Major League Baseball’s international signing period officially opened on Saturday, January 15th for the 2021-22 class.
While it’s technically an 11-month stretch, the White Sox have already made two of their largest deals known by locking up the highly touted outfield duo of Oscar Colas and Erick Hernandez. Outside of these top 30 prospects, the organization is expected to make several other smaller moves that we’ll be tracking below.
Check back periodically as we’ll be updating this article to provide as much information as possible. Keep in mind, the White Sox bonus pool sits at $5,179,700.
Oscar Colas, OF
MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Ranking: 5
Deal Worth: $2.7 million
D.O.B.: 9/17/1998 (23-years-old)
Home Country: Cuba
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 209 lbs.
B/T: L/L
MLB Pipeline’s Grades:
- Hit: 55
- Power: 60
- Run: 55
- Arm: 55
- Field: 55
- Overall: 55
Despite earning the nickname “Cuban Ohtani” a while back, Colas is no longer pitching and enters the White Sox organization strictly as an outfielder. The lefty slashed .302/.350/.516 with 19 doubles, 11 home runs, 46 RBI, 19 walks, and 61 strikeouts in 66 games during the 2019 season for the Fukuoka Softbanks Hawks of Japan. Ranked as the fifth best prospect of this year’s international class, Colas possesses all above-average tools and figures to land in a corner outfield position upon beginning in the system.
For our full breakdown of the Colas signing, click here.
Erick Hernandez, OF
MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Ranking: 28
Deal Worth: $1.0 million
D.O.B.: 1/15/2005 (17-years-old)
Home Country: Dominican Republic
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 175 lbs.
B/T: L/L
MLB Pipeline’s Grades:
- Hit: 60
- Power: 55
- Run: 50
- Arm: 50
- Field: 50
- Overall: 55
Over the years, the White Sox have typically spent big money on older international prospects. That trend broke when they signed the 17-year-old Hernadez, who not only has plenty of upside but has also been compared to the Nationals’ Juan Soto. While it’s a lofty expectation to set on Hernandez, he already has an advanced approach at the plate and can hit the ball hard to all fields. Though physically he’s very lean, the 28th overall international prospect has plenty of room to grow and add strength to his athleticism.
For our full breakdown of the Hernandez signing, click here.
Note: There is limited information available for signees beyond this point since they are considered to be outside of the consensus Top 50 rankings.
Angel Cruz, RHP
Deal Worth: N/A
Home Country: Dominican Republic
Everything shown above is all we currently know about the right-handed pitcher out of the Dominican Republic.
As we head into the new week, the White Sox will likely make these signings official and provide us with additional information. We will update this article with further details as they are made known.
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Featured Photo: MLB Cuba/Twitter
