South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 3

Congratulations, Michael Kopech!

With 75% of the vote (304 of 404 ballots), Kopech is South Side Sox’s No. 2 prospect for 2018.

Hey look, another position player now slides into the fray.

South Side Sox Top White Sox Prospects for 2018

1. Eloy Jimenez — 70% (Kopech 16%, Robert 11%, Hansen 2%, Cease 1%)
2. Michael Kopech — 75% (Robert 18%, Hansen 4%, Cease 2%, Dunning 1%)

Here are your choices for the third round of voting:

Dylan Cease, SP

2018 Age: 22

2017 High Level: Kannapolis (A)

Overall 2017 stats: 22 starts ▪️ 93 ¹⁄₃ IP ▪️ 3.28 ERA ▪️ 126 K ▪️ 44 BB ▪️ 1.27 WHIP

ZiPS MLB Projection: N/A

ZiPs Player Comp: N/A

Dylan Cease came to the White Sox along with Eloy Jimenez in the Jose Quintana trade and impressed during his Cactus League audition in 2018. Cease had Tommy John surgery in high school and got a slow start in his professional career, throwing just 24 innings in 2015, more than a year after he was drafted. In 2016, Cease threw 44 ²⁄₃ innings in the Northwest League, with 66 Ks and a 2.22 ERA. Last year he was dominant in low-A ball before being shut down with arm soreness. Cease will be in high-A Winston-Salem’s rotation to begin 2018, with advancement to Birmingham in the offing.

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Zack Collins, C

2018 Age: 23

2017 High Level: Birmingham (AA)

Overall 2017 stats: 113 games ▪️ 19 HR ▪️ 53 RBI ▪️ 87 BB ▪️ 129 K ▪️ .224/.370/.445

ZiPS MLB Projection: 15 HR ▪️ 46 RBI ▪️ 13.8 BB% ▪️ 36.9 K% ▪️ .175 ISO ▪️ .192/.305/.367 ▪️ 0.8 WAR

ZiPs Player Comp: Brian Deak

Zack Collins his been a mixed bag as a pro. The White Sox picked him No. 10 overall in 2016 almost exclusively due to his massive bat at the University of Miami. At Winston-Salem after the draft, Collins hit .258/.418/.467 with six homers, but carried a high 25.5 K%. There were doubts about his ability to catch at the major league level going into the draft, and Collins did little to alleviate those with his first pro games. In 2017, acquitted himself better behind the plate but struggled offensively, spending much of the season hovering at the Mendoza Line. The White Sox still believe he will be a major league catcher, assigning him to Birmingham to begin his second full minor league season, but questions still linger on both the offensive and defensive sides.

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Dane Dunning, SP

2018 Age: 23

2017 High Level: Winston-Salem (A+)

Overall 2017 stats: 26 starts ▪️ 144 IP ▪️ 2.94 ERA ▪️ 168 K ▪️ 38 BB ▪️ 1.15 WHIP

ZiPS MLB Projection: N/A

ZiPs Player Comp: N/A

Dunning arrived in the White Sox system in 2017 as the third piece — yes, third, along with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez — of the Adam Eaton trade with the Washington Nationals. In 2016, his first year in pro ball, Dunning dominated A-ball with a 2.02 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 33 ²⁄₃ innings. In 2017, Dunning quickly moved to Winston-Salem and had a 3.51 ERA and continued to show strikeout stuff with good control. Dunning has a low-90s fastball with sink and a mid-80s slider. As larry said in his writeup on Dunning, the White Sox were hot on the righthander’s trail in the 2016 draft, but Washington plucked him first; Chicago GM Rick Hahn may well have made it a priority to get Dunning in any potential trade with the Nats. Dunning opens the 2018 season back at Winston-Salem but is on the fast track for Birmingham.

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Alec Hansen, SP

2018 Age: 23

2017 High Level: Birmingham (AA)

Overall 2017 stats: 26 starts ▪️ 141 ¹⁄₃ IP ▪️ 2.80 ERA ▪️ 191 K ▪️ 51 BB ▪️ 1.17 WHIP

ZiPS MLB Projection: 146 ¹⁄₃ IP ▪️ 4.61 ERA ▪️ 144 K ▪️ 64 BB ▪️ ERA+ 106 ▪️ WAR 1.6

ZiPs Player Comp: Ron Darling

Hansen fell to the White Sox at 49th overall after falling out of his college rotation at Oklahoma due to wildness (7.0 BB/9). After some adjustments to his mechanics, Hansen took off, with a 1.32 ERA at rookie and low-A ball. In 2017, Hansen burned through the White Sox system, starting in Kannapolis and ending up in Birmingham, to the tune of a 2.80 ERA and 12.2 K/9 rate. Forearm soreness has slowed the start of Hansen’s season, but he remains a larry favorite and has had nothing but success in the White Sox system.

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Luis Robert, CF

2018 Age: 20

2017 High Level: Dominican Summer League (DSL)

Overall 2017 stats: 28 games ▪️ 3 HR ▪️ 17 RBI ▪️ 12 SB ▪️ .310/.491/.536

ZiPS MLB Projection: N/A

ZiPs Player Comp: N/A

Robert was the first big international signing from the White Sox since Jose Abreu, and the early returns indicate just as big a home run with this one. He’s shown a tendency to get banged up, however, and is currently sidelined with a thumb injury that keeps him out of action well into May, around the one-year anniversary of his signing. His early comp has pointed to a Vladimir Guerrero-type talent, although Robert projects to center field and is unlikely to golf home runs off a bounced pitch. Robert will be the primary Winston-Salem CF when he returns to action, with a promotion to Birmingham looming.

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