Under the Radar Prospects: White Sox

A recap of the Jorge Polanco trade and a look at a few under the radar White Sox prospects

Twins Deal Polanco to Mariners

Last night, the Minnesota Twins sent Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Justin Topa, Anthony DeSclafani, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Darren Bowen. From the Mariners perspective, they traded a few bats earlier in the offseason, and this move helps rebuild their lineup at a reasonable cost. Adding to the lineup is something the Mariners needed to do if they intend to contend in 2023, and this trade is a step towards fulfilling that goal.

The Twins perspective is a bit more interesting, as they are clearly contenders in the weak AL Central. Typically, you wouldn’t want to give up a player like Polanco, but they have a strong group of middle infielders behind him, led by former 1st round pick Brooks Lee. This trade is a clear sign they believe Lee will be up sooner rather than later. As far as the players they got in return, Topa and DeSclafani will shore up a pitching staff that is in need of more depth. Topa will slot in as a middle reliever, with DeSclafani likely getting the #5 starter job, or providing long relief depth out of the pen.

The two prospects, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Darren Bowen, likely won’t crack the big-league squad for a couple years but are both interesting players. Gonzalez repeated Single-A this past season as a 19-year-old and absolutely torched the California League before getting promoted High-A Everett midway through the year. He struggled in Everett, but he was also roughly 3.5 years younger than the rest of the league and playing in a tough hitting environment. Overall, it was an impressive year from Gonzalez. He has some pop and is a strong defender in right, with the typical hit tool concerns most teenage power hitting prospects possess. Darren Bowen is the prototypical Mariners pitching prospect, as he throws from a very flat approach angle and gets plenty of swing and miss up in the zone. A 13^th round pick from UNC Pembrook in 2022, he has out pitched expectations so far, and has a shot at rising through the Twins system quickly. He has some command issues, but he grades out as a #5 starter for me.

Overall, this is a reasonable trade for both sides. The Mariners get much needed hitting support, and the Twins get needed pitching depth and a couple of long-term prospects.

-David Gerth

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Under the Radar: White Sox

The 2023 season was a step backwards for the White Sox, as their once talented core seemed to evaporate as the year went on. Ultimately, the South Siders finished in 4th place in the American League Central with a 61-101 record and the 4th worst winning percentage in baseball. With a new regime in place, the White Sox are likely headed for a rebuild — one that may be difficult due to a mostly barren farm system and a lagging player development apparatus. Despite these challenges, we’ve identified some potential prospects that may have more upside than the current industry consensus has thus far recognized.

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Michael Turner, C - Chicago White Sox

The White Sox drafted the now 25-year-old Michael Turner in the 9th round of the 2022 draft. Turner made his debut in 2022, but accumulated just eight plate appearances. In his first full season, Turner hit .309 / .430 / .441 with four home runs across 377 plate appearances over 92 games between Single-A and High-A (67 of those games were spent behind the plate). A strong performance, but mostly against younger, less experienced players. Turner led all of the White Sox minor leaguers, with at least 300 plate appearances, with a 144 wRC+ and his 1.10 BB/K ratio was the second best in the organization. Further, Turner’s 5.6 whiff percentage was also the second lowest in the system. Turner lacks power and is mostly a gap-to-gap line drive hitter — a tendency evidenced by his line drive rate of 29.4% (highest in the organization). Due to Turner’s age and collegiate experience, while also playing a premium position, the White Sox could quickly advance him through the system if he continues to perform against upper level competition.