There are two surprises among the White Sox prospects who’ll be opening the season on the Charlotte Knights — Colson Montgomery and starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon. Other notable players joining the Knights in Memphis on Friday for opening day include four recent trade acquisitions — Nick Nastrini, Zach DeLoach, Prelander Berroa and Jared Shuster.
But it is also noteworthy who is not going to be there — Jordan Leasure — who came to the White Sox at last year’s trade deadline deal with the Dodgers, along with Nick Nastrini, for Lance Lynn. Both had phenomenal springs, but Leasure cracks the opening day roster while Nastrini starts the year in Charlotte, though his stay with the Knights could be a short one, with only four starters on the Sox opening day roster — Flexen, Soroka, Fedde and Crochet.
Montgomery’s assignment is a bit of surprise, given that an early-season injury in 2023 limited him to 223 at bats, including just 131 in Birmingham. The 2021 first-round pick of the White Sox added another 82 at bats in the Arizona Fall League but most Sox observers anticipated another assignment in Birmingham.
The move to Charlotte also suggests Montgomery’s timeline to Chicago could be much sooner than anticipated. The White Sox don’t seem to keep their top prospects with the Knights very long, though perhaps Montgomery is the exception, with only 667 minor-league at bats across two-plus seasons.
While Montgomery opens the season in Charlotte, another top White Sox prospect, Bryan Ramos, returns to Birmingham, even though he had 291 at bats in 2023. But the expectation is that Ramos will find his way to Charlotte sooner than later.
Cannon’s promotion to the Knights is another somewhat aggressive assignment. Last year, Cannon dominated in 14 starts with the Winston-Salem Dash, but struggled in 11 starts in Birmingham. However, the 23-year-old righty had an excellent spring training, with a 1.09 WHIP in 11 appearances.
Several other White Sox “prospects” who were with the Knights last season are returning this year, including Lenyn Sosa, Carlos Perez, Adam Hackenberg and Oscar Colas. Sosa and Colas, of course, are hoping to convince White Sox brass that they’re deserving of another shot in Chicago. Perez, meanwhile, seemed like a shoe-in for a back-up role in Chicago but that’s looking more and more challenging given the trio (Maldonado, Stassi and Lee) ahead of him in Chicago and behind him in Birmingham (Quero) and the lower minors (Hernandez, Harris and Turner). Ditto for Hackenberg. Perez is actually listed on the roster as an infielder and his only action the opening weekend was a first base.
They’ll be complemented by veterans including familiar faces Zach Remillard, Mark Payton and Danny Mendick. Other veterans who’ll open in Charlotte include outfielders Rafael Ortega, Brett Phillips and Wynton Bernard; and catcher Chuckie Robinson.
Players on the 40-man roster have the best chance at a promotion. Among the non-pitchers, this includes Colas, Sosa, Rodriguez and DeLoach.
Knights 2024 Outlook
Together, on paper, at least, it looks like this Knights team will score a LOT of runs. Yet the team has traditionally been a bottom dweller in the International League, weighed down by a lack of effective starting pitching.
There’s a chance that might not be as big of a problem this year, however, not because of any depth in Charlotte but because of several exciting arms in and/or on the cusp of assignment to Birmingham, including but not limited to Jake Eder, Ky Bush, Mason Adams and Drew Thorpe.
At the start of the season, at least, the Charlotte rotation will likely include a mix of prospects and veterans.
Shuster and Cannon will get two rotation spots. A third will go to Johan Dominguez, 28, a righty who appeared on the verge of a breakout season in 2022 before an injury required Tommy John surgery while veterans Chad Kuhl and opening day starter Jake Woodford should be rotation staples as well. Kuhl, 31, has 116 major league starts and a 4.98 ERA over seven seasons
Touki Toussaint is opening the Triple-A season in the bullpen but the right hander had some success over 15 starts with the White Sox last season. Toussaint was DFAed this spring, cleared waivers and was assigned to Charlotte. He remains out of minor league options however.
The White Sox also recently signed former Kansas City veteran starter Brad Keller, but his health and status remain unclear. Highly-regarded Sox prospect Sean Burke is back on the roster as well, but his health and status are also a mystery with him starting the season on the 60-day injured list.
Finally, two others, Davis Martin and Jonathan Stiever, will open the season on the IL as well.
The Charlotte bullpen, meanwhile, features veteran free agent Justin Anderson, 31, a righty who appeared in 118 games for the Angels in 2018-2019 before returning to the minors the last five years.
They’ll be joined by a group of younger arms highlighted by recently acquired Prelander Berroa, a highly regarded 23-year-old righty with a big fastball but still-to-be-harnessed control. Other interesting pen arms include Bailey Horn, 26, a lefty who was drafted by the Sox in 2020, traded to the Cubs in 2021 and then reacquired this year; Alex Speas, 26, a righty with dominating minor-league numbers who the Sox grabbed off waivers last October; and Fraser Ellard, 26, a lefty who split his time last year between Winston-Salem and Birmingham.
The group is rounded out by a trio of arms who were in the Charlotte pen last year — Lane Ramsey, Nicholas Padilla and Sammy Peralta.
Pitchers on the 40-man roster include Shuster, Berroa, Horn, Peralta and Speas.
The Knights open the season with a three-game weekend series in Memphis before returning home the next week for a six-game series with Norfolk, the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.
You make this comment: Players on the 40-man roster have the best chance at a promotion. Among the non-pitchers, this includes Colas, Sosa, Rodriguez and DeLoach. I would agree, but I do not find Rodriguez on either the Charlotte or the Birmingham roster. Do you know where he is?
I also am curious on what happened to Rodriguez. Didn’t seem to be hurt but not on any of the rosters I saw. Too swing happy for the new White Sox org? Extended spring training to work on plate discipline?
Perez’s name looks like it is ironed on and it could fall off at any time. It looks worse than the give away jerseys. Guess the housing costs and pay or just too high for the minor leaguers now so the owners cannot afford something professional.
You’re not wrong. The uniforms are a problem.
He’ll be in Charlotte shortly.