With the Chicago White Sox moving on from pitching coach Ethan Katz, hitting coach Marcus Thames, and making significant changes to the coaching staff under manager Will Venable, fans have every reason to believe they'll get the next hire right.
GM Chris Getz and the new front office are doing things differently from the last regime. Getz has overhauled different departments of the organization, and as a result, the White Sox are more analytically driven now than they've ever been in the past.
White Sox senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister and director of hitting Ryan Fuller have had their fingerprints all over this iteration of the rebuild.
Bannister has been essential in the White Sox scouting undervalued pitchers like Erick Fedde, Adrian Houser, and Shane Smith over the last two years. Chicago has been able to either develop or flip those arms to supplement the rebuild.
He has also done important work analyzing biomechanics of young pitchers, which helps White Sox prospects stay healthy and understand their pitch arsenal.
Fuller has been a big reason why so many young White Sox hitters took a step forward in 2025. Now more than ever before, the White Sox seem to be doing a good job developing position players. Fuller is best known for his one-on-one work with Colson Montgomery at the team's Spring Training complex earlier this season, which proceeded Montgomery's 21 home runs after July 23.
Bannister and Fuller will have a say in White Sox hires
It's reasonable to assume that Bannister and Fuller will have huge say in who the White Sox hire to replace Katz and Thames.
If that's the case, you're looking at the White Sox bringing in some more analytically-driven coaches to impact the big league roster. If these new hires come with the endorsement of Bannister and Fuller, White Sox fans should be all the way on board.
It's not just the 19-win improvement in 2025 that has me excited for the future of White Sox baseball, it's the way the organization is rapidly catching up to the more innovative franchises.
Adding more Major League coaches who align with these philosophies will both inspire improvement from MLB contributors and allow Bannister and Fuller to direct the lion's share of their attention to the farm system.
The White Sox farm system is looking really promising, and with Chicago potentially adding the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, it will only get better next year. Replenishing that system and developing homegrown prospects is essential if the White Sox are going to get the rebuild right this time around.
Fans should be really excited about the new additions to Venable's coaching staff, whoever it ends up being.