Vaughn flourishing, could be promoted soon
CHICAGO -- Those fans in Arizona who want to get a look at Andrew Vaughn, the White Sox top pick and third selection overall in the 2019 Draft, might have only have a couple days to do so.
“We do plan on moving him in a couple of days,” said White Sox director of player development Chris Getz during a Wednesday afternoon conference call. “So don’t be surprised if you find him at a different location.”
Vaughn, 21, came into the White Sox Rookie League affiliate in Arizona with three years of collegiate experience at Cal. So it’s not a great surprise that the right-handed-hitting first baseman has gone 6-for-9 in his first two games with a home run against the younger competition.
But Vaughn’s approach and skill set should create a high level of success when he moves to Class A Kannapolis or even Class A Advanced Winston-Salem in the Carolina League before the end of the 2019 season.
“Even with the layoff, he didn’t waste any time,” Getz said. “You kind of just look at his swing. This is what made him attractive in the Draft.
“He has a natural sense of timing. Uses the entire field. He did that last night (four hits). He’s comfortable hitting with two strikes. He can drive the ball to all fields. He hasn’t wasted any time.”
Cease’s time is now
Getz believes Dylan Cease has been ready for Wednesday’s Major League debut for a while based on how the right-handed hurler approaches things from a professional standpoint.
“He's advanced mentally, he's probably run through this scenario many times. Very talented pitcher,” Getz said. “It's a great day for the White Sox organization, along with the fans.
“We've talked about him many times, the arsenal plus. He's got a chance to be an impactful front-line starter for us. I'm as excited as anyone else to see how he performs today, but really just getting acclimated to the Major Leagues and kind of growing from there.”
Robert could get to Charlotte
Many of the discussions last year concerning Luis Robert, the No. 5 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, centered on how the five-tool outfielder was working his way back from various thumb injuries. With a .349 average, 15 homers, 51 RBIs and 26 stolen bases between stops at Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in ’19, the talk this season focuses on Robert making that next jump to Triple-A Charlotte.
“He's been off and running this whole season, certainly [at] Winston-Salem, where he was more or less dominant. He's continued to perform,” Getz said. “He's an aggressive hitter, but he's also a guy that's squaring up a lot of pitches. He doesn't need to hit it flush for him to get higher exit velocity.
“You compare him, naturally, against every player that you have in your organization and certainly throughout the industry, and speaking to scouts that have covered the Southern League for the last 10 years, I've heard some guys say they haven't see a player like this come through there in some time. He's very talented, can impact a game in a lot of different ways.
“In terms of laying out the rest of the year, when he's ready for the next challenge, we're discussing it,” Getz said. “There's nothing definitive at this point. He's going to the Futures Game this weekend, and look forward to having Jim Thome managing that.”