The Chicago White Sox have used interesting methods to address some of their promising prospects who have struggled this season in the minors.
The front office has pulled players such as Colson Montgomery, Jairo Iriarte, and Hagen Smith from game action. They have sent them to the Spring Training facility in Glendale, Arizona for some personal instruction.
In Montgomery's case, he was sent to work on his swing with the team's director of hitting, Ryan Fuller, after getting off to a terrible start to the 2025 season. Iriarte and Smith went to Arizona for some biomechanics work. Smith was dealing with elbow soreness and saw his fastball velocity dip. Iriarte was struggling to get outs.
Montgomery's return has had mixed results. He returned to the Charlotte Knights lineup by hitting well, then he became a magnet for getting hit by pitches that required him to miss a few games. Montgomery struggled when he eventually returned to the lineup, but he has been on a tear in this week's series against Toledo with 11 hits, four home runs, 27 total bases, and eight RBIs in the series.
Smith finally returned to Double-A Birmingham last week, and his stuff looked impressive. He was on a pitch count, so his day was short, but he got plenty of whiffs. Iriarte has had scoreless outings in six of his past eight relief appearances since returning to Triple-A. However, he still has to work on not walking batters in his current bullpen role.
Still, it has been interesting to watch the White Sox do what I have dubbed the "Arizona Reset." Instead of using the Triple-A coaching staff to fix Montgomery or Iriarte's struggles, the front office decided to take the pressure of needing to perform in a game and work on what needs to be fixed in the controlled setting of Glendale.
It was a nice way of giving two of the team's top 10 prospects a chance to change the trajectory of their careers. While the optics never look good pulling players from game action, developing Montgomery, Smith, and Iriarte into big league players matters more. If it means having some personal instruction from the team's development coaches in Arizona, so be it.
The front office might want to follow the same plan by giving some personal attention to a few other Top 30 prospects. In particular, the team has two prospects that currently need the help most.
Bryan Ramos
Bryan Ramos got a cup of coffee in the Major Leagues last season, playing in 32 games with the big league club. Ramos got off to a promising start with a .389/.400/.500 slash line in his first six MLB games, but pitchers figured him out quickly and he cooled off.
Ramos also suffered an injury and was eventually demoted to Triple-A after he struggled once he came off the 10-day IL.
Ramos returned to the White Sox in September and had a nice final week of the season. The expectation was for Ramos to compete with Miguel Vargas for the starting third base job in Spring Training, but he suffered a wrist injury that prevented him from playing the field.
Once camp broke, Ramos stayed in Glendale to rehab and eventually went to Charlotte, where he has struggled. From April 26-June 10, Ramos hit seven home runs with an OPS of .837. Things were looking really promising...and then he went 4-for-35 with zero extra-base hits over multiple weeks.
Ramos finally had a multi-hit game on Sunday, but one of those hits was an excuse-me bloop single. His average is still at .206 with an OPS of .675 on the season.
While Ramos is often forgotten because of all the new faces making an impact on the White Sox organization, this is a 23-year-old prospect who was considered the team's third-best prospect to start the 2024 season. There is potential there.
He has been passed on the organizational depth chart by Vargas. However, the team has kicked around moving him to the outfield or first base if he can figure out his swing. Considering the White Sox could still use a long-term solution at first base, it would make sense to give Ramos some work there.
I'd like to see the Sox try to salvage his development by sending him to Glendale to work out his swing issues.
Nick Nastrini
Nick Nastrini was another prospect who got some MLB starts last season. Despite a 7.07 ERA in nine appearances, Nastrini had some big league outings last season where he showed some promise.
Nastrini has looked nothing like that promising prospect this season at Triple-A. The White Sox seem to have given up on developing him as a starting pitcher and are now focusing on using him in relief with Charlotte...He is not doing great in that new role, either.
Nastrini's ERA is up to 7.51 in the minor leagues. Pitching at Charlotte's hitter-friendly ballpark will inflate anyone's ERA, but his 1.69 WHIP shows you just how bad he has been.
The decline has been so rapid that Nastrini is barely holding onto his top 30 prospect status. He has dropped to No. 24 in the White Sox organization. He started the 2024 season in the team's top 10.
Nastrini spent some time on the 7-day IL and returned looking like Ricky Vaughn out of Major League. He threw a wild pitch so far over the catcher's head you would have thought he was Nuke LaLoosh from Bull Durham on the mound. Nastrini only got one out in his return from the IL while walking two and allowing a huge three-run homer.
The White Sox need cheap bullpen arms for a future competitive team. It still makes sense to see if Nastrini can be one of those guys, especially since he has proved he can get big league hitters out. Maybe some time in Arizona working with Brian Bannister can help him reset his career.