South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 99: Will Kincanon

Will Kincanon
6´3´´
230 pounds
Age: 23
SSS rank among all right-handed relievers in the system: 17

Kincanon spent his first two collegiate seasons with Chicago-area Triton Junior College, transferring to Indiana State for his junior season. For the Sycamores in 14 starts, he posted pedestrian numbers: 79 innings, 5.24 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, allowing 82 hits (.264 OBA) and 35 walks but striking out 90. The White Sox saw enough to consider him a future reliever, ultimately drafting him in the 11th round in 2017 and signing him to a $150,000 bonus. With Great Falls in 29 2⁄3 innings of relief after the draft, Kincanon posted a solid 3.94 ERA and 1.25 WHIP — allowing 24 hits (.220 OBA) and 13 walks (10.2%) while striking out 29 (22.7%).

In 2018 with Kannapolis, Kincanon posted nearly identical numbers. In 26 games totaling 34 2⁄3 innings, he had a 3.63 ERA and 1.27 WHIP as he allowed just 29 hits (.218 OBA) and 15 walks (9.7%) compared to 42 strikeouts (27.3%).

Per MLB Pipeline in 2017, Kincanon’s fastball peaks at 97 mph, but usually runs 94-95— it’s a pitch that not only helps boosts his strikeout numbers, it’s also a heavy fastball that induces groundouts (his GO/AO rate is 2.02 for his career). His slider and changeup have proven to be quite effective, although they’ve been inconsistent at times. Kincanon should begin 2019 with Winston-Salem.

Take a look!

Bonus tracks

So, upon publishing this piece, we got the usual number of thumbs-ups and so forth on Twitter. But then, showing his sense of humor (or pure badassery), here’s how it progressed:

Well played, Will.