Grant Taylor Joins White Sox’s Strong Set Of Value Arms

No one is referring to the White Sox as having established a pitching factory. Not yet, anyway.

But a series of small moves — and one big one — have given the Sox an enviable collection of entry-level pitchers. Credit second-year General Manager Chris Getz for being creative both in acquiring and developing young talent.

Heading toward the All-Star break, the White Sox are featuring five rookies pitchers who have thrown at least 10 innings. The latest to arrive, Grant Taylor, a second-round pick from LSU in the 2023 draft, presents the greatest upside but Shane Smith, Sean Burke, Mike Vasil and left-hander Brandon Eisert all look like high-value arms to build future pitching staffs around.

Smith and Vasil were added in the Rule 5 draft, with Vasil taking an indirect route through two other teams. Eisert was claimed on waivers in March. Burke was a third-round pick in 2021. All five came through high-profile college programs before reporting to the White Sox complex in Arizona.

Taylor was pitching alongside Paul Skenes before Tommy John surgery sidetracked him on the eve of LSU’s championship season. The Sox gambled on his recovery and he immediately flashed his potential in his big-league debut on June 12, throwing six of 12 pitches for 100 mph-plus in a perfect inning against Houston.

“If he gets to spring (at LSU), he probably doesn’t get to us,” scouting director Mike Shirley said after the ’23 draft. “He goes in the first round. … We selected him in the second and get a first-round piece.”

Taylor jumped to Chicago from Double-A Birmingham, where he began the transition from starting to relief, at least in part to limit his innings. He pitched 10 innings in his first eight games, including a two-inning save in a 1-0 victory over the Giants.

It’s an understatement to say Taylor excites manager Will Venable. “The stuff, the command,” Venable said after the save on Saturday. “Everything makes you want to have him out there.”

Taylor complements his four-seam fastball with a cutter and a hard curve. Both his average fastball velocity (99.3) and the extension that the 6-3 right-hander gets in his delivery rank in the 98th percentile, per Statcast. That data shows he hadn’t had any pitches pulled in the air after 25 batted ball events.

The immediate comparison for Taylor is former White Sox left-hander Garrett, who arrived in Chicago as a reliever but emerged as one of the majors’ top starters.

Crochet underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 but started 32 games — albeit with a tight innings limit — two years later. Getz says “the bullpen is probably the best role for (Taylor)” for now but it won’t surprise anyone if he returns to his familiar starting role next season.

That could put him in a rotation including Smith, Burke, 25-year-old Jonathan Cannon and possibly highly regarded prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith.

Burke, who had climbed to Triple-A in his first full pro season and reached Chicago in his second one, beat the Angels on Opening Day. He is 4-7 with a 4.22 ERA, leaning on his 94-mph fastball and two inconsistent breaking pitches. The 6-6 right-hander has 92nd-percentile extension, making his stuff play up.

Smith and Vasil have held up unusually well for Rule 5 picks. Smith is 3-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 starts. Vasil has been used in a variety of roles, going 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA in 23 outings, covering a bullpen-high 56 innings.

Smith went undrafted out of Wake Forest, where he battled shoulder problems and missed a season to Tommy John surgery, and got overshadowed by prospects like Jacob Misiorowski, D.L. Hall, Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick and Robert Gasser with Milwaukee.

Getz and the organization’s coaches and analysts identified him as the best candidate among Rule 5 eligible players, selecting him first last December. His 95-mph fastball and a changeup he added after joining the White Sox have helped him hold hitters to a .223 average.

Vasil, who started on a College World Series team at Virginia, was originally selected by the Mets in the eighth round of the 2021 draft. The Phillies selected him 13 picks behind Smith last December and immediately sold him to Tampa Bay. The White Sox claimed him when the Rays put him on waivers in March.

Like Smith, Vasil pitches from a low arm slot. His six-pitch mix built around a 94-mph sinker has allowed him to thrive as a utility pitcher. He has made two starts and earned two saves while working three-plus innings 11 times.

“I’ve now officially pitched innings one through nine on the season,” Vasil told Jim Margalus of the website Sox Machine. “Every inning in different roles brings different things, a different mindset. I can definitely say closing a game is a lot different than starting. To be able to get that experience in all those roles too, is very, very cool.’’

Eisert, who twice went to CWS at Oregon State, succeeds more through guile than velocity. He slipped to the 18th round in 2019, when Toronto selected him. He was purchased by Tampa Bay in January but then claimed on waivers by Getz only two weeks later.

Like the others, Eisert has responded to the opportunity he was presented with the White Sox rebuild. He’s 2-1 with a 4.33 ERA in 36 appearances. His fastball averages only 89.6 mph yet his slider and changeup have allowed him to amass a 26.3 K-rate, which ranks in the 75th percentile on Statcast.

At 27, Eisert is the old man among the Sox’s entry-level arms. But he presents a high value for future seasons, especially if he can develop a put-away pitch for left-handed hitters. They are hitting .328 off him, compared to .241 for right-handed hitters.

While the White Sox are shopping veteran pitchers Adrian Houser, Aaron Civale, Steven Wilson and Dan Altavilla, it figures contenders may ask about the five rookies as well. The White Sox would have to be offered a lot of talent in return, as Taylor, Smith, Burke, Vasil and Eisert could easily worth more than one-third of the total innings next season, while costing the team less than $5 million total.

Those five have combined for 3.8 WAR this season. That total could grow to 10-plus WAR in 2026, an amazing return for an organization that is getting its act together.