White Sox prospect Beck set to make MLB debut Thursday
The Chicago White Sox have a double-header Thursday to make up for the two games postponed on April 27-28 against the Baltimore Orioles due to the riots that were going on in the city at the time.
So the team will call up Chris Beck to make his major league debut and start game two of the twin billing. He will not however take the team’s 26th roster spot as Daniel Webb was announced by the team this morning so an additional roster move (likely Scott Carroll) will have to be made to make room.
Beck, 24, was the White Sox second round pick back in 2012 and has had a solid but not spectacular minor league career.
In eight starts at Charlotte (AAA) this season, Beck is 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 46.1 innings. He has been the most consistent starter at Triple A this season and has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts.
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According to Baseball Prospectus he is considered the sixth best prospect in the White Sox organization. Both Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law have him outside of the team’s top 10.
Beck is a sinker ball pitcher that also features a slider, changeup and curve ball. While he is able to effectively command his pitches, he has never been one to miss bats.
In 2014, he posted a career-high 85 strikeouts between Birmingham (AA) and Charlotte but needed 150 innings to do so. It is the reason scouts don’t believe his ceiling will be any higher than the back end of a rotation at the major league level.
While other pitchers in the organization may be rated higher than Beck, he is the closest one to being considered major league ready as he is now in his second season at Charlotte.
This will be Beck’s second time being promoted this season, only this time, he is guaranteed to pitch.
Earlier this month, the White Sox called up Beck for the double-header against the Cincinnati Reds but other than a few warm up tosses in the bullpen, he didn’t see any action.
Game one will feature Chris Sale and the White Sox are in dire need of an ace-like performance.
The White Sox just dropped two out of three to the Toronto Blue Jays and have lost seven of their last nine games. And things won’t get any easier after the Orioles as the team must travel south to face off against the Houston Astros, who currently have the American League’s best record.
A strong performance for Sale takes pressure off Beck who is sure to have some butterflies in his stomach pitching his first game in the majors.
Who knows? With the uncertainties that have been Hector Noesi and Carlos Rodon this season, maybe this won’t be the last time we see Beck this season on the South Side if he can deliver a strong outing.
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