Spring training 2025 is in full swing. Most teams have played at least 10 games at this point, and younger players are gunning for roster spots while veterans are easing their way back into the swing of things.
Spring training is also the time for fans to get overly worked up about how their favourite team’s players are performing. Let’s do that now!
White Sox Starting Pitchers
So far, six White Sox pitchers have thrown five innings this spring training – Justin Dunn (signed a minor-league deal this offseason), Bryse Wilson, Nick Nastrini (acquired from the Dodgers in last year’s Michael Kopech trade), Sean Burke, Martín Pérez, and Jonathan Cannon.
Wilson, Burke and Pérez are all projected for the starting rotation this season and have thrown decently well in their spring innings. All of them have ERAs below 4.00, although their FIPs remain pretty high. Their K-rates and K%-BB% aren’t great, but it’s important to remember that these guys are in the beginning stages of stretching out their arms in preparation for the season.
The one pitcher who’s projected for the starting staff who I want to get worked up about is Jonathan Cannon. He’s only pitched in two spring training games so far, but boy, were they not great starts. In five innings of work, Cannon has allowed three home runs, hit two batters, given up eight hits and sports a 10.80 ERA.
In a post earlier this year, I called Cannon out as someone the Sox could hopefully develop into a serviceable starter. Cannon’s first couple of outings don’t exactly inspire confidence – he doesn’t quite look like a starter that can eat some innings for the Sox.
Baseball Savant doesn’t have a lot of the same data for spring training that it does for the regular season (not all spring training parks have tracking technology), but by parsing through some of the plate appearance results it’s easy to see that hitters are seeing the ball very well out of Cannon’s hand, regardless of the pitch type.
Cannon throws a sinker as his primary pitch, followed by a sweeper, so if his sinker isn’t sinking and his sweeper is sweeping right into the heart of the plate, he’s going to get mashed.
A projected White Sox starter who has been looking pretty solid this spring training is Davis Martin. In four innings of work, Martin hasn’t allowed a run, hasn’t issued any free passes and is sitting at a 11.25 K/9 rate.
He looked especially impressive in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, locating his pitches well and getting a called-third strike against Shohei Ohtani and a nasty backdoor slider that just got the outside edge of the plate.
It’s already being reported that Martin will take the ball for the White Sox on Opening Day against the Angels, an indication of the trust the White Sox staff have in him, as well as some high expectations for what he can provide on the mound.
White Sox Hitters
Some good news for a small sample size – Luis Robert Jr. looks more like his old self so far in spring training, posting a .368/.455/.737 slash line in 22 plate appearances, good for a 202 wRC+.
Other White Sox players doing well at the plate include Brandon Drury, Lenyn Sosa, and Miguel Vargas. Drury is a career journeyman signed as veteran depth, but Sosa and Vargas are young enough that they could be rostered past this season.
Sosa, for one, does not have any minor league options, so he either makes the team or gets cut. FanGraphs’ Roster Resource page projects Sosa as the White Sox DH to start the season, with free agent signee Josh Rojas penciled in at second base.
Sosa is currently sporting a .389/.450/.500 slash line over 20 plate appearances, while Rojas can barely get on base.
Drury is hammering spring training pitchers to the tune of .308 ISO and will be hanging around for bench depth.
Vargas has also put some solid numbers this spring and looks to be the starting third baseman when Opening Day rolls around.
Colson Montgomery’s injury this spring training has prevented the team from getting an extended look at him so far. He only has nine plate appearances, and while he does have one homer, he’s struck out five times in those appearances.
In his absence, Chase Meidroth, a part of the Garrett Crochet trade in December, has received the majority of reps at shortstop and is sporting a nice little .333 OBP with a 23% walk rate. His walk rate is doing a ton of the heavy lifting for that OBP as his BABIP is a measly .158.
If Montgomery can’t get healthy enough for some good spring training at-bats, I think we could see Montgomery start the season in AAA with Meidroth as the starting shortstop on Opening Day.
Outlook
Overall, the White Sox offense has looked generally anemic, which is not too surprising given the state of the team heading into the 2025 season. If Robert’s success at the plate in spring training can carry over to the regular season, I expect more suitors to come knocking on the White Sox door, looking for a trade.
At least some of the White Sox starting pitching staff has shown some life, especially the younger guys like Burke and Martin. With Martin already being penciled in as the Opening Day starter, the young pitchers on the White Sox staff should at least be the most interesting reason for Sox fans to tune in this season.
Article by Jack Turek. Watch out for more Chicago White Sox content from Jack during the 2025 season. If you want to share your opinions with Bat Flips & Nerds audience of 10,000, then hit the “Write for us” link.
Featured image of Jonathan Cannon by Duane Burleson/Getty Images
