A familiar arm is rejoining the White Sox organization.
The club has accepted the return of right-hander Peyton Pallette from the Cleveland Guardians after he was designated for assignment on May 24. As per Rule 5 Draft stipulations, Pallette was offered back to the Sox once he cleared waivers, and Chicago elected to bring him home. He has since been reassigned to Triple-A Charlotte, where he ended last season.
Pallette, 25, was originally selected by the White Sox in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Arkansas. Widely regarded as one of the top arms in his draft class, he likely would have been a top-10 pick had he not undergone Tommy John surgery earlier that year. Before his injury, Pallette established himself as one of the top arms in college baseball, showcasing a power fastball and swing-and-miss breaking stuff that intrigued evaluators despite his limited workload.
As he worked his way through the White Sox farm system, Pallette consistently generated strikeouts at an impressive clip. Before being selected by Cleveland in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, he split the season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte, posting a 4.06 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 64.1 innings. Opposing hitters managed just a .191 batting average against him as his 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings were very intriguing. The White Sox ultimately saw something they didn’t like to leave him unprotected, perhaps his command issues that have come back to bite him time and time again.
Entering the season, the Guardians were intrigued enough by Pallette to carry him on their major league roster through the first two months. He appeared in 16 games out of Cleveland’s bullpen, posting a 5.23 ERA and 4.95 FIP across 20.2 innings. While his 22.7% strikeout rate was respectable for a rookie reliever, his 16.5% walk rate proved difficult to overcome and ultimately contributed to his DFA a week ago.
Looking at his pitch mix, Pallette has leaned primarily on a four-seam fastball that averaged 95.4 mph while adding in a curveball and slider, along with an occasional changeup. His breaking pitches showed promise, generating whiffs and limiting quality contact, but the fastball was frequently hit hard. Opponents produced a .410 wOBA and 51.6% hard-hit rate off the four-seamer, helping to explain some of his struggles despite the underlying swing-and-miss ability.
For the White Sox, Pallette’s return represents a low-risk opportunity to continue developing a pitcher they once viewed highly. Pallette will need to dial in his command and refine his arsenal during this second stint if he hopes to make an impact at the major-league level.
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