On March 13, 2024, the Chicago White Sox traded 28-year-old ace Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres in a move they hoped would infuse the farm system with young talent and expedite their new rebuild.
The White Sox landed three prospects and MLB reliever Steven Wilson in the return. Up to this point, it has been a rough go for most the players acquired in the trade.
Dylan Cease trade return
Right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe was viewed by many as the main prize of the trade. Thorpe was a consensus Top 5 prospect in the Padres organization and Top 100 prospect in baseball. Thorpe joined the White Sox coming off his first full professional season where he completely dominated two levels of the minor leagues and led all of MiLB with 182 strikeouts.
Thorpe continued his dominance of the minor leagues with the White Sox organization, pitching his way to making his Major League debut in June of 2024. Thorpe had mixed results in his first taste of big league action, but was largely good. He finished the season with a 5.48 ERA over nine starts due to a blow up in his finla outing and an elbow injury that ended Thorpe’s season early.
Thorpe underwent Tommy John surgery in March and will miss the entire 2025 season, a major setback in what the White Sox hoped would be a big year of growth for a young starting pitcher.
Right-handed pitcher Jairo Iriarte was the second prospect heading to the White Sox in the Cease trade.
Iriarte has always had elite stuff with questions about his control. He struggled with walks in his time with San Diego, and unfortunately, has continued to struggle with control in the White Sox system. Iriarte was a starter for most of 2024, and ended up making his big league debut in the bullpen in September. He had a 1.50 ERA in six MLB appearances.
Entering 2025, Iriarte figured to be in the mix of a rotation spot, but continued control issues have led to a move to the bullpen that feels like it could be permanent.
Samuel Zavala
The third and final prospect included in the trade, outfielder Samuel Zavala, was a bit of an unknown. He was traded as a 19-year-old kid that thrived in his first season of affiliated ball in 2023, with a .420 on base percentage and an OPS of .871 in Low-A.
He has since become the prospect that everybody forgot about and he is now putting himself back on the map.
Zavala’s calling card has been his elite plate discipline and above-average raw power. He walked an impressive 94 times in 202, but striking out 140 times that same season put his bat-to-ball skills in question.
Zavala’s transition to the White Sox in 2024 didn’t go great. In 111 games with High-A Winston-Salem, Zavala hit just .187 with 8 home runs, though his .340 on pace percentage proved the plate discipline didn’t go anywhere and would hold up during slumps. Zavala’s low average and high strikeout rate led to him being completely left off many updated Top 30 lists for the White Sox just a year after easily ranking in the Top 10.
What is often overlooked with Zavala is his age. Yes, he had a bad season in 2024, but entered 2025 still just 20 years-old and looking to bounce back in Winston-Salem.
After more of the same struggles in April and May, Zavala may have unlocked something in June. Entering game action on Wednesday, Zavala is hitting .593 (16-for-27) with 3 home runs in 8 games in the month of June. He has raised his season OPS to .760, and he is still on the younger side for players at the High-A level.
While Zavala will needs to sustain this for a longer period of time to be in consideration for a promotion, it’s been a very promising stretch for a young player that many fans and evaluators have forgotten about.
Sammy Zavala goes to the Foothills in RF. It's his 5th HR on the year, and he continues his tear. 4-0 #Dash. pic.twitter.com/Pq55hSiiGI
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) June 10, 2025
Zavala is hitting .320 with a .918 OPS in his last 100 at-bats. Thats dates back to May 1st.
One of the main concerns for Zavala remains his high strikeout rate. He’s struck out 53 times in 50 games, and his walk rate has dipped slightly this season. A lower walk rate isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as Zavala has been more aggressive on pitches in the zone, which has ultimately led to more hits.
The logical next step for Zavala is to cut down on the swing-and-misses. Perhaps some work with White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller can help train him to perfect his swing decisions.
Regardless, this is a 20 year-old kid with a ton of talent who has largely fallen off the radar for White Sox fans. But if Samuel Zavala can stay locked in and cut down on the strikeouts, he’s got the talent to be a real piece of Chicago's future. Sox fans, don’t sleep.