Even as the season down on the farm comes to an end, some White Sox prospects continue to make waves throughout the organization.
According to Francys Romero and White Sox Daily, the White Sox have promoted OF Oscar Colas and RHP Sean Burke to AAA Charlotte for the remainder of the season. The Knights have nine more games remaining in their season, so it will be a quick cup of coffee this season for two of the top prospects in the organization.
Colas (MLB Pipeline’s #2 White Sox Prospect) has had quite an incredible season. After being officially signed this offseason as an International Free Agent, Colas will reach a third level this season. Across High-A and Double-A, Colas is hitting .309/.367/.516 (.883 OPS) with 21 home runs and 75 runs batted in. Incredibly, he’s been better at Double-A, which is the more difficult place to hit. Colas has a .927 OPS in 51 games at Birmingham, compared to a .844 OPS in 59 games in Winston-Salem. He’s been able to play both CF and RF defensively this season, and many have billed him as someone who could make a push for the starting RF job in Chicago in 2023.
Colas has been additionally impressive because of his platoon splits. As a left-handed hitter, he has a .980 OPS this season against LHP. He has a .857 OPS against RHP this year, showcasing his abilities against all pitchers.
Burke, on the other hand, has made a play to become the top arm in the organization this season (MLB Pipeline’s #9 White Sox Prospect). The 22-year-old will also pitch at his third level this season. He is 4-8 this season with a 4.28 ERA this season and has been aggressively pushed all year as a first-year full-season player. He has appeared in 25 games (24 starts) and has thrown 101 innings on the year. He has struggled with walks with a 4.0 BB/9 on the year but has posted 11.6 K/9, which is rather impressive given the advanced level for his age. He was also named the Southern League Pitcher of the Month in August.
Burke has shown incredible growth in his last six starts, throwing 25 innings and posting a 2.52 ERA. He has struck out 38 over that spanned, walked just eight, and seen a slash line of .165/.253/.318 against him. Unlike most of their minor league arms, the White Sox have been incredibly aggressive all season with Burke, and he will get a chance to show what he has at the highest level after being very impressive once he got comfortable in Birmingham.
While these moves were made in part to ensure Colas and Burke get to play at least another week and a half of games, it’s also a testament to the work that they’ve put in that they were two of the members chosen to be rewarded as the season comes to an end. Look for both of these players to continue to grow throughout the rest of this season, over the offseason, and into Spring Training as the White Sox’s farm system looks to impress and move up the rankings with some internal growth.
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Featured Image: Oscar Colas (@colas_oscar) / Instagram