Sox prospect Céspedes has work to do before big league talk

As the Chicago White Sox prepare for the 2022 season, don't expect their Opening Day plans to include Yoelqui Céspedes.

While the Cuban outfielder still has the White Sox excited for the future, he's unlikely to be the solution in right field, where the team can still go in a host of different directions leading up to the start of the campaign.

Céspedes played at multiple minor league levels last season, and his numbers at both Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham were promising enough: a combined .285/.350/.463 slash line to go along with eight home runs and 27 RBIs in just shy of 300 plate appearances.

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But he also struck out 83 times in 72 games before faring poorly in the Arizona Fall League, where he had just 13 hits and only two walks in nearly 80 trips to the plate.

That performance was enough to earn a less-than-glowing review from The Athletic's Keith Law, who in his recent ranking of prospects in the White Sox' farm system had Céspedes all the way down at No. 12, quite the difference from MLB.com's most recent rankings, in which Céspedes was No. 2, behind only 2021 first-round draft pick Colson Montgomery. (To be fair, Law wasn't enamored with Céspedes last year, either, leaving him outside his top 20 prospects in the White Sox' organization.)

We're probably overly reliant on those rankings when it comes to determining big league possibilities, shown by their tendency to wildly change from one year to the next. But even White Sox assistant general manager and player-development boss Chris Getz talked of the need for Céspedes to improve certain aspects of his game, perhaps signaling that there's plenty to accomplish at the minor league level before he can be considered for major league opportunities.

"We sent him to Winston-Salem. He did very well. Got him a taste of Double-A. He was fairly productive there, too," Getz said as White Sox minor leaguers started a spring minicamp Tuesday. "Nothing has really changed in regards to our excitement for what he's able to do. He's got solid tools across (the board).

"In regards to some adjustments he needs to make, I'd say it's really being under control in the box, being more selective. There are certain types of pitches right now he tends to want to chase and even miss. We need to tighten that focus a little bit, keep him under control.

"Based on the work that he puts in and the conversations we have on a daily basis, I think he's going to be able to close those gaps and make the proper adjustments for future success."

Needing to improve in certain areas is nothing new for a youngster like Céspedes. But given the curiosity among White Sox fans after the team inked Céspedes, then ranked as the top international free agent, to a deal last winter, it's noteworthy.

That curiosity is fueled in part because of his famous name. He's the younger brother of big league outfielder Yoenis Céspedes. And in part it's fueled because of the hype the younger Céspedes brought with him into the White Sox organization.

Céspedes, to his credit, took a realistic approach when he talked shortly after signing with the White Sox.

"I can't tell you exactly how close or far I am to the majors because I never played here. I know the baseball, the quality, is higher than the baseball I used to play in Cuba," he said through team interpreter Billy Russo last winter. "But I think, with time in the minors, I'm going to be able to develop and show what I can do, and we'll see how long it’s going to take. But I'm confident in myself."

Mostly, perhaps, White Sox fans are wondering if Céspedes — and even fellow Cuban signee Oscar Colás — can be an immediate answer in right field.

The major league squad is not exactly without a right fielder. Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets were successful as rookies last season, and their lefty-righty splits, not to mention their versatility as defensive fill-ins in the outfield, suggest the possibility for an effective platoon.

But regardless of those two's presence on the roster — they could see just as many at-bats as designated hitters — there's an opportunity to upgrade the lineup with an outfield bat from outside the organization. Stars like Kris Bryant, Nicholas Castellanos, Jorge Soler, Michael Conforto and Kyle Schwarber remain unsigned free agents, and they'll be looking for new homes on the other side of the lockout. Any one of those names would make the White Sox' lineup better, an obviously attractive thing as the team gears up for a run at a World Series championship.

There are high hopes for the future when it comes to Céspedes. Colás, too. But it might be expecting a little too much for them to help with that goal in 2022. Even as their backgrounds put them closer to the majors than most, they still have to adjust to facing professional pitching in the U.S.

Céspedes getting "a taste of Double-A," as Getz put it, might mean he'll require more time at that level to start off this year before any promotion to Triple-A happens, let alone a rise to the major leagues.

So while plenty are still thinking about who will get the majority of the playing time in right field this season, you can probably take Céspedes out of the mix, at least initially, as a huge year in the minors would likely be necessary to get him to the South Side in 2022.

Of course, with a "five-tool" player, you can never take away that possibility.

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