Prior to tonight’s series opener on the North Side, the White Sox made a much anticipated roster move. The organization promoted their 2016 10th overall draft pick and 11th ranked prospect Zack Collins from Triple-A Charlotte. As a response, catcher Welington Castillo will be heading to the injured list after exiting Sunday’s game with lower back tightness. Jace Fry was also reinstated from the injured list as part of today’s transactions, filling out the empty spot left from the Sunday night demotion of Thyago Vieira.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 18, 2019
Collins has appeared in 50 games this season for the Knights, slashing .250/.374/.482 with 9 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 9 doubles. He’s also the owner of a .855 OPS to go along with 66 strikeouts and 36 walks at the dish. Do the math and that’s a 32% strikeout rate, which has always been a concern for the catching prospect. His high walk-rate has helped to even this out over time, especially since it has been consistently impressive throughout his minor league career. He is currently tied for 5th among International League batters this year alone.
With the roster move, the ultimate question is what happens once Welington Castillo is fit to return? In my opinion, it would be shocking for Collins to have a Seby Zavala-type stint where he sees only a week or so of action before being sent back down. He is a pretty significant prospect who many feel the team waited to promote until the time was right. And boy, does the time feel right.
I’ve noticed on social media that countless fans seem to have the opinion that this could be spell the end to Welington Castillo’s miserable tenure on the South Side. I mean, it’s hard to blame those folks since “Beef” has had an underwhelming .196 average and .289 on-base percentage in 2019. That being said, Collins is not a finished product defensively behind the plate by any means. I think this is what allows Castillo to keep his job, at least for the time being, which leads me to my next point.
The corresponding move that makes the most sense is designating Yonder Alonso for assignment. The 32-year-old has a -0.8 WAR, .180/.280/.312 slash, and a .592 OPS. After putting up these numbers that are eerily similar to Adam Dunn’s historically terrible 2011 season, now’s the time to shed some of the dead weight. This is where you insert Zack Collins, since he’s played nine games at first-base and eight at DH for Charlotte this season. I fully expect him to see some action in one of these two positions when he’s not slated to catch, because the 24-year-old needs to begin his development at the Major League level. A brief stint and move back down to Triple-A is just hard to believe.
Of course, more clarity will come within the ten days as to which direction the White Sox ultimately decide to go down. It no longer seems like a matter of if or when Yonder Alonso or Welington Castillo are let go. Now, it’s simply a matter of whom.
Welcome to the big leagues, Zack!
Featured Photo: Brian McLeod/MiLB.com