As White Sox hit rock bottom, young pitching is looking up

When scouting director Mike Shirley underscored the urgency of Sunday’s draft this week, and how he was reminded of it by everyone from the security guys around the clubhouse to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s office down the hall, he accurately and humbly sized up the state of the White Sox in 2024.

There’s nothing to hide when the team on the field is 27-68.

“You guys know where we’re at,’’ he said to a gathering of people who pay close attention to what the Sox are doing for a living.

The state of the Sox is to know that groundwork for a potential competitive window is taking shape on the pitching side of the farm system while the best of their young major-league talent is on the pitching side, too.

Left-hander Garrett Crochet, 25, is an American League All-Star.

Right-hander Jonathan Cannon, who turns 24 next week, has a 4.20 ERA in eight starts and one three-inning relief appearance and boasts a 2.87 ERA in his last six starts.

Right-hander Drew Thorpe, 23, has a 3.58 ERA in six starts and is 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his last four starts covering 24„ innings.

Throw out Thorpe’s one bad start and Cannon’s worst one, and you have a 2.70 ERA in 13 games combined for the rookies.

It’s a small sample size, but that’ll work.

With the contribution of a 2.99 ERA from righty Erick Fedde, 31, who likely will get dealt before the July 30 trade deadline, and Crochet’s 3.08, Sox starters have put together a 3.21 ERA and .228 batting average against in the last 32 games.

That’s among the best ERAs in the majors, but the Sox are 12-20 during that stretch, which points to a bullpen ranking of 28th with a 4.55 ERA and 15 losses in games the Sox led after six innings.

It also points to an offense ranking 29th in average (.220) and on-base percentage (.282) and 30th in slugging (.349).

So it will take more than starting pitching, as crucial as it is, to be competitive again. The Sox have more on the farm, where expectations are high for 2022 first-rounder Noah Schultz of Oswego, the 6-9 lefty at Double-A Birmingham who draws comparisons to Randy Johnson. They also have lefties Jake Eder and Ky Bush and righty Nick Nastrini at Triple-A Charlotte and right-handers Mason Adams and Jairo Iriarte at Birmingham.

Is it enough? It’s a start.

If Crochet gets traded, if not before the deadline, then possibly in the offseason, the shape of the 2025 and ’26 rotations looks different. But Crochet would bring a harvest of young talent in return that would likely include a top pitching prospect. That would be the objective, anyway.

As for the objective in the draft, just because pitching is viewed as a strength in the farm system doesn’t mean the Sox will focus only on position players. They’ll draft plenty of pitchers. If their balance of strength leans to pitching if and when their competitive window opens, they can trade from inventory to bolster the offensive side or focus more on offense in free agency.

“It’s always important to know where your organization stands,” Shirley said. “You have to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie, where you’re really good at development, what you feel good about.”

At least, the Sox seem to be heading in the right direction on the pitching front.

“But I don’t think any one draft defines a major-league team,” Shirley said. “Nor should you draft based off what your major-league team needs. You have to be prepared in multiple directions.”