South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 56: Edgar Navarro

Edgar Navarro

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´1´´
230 pounds
Age: 25
2022 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.0 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system 10
Overall 2022 stats 4-2 ⚾️ 45 games (23 finished) ⚾️ 4 SV ⚾️ 54 1⁄3 IP ⚾️ 3.64 ERA ⚾️ 1.436 WHIP ⚾️ 69 K ⚾️ 41 BB

Edgar Navarro already was already old (20) for an international prospect when he signed with the organization in March 2018. Then, he suffered through a difficult season when he posted a 6.36 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 24 games totaling 58 innings, as he allowed 70 hits (.289 OBA) and 31 walks (10.7%) while fanning 60 (20.8%).

Despite serving up a large number of hits, Navarro’s numbers improved in 2019 — which should be expected for someone 2.7 years older than DSL average. Navarro posted a 4.20 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 23 outings totaling 55 2⁄3 innings, as he relinquished 65 hits (.295 OBA) and 18 walks (7.3%) while striking out 68 (27.6%). It appears that Navarro’s pitched in some incredibly bad luck, as his FIP was 3.65 in 2018 and 3.06 in 2019. He did post a nice 3.78 K/BB ratio in his second go-around in the Dominican, and his strikeout numbers were good.

After missing 2020 due to the pandemic, Navarro (again, due to age more than achievement) skipped both the ACL and Low-A and slid right into Winston-Salem’s bullpen in 2021 — where he flopped, to put it mildly. An 8.45 ERA and 1.832 WHIP while pitching basically at league-average age was not a recipe for future success.

But just like that, things clicked for the big righty, and he had a breakout 2022. In both a brief beginning with the Dash and then essentially the rest of the season with Double-A Birmingham, Navarro made a big turnaround. He remains very wild, but particularly at Birmingham, got incredibly stingy with hits (29 hits, 36 walks for a 3.53 ERA in 35 games). With three hits in his final 10 innings with the Barons (over eight games), Navarro was pushed to Charlotte by season’s end. He got in three games with the Knights, and while his numbers weren’t good, he basically had two strong outings and one washout.

Navarro’s Baseball Cube player ratings:
Durability 91
Strikeouts 57
Hittable 43
vs. Power 43
K/BB 31
Walks 26
Team Winning Percentage .372

Although the White Sox are banking on Navarro based on one great season, it was his most recent one! The club is hoping that Navarro can find a way to cut his free passes in half — and frankly, if he doesn’t, the reliever might get crushed in the slugging atmosphere of Charlotte’s Trust Field.

As much as it might seem a trivial fact, Navarro was included among the players shot on Photo Day, which believe it or not is an indication that he could possibly see the South Side this season. He is by no means top on the bullpen or even righty depth chart with the Knights, but given the malleable state of the White Sox pen, a hot Cactus League could see him break north with the big club.

2023 South Side Sox Top 102 White Sox Prospects

56. Edgar Navarro, RHRP
57. Craig Dedelow, RF
58. Darío Borrero, 1B
59. Michael Turner, C
60. Tyler Osik, 1B
61. Haylen Green, LHRP
62. Mark McLaughlin, RHRP
63. Terrell Tatum, LF
64. Shawn Goosenberg, 2B
65. Randel Mondesí, LF
66. Emerson Talavera, RHRP
67. Declan Cronin, RHRP
68. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
69. Colby Smelley, C
70. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
71. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
72. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
73. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
74. James Beard, CF
75. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
76. Ronny Hernandez, C
77. Troy Claunch, C
78. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
79. Tim Elko, 1B
80. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
81. Trey Jeans, LHRP
82. Jerry Burke, RHSP
83. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
84. Mason Adams, RHSP
85. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
86. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
87. Laz Rivera, 3B
88. Xavier Fernández, C
89. Álvaro Agüero, CF
90. Ben Norman, RF
91. Erick Bello, RHRP
92. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
93. Arnold Prado, RF
94. Alsander Womack, 2B
95. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
96. Evan Skoug, C
97. Noah Owen, RHSP
98. Javier Mora, 2B
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
101. Billy Seidl, RHRP
102. José Rodulfo, RHRP