Chicago White Sox catching prospect Edgar Quero entered the 2025 season on the cusp of the Major Leagues.
After tearing up two levels of the minors in 2024, Quero finished the year on the White Sox taxi squad, and his promotion to the big leagues seemed imminent. A solid first few weeks and an injury to Korey Lee made Quero’s dream a reality. On April 17, he was called up to make his Major League debut.
Quero took the league by storm, hitting .340 with a .446 on base percentage over his first 16 MLB games. He also threw out several runners on the bases. For a couple weeks, Quero was playing like a top contender for the AL Rookie of the Year award. But as of late, he has gotten a bit of a wake-up call.
Quero's recent struggles
Over his last 7 games, Quero is just 3-for-21. Over his last 15, he’s batting just .235 with an on-base percentage under .300.
Despite his propensity to work a consistently good at-bats, most of Quero’s hits have been singles. He has just three extra-base hits on the season, and has yet to hit his first Major League home run.
All of Quero's numbers seem to be heading in the wrong direction. On the defensive side, Quero remains solid as a thrower, but has really struggled with his pitch-framing.
Some regression after a hot start is normal for rookies. Pitchers around the league have more tape and make adjustments. There’s no reason to panic yet, but there are clear things that Quero still needs to work on, and with Korey Lee’s return from the IL happening any day now, it’s worth wondering whether Quero will head to Triple-A Charlotte for a bit more seasoning.
The White Sox could send Quero back to Triple-A
Lee, who was injured in an April 9th game against Cleveland, has been on a rehab assignment in Charlotte since May 9th.
By rule, a minor league rehab assignment can only last for two weeks before the team has to activate the player, and the two week mark for Lee will be coming up this weekend.
Lee does have one minor league option remaining, so there is a chance that the White Sox could simply keep Lee in Charlotte after his rehab assignment. But with Quero starting to trend in the wrong direction, the White Sox may choose to be cautious and elect to give Lee another shot.
Two weeks ago, the idea of optioning Quero to Charlotte for Lee seemed absurd, but it may not be a stretch anymore. At just 22 years old, Quero is the youngest player on the White Sox current roster, and there is plenty of time for him to figure it out at the Major League level. The fix may be as simple as letting him catch more frequently.
It’s been said before that DHing can be a mental challenge for some players and cause them to press at the plate. This could be the case for Quero, and the solution for that is easy.
Quero's numbers as the designated hitter could just be a coincidence, but there are some clear areas where Quero could improve that the White Sox might use to justify sending him down temporarily.
Adding more power to his game and working on his pitch framing are things that, in my opinion, can be worked through at the big league level. As far as I’m concerned, Quero has nothing left to prove at Triple-A and more exposure to Major League pitching is the way to improve his offensive numbers.
But the White Sox may disagree, and it’s not the end of the world if they do. Ryan Fuller has done a very nice job working with some of the White Sox young hitters this season, and if he believes heading back to Charlotte is the best thing for Quero’s development, so be it. I'm not saying it's the right decision, but it's one that would no longer surprise me.
Regardless, Edgar Quero will be back, and I don’t think it’ll be long before we’re penciling him in as the starting catcher for the White Sox well into the future.