Norge Vera

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #8 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: The son of a Cuban baseball star by the same name, Vera signed with the White Sox in 2021 for $1.5 million. He began his career in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and dominated much younger opponents but also missed time with arm fatigue. His 2022 season started late because of a lat injury, but he finally got on the mound in late May at extended spring training. Vera pitched his first official game in the U.S. on June 9, with 2.2 scoreless innings for Low-A Kannapolis. After seven more outings in Low-A, he moved to High-A Winston-Salem for two games before finishing the season with three starts for Double-A Birmingham.
  
  Scouting Report: When healthy, Vera dominates with a plus-plus fastball with excellent life and extension. It sits 95-96 mph and peaks at 99. The ball explodes out of his hand, gets good carry and can seem invisible to hitters. Vera's velocity dropped to the low-to-mid 90s late in the season. The issue most likely stems from being out of action for so long, both before and after starting pro ball. His slider is a future above-average pitch that needs to be tightened and thrown with more conviction. It sits in the 82-86 mph range but needs to be harder. Vera rarely uses his mid-80s changeup, which is more of a downer pitch that lacks good action. With further refinement, the pitch could get to average. Vera pitches with a free and easy delivery which is inconsistent when he gets across his body and doesn't use his back side. At other times he gets high with his arm, but overall he has shown good feel for fixing issues.
  
  The Future: Vera will spend the offseason in Arizona working out at Chicago's complex. How he looks in the spring will determine where and when he begins the 2023 season. He projects as a starting pitcher but could also thrive in a late-inning relief role.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 45
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #3 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Vera was one of two top Cuban prospects signed by the White Sox in 2021, with his $1.5 million bonus just a bit less than that of outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes. The son of a former Cuban baseball star of the same name, Vera pitched in the Dominican Summer League after signing. He missed time with arm fatigue after not having pitched much in recent years, but he dominated when healthy. He didn’t allow an earned run in 19.2 innings and had 34 strikeouts against five walks, albeit while facing much younger and less experienced hitters.
  
  Scouting Report: Vera already possesses a plus fastball that sits 93-96 mph and touches 99-100. He has the frame to get bigger and stronger and add even more velocity as he matures, with the potential for it to become a plus-plus pitch. His slurvy breaking ball ranges from 78-82 mph with short, late movement, and will be a weapon working off his fastball with more use. Vera delivers a changeup with the same arm speed as the fastball, but it’s still a bit too firm at 85-88 mph and a work in progress. He delivers his pitches with an easy, fluid, athletic delivery from a high three-quarters arm slot. Vera struggled to throw strikes his lone season in Cuba’s major league, but his delivery and arm action portend above-average control.
  
  The Future: Vera is ready to jump straight to a full-season affiliate in 2022. His innings will be closely monitored, but he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter if he can build up his durability.
  
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #10 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Vera is the son of Norge Luis Vera, who starred in Cuba in the late 1990s and early 2000s and won the Serie Nacional MVP in 1999-2000. The younger Vera pitched on the Cuban junior national team as a teenager and in a U23 tournament in Panama. He signed with the White Sox in February for a bonus of $1.5 million, carrying on the team’s line of Cuban signings.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Vera’s fastball sits around 90-95 and can touch a few ticks higher, topping at 97. After struggling initially at showcases, scouts were concerned about Vera’s command and offspeed pitches. Since then, Vera has tweaked some of his mechanics and made changes to his arsenal, including shelving his split-fingered fastball. Now, the evaluators who like him the most favor his slider as his best offspeed pitch and saw a feel for a changeup as well.
  
  THE FUTURE: Vera has gotten stronger since before he signed and also has a solid feel for pitching. He’s likely to start in the Dominican Summer League.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: The son of a Cuban baseball star by the same name, Vera signed with the White Sox in 2021 for $1.5 million. He began his career in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and dominated much younger opponents but also missed time with arm fatigue. His 2022 season started late because of a lat injury, but he finally got on the mound in late May at extended spring training. Vera pitched his first official game in the U.S. on June 9, with 2.2 scoreless innings for Low-A Kannapolis. After seven more outings in Low-A, he moved to High-A Winston-Salem for two games before finishing the season with three starts for Double-A Birmingham.
  
  Scouting Report: When healthy, Vera dominates with a plus-plus fastball with excellent life and extension. It sits 95-96 mph and peaks at 99. The ball explodes out of his hand, gets good carry and can seem invisible to hitters. Vera's velocity dropped to the low-to-mid 90s late in the season. The issue most likely stems from being out of action for so long, both before and after starting pro ball. His slider is a future above-average pitch that needs to be tightened and thrown with more conviction. It sits in the 82-86 mph range but needs to be harder. Vera rarely uses his mid-80s changeup, which is more of a downer pitch that lacks good action. With further refinement, the pitch could get to average. Vera pitches with a free and easy delivery which is inconsistent when he gets across his body and doesn't use his back side. At other times he gets high with his arm, but overall he has shown good feel for fixing issues.
  
  The Future: Vera will spend the offseason in Arizona working out at Chicago's complex. How he looks in the spring will determine where and when he begins the 2023 season. He projects as a starting pitcher but could also thrive in a late-inning relief role.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 45
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: The son of a Cuban baseball star by the same name, Vera signed with the White Sox in 2021 for $1.5 million. He began his career in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and dominated much younger opponents but also missed time with arm fatigue. His 2022 season started late because of a lat injury, but he finally got on the mound in late May at extended spring training. Vera pitched his first official game in the U.S. on June 9, with 2.2 scoreless innings for Low-A Kannapolis. After seven more outings in Low-A, he moved to High-A Winston-Salem for two games before finishing the season with three starts for Double-A Birmingham.
  
  Scouting Report: When healthy, Vera dominates with a plus-plus fastball with excellent life and extension. It sits 95-96 mph and peaks at 99. The ball explodes out of his hand, gets good carry and can seem invisible to hitters. Vera's velocity dropped to the low-to-mid 90s late in the season. The issue most likely stems from being out of action for so long, both before and after starting pro ball. His slider is a future above-average pitch that needs to be tightened and thrown with more conviction. It sits in the 82-86 mph range but needs to be harder. Vera rarely uses his mid-80s changeup, which is more of a downer pitch that lacks good action. With further refinement, the pitch could get to average. Vera pitches with a free and easy delivery which is inconsistent when he gets across his body and doesn't use his back side. At other times he gets high with his arm, but overall he has shown good feel for fixing issues.
  
  The Future: Vera will spend the offseason in Arizona working out at Chicago's complex. How he looks in the spring will determine where and when he begins the 2023 season. He projects as a starting pitcher but could also thrive in a late-inning relief role.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 45
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Vera was one of two top Cuban prospects signed by the White Sox in 2021, with his $1.5 million bonus just a bit less than that of outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes. The son of a former Cuban baseball star of the same name, Vera pitched in the Dominican Summer League after signing. He missed time with arm fatigue after not having pitched much in recent years, but he dominated when healthy. He didn&#39t allow an earned run in 19.2 innings and had 34 strikeouts against five walks, albeit while facing much younger and less experienced hitters.
  
  Scouting Report: Vera already possesses a plus fastball that sits 93-96 mph and touches 99-100. He has the frame to get bigger and stronger and add even more velocity as he matures, with the potential for it to become a plus-plus pitch. His slurvy breaking ball ranges from 78-82 mph with short, late movement, and will be a weapon working off his fastball with more use. Vera delivers a changeup with the same arm speed as the fastball, but it&#39s still a bit too firm at 85-88 mph and a work in progress. He delivers his pitches with an easy, fluid, athletic delivery from a high three-quarters arm slot. Vera struggled to throw strikes his lone season in Cuba&#39s major league, but his delivery and arm action portend above-average control.
  
  The Future: Vera is ready to jump straight to a full-season affiliate in 2022. His innings will be closely monitored, but he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter if he can build up his durability.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 55. Changeup: 45. Control: 55
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Vera was one of two top Cuban prospects signed by the White Sox in 2021, with his $1.5 million bonus just a bit less than that of outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes. The son of a former Cuban baseball star of the same name, Vera pitched in the Dominican Summer League after signing. He missed time with arm fatigue after not having pitched much in recent years, but he dominated when healthy. He didn’t allow an earned run in 19.2 innings and had 34 strikeouts against five walks, albeit while facing much younger and less experienced hitters.
  
  Scouting Report: Vera already possesses a plus fastball that sits 93-96 mph and touches 99-100. He has the frame to get bigger and stronger and add even more velocity as he matures, with the potential for it to become a plus-plus pitch. His slurvy breaking ball ranges from 78-82 mph with short, late movement, and will be a weapon working off his fastball with more use. Vera delivers a changeup with the same arm speed as the fastball, but it’s still a bit too firm at 85-88 mph and a work in progress. He delivers his pitches with an easy, fluid, athletic delivery from a high three-quarters arm slot. Vera struggled to throw strikes his lone season in Cuba’s major league, but his delivery and arm action portend above-average control.
  
  The Future: Vera is ready to jump straight to a full-season affiliate in 2022. His innings will be closely monitored, but he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter if he can build up his durability.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Vera was signed out of Cuba in late February but had the start to his season in the Dominican Summer League delayed by a minor injury. When he gets on the mound, he's likely to show why the White Sox spent $1.5 million to sign him. He's peaked at 98 mph in side sessions, and the White Sox have been encouraged by his clean delivery and athletic frame.
• January, 2021 Scouting Report
  Vera, 20, looks like he will be the top paid pitcher once the 2020-21 signing period opens, with a bonus of $1.5 million lined up with the White Sox. Vera is the son of Norge Luis Vera, who was a standout pitcher in Cuba's Serie Nacional and pitched for the Cuban national team. The younger Vera garnered attention from scouts pitching in international tournaments prior to leaving Cuba. He has a lean, projectable frame, with a fastball that has been up to 96 mph and parked around 90-94 mph at showcases. Scouts who saw Vera later were more mixed on his command and secondary stuff, possibly stemming from some mechanical adjustments he was making. His hard slider is his main offspeed pitch and ahead of his changeup, which he has started throwing more after dropping his splitter to focus on three pitches.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Vera is the son of Norge Luis Vera, who starred in Cuba in the late 1990s and early 2000s and won the Serie Nacional MVP in 1999-2000. The younger Vera pitched on the Cuban junior national team as a teenager and in a U23 tournament in Panama. He signed with the White Sox in February for a bonus of $1.5 million, carrying on the team’s line of Cuban signings.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Vera’s fastball sits around 90-95 and can touch a few ticks higher, topping at 97. After struggling initially at showcases, scouts were concerned about Vera’s command and offspeed pitches. Since then, Vera has tweaked some of his mechanics and made changes to his arsenal, including shelving his split-fingered fastball. Now, the evaluators who like him the most favor his slider as his best offspeed pitch and saw a feel for a changeup as well.
  
  THE FUTURE: Vera has gotten stronger since before he signed and also has a solid feel for pitching. He’s likely to start in the Dominican Summer League.