others show."

Along with Eloy Jimenez, Cease was acquired by the White Sox from the Cubs in a 2017 deadline deal.

Did they land a new star this time around? Time will tell, but of the 56 minor-leaguers traded before this year's Aug. 1 deadline, Baseball America projected the Sox landed four of the Top 8.

Here they are:

Acquired from the Angels in the Lucas Giolito/Reynaldo Lopez deal, Quero was No. 3 on Baseball America's list.

"Quero is a switch-hitting catcher with an innate feel for the barrel from both sides of the plate and exceptional strike-zone discipline," BA wrote. "He's only 20 years old and should grow into double-digit home run power as he matures. His receiving, blocking and throwing all need to improve, but he projects to stick behind the plate and be an everyday, bat-first catcher."

Quero is playing for the White Sox's Class AA Birmingham affiliate. In 227 minor-league games since 2021, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder is hitting .279/.411/.450 with 25 home runs and 146 RBI.

Behind the plate, Quero has thrown out 75 of 200 attempted base stealers, a 27% success rate.

Acquired from the Dodgers for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly, Nastrini was rated No. 5 on Baseball America's prospect trade list.

"Nastrini is a physical right-hander with a power arm, but he has a history of control issues," BA wrote. "His fastball sits 93-96 (mph) and has touched higher, his slider is a swing-and-miss pitch and his power curveball and changeup are both average offerings. Nastrini has the stuff and physicality to be a mid-rotation starter, but he'll have to become more consistent with his delivery and mechanics to improve his control and fulfill that potential."

After going 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA and 85 strikeouts/37 walks over 17 starts (73⅔ innings) with Double-A Tulsa, Nastrini debuted with Birmingham Thursday and gave up 7 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4⅔ innings.

Acquired from the Marlins for Jake Burger, the left-handed starter checks in at No. 6.

"Eder returned from Tommy John surgery this year and is working his way back toward re-establishing himself as a potential mid-rotation starter," Baseball America wrote. "At his best, he has a fastball up to 94 mph with riding life, a plus slider he can manipulate the shape and break of, an average changeup and plus control."

The 24-year-old Eder, who the White Sox assigned to Birmingham, was a combined 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in 9 starts for Class A Jupiter and AA Pensacola this season.

Accompanying Quero in the Angels trade, Bush ranks No. 8 on the prospects list.

"Bush is a tall, 6-foot-6 left-hander with a well-rounded four-pitch mix," Baseball America wrote. "His sinking 92-95 mph fastball and plus slider give him two pitches to lean on, and he has enough control to be a solid back-end starter."

This has been a ragged season for Bush. After going 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA for AA Rocket City in the Angels' system, he was tagged for 7 runs on 12 hits and a walk over 3⅓ innings in his first start for Birmingham.