Jonathan Cannon Is Poised To Move Quickly For White Sox

In the 2022 draft, the White Sox chose pitchers with their top three picks.

Chicago will be patient with first-round lefthander Noah Schultz, a local high school phenom who missed most of his senior season after contracting mononucleosis.

It will also be patient with second-round righthander Peyton Pallette, an Arkansas product who didn’t pitch this season after having Tommy John surgery in January.

They’ll be more pushy with third-rounder Jonathan Cannon.

“We know how important this arms race has become in Major League Baseball,” White Sox scouting director Mike Shirley said. “From that perspective, it’s critical to understand how much the landscape has changed in our game.

“The pitching thing is really critical. To secure Jonathan in the third round, we feel really good about that.”

A 6-foot-6, 213-pound righthander, Cannon recorded a 4.02 ERA in 13 starts for Georgia as a junior in 2022. He issued just 27 walks in 153 innings over his three seasons with the Bulldogs.

“There was a stretch of 40 or 50 innings where he didn’t walk a hitter this year,” Shirley said. “He’s got weapons and resources to work with. It’s the perfect athletic frame. It’s the starter pedigree.”

Cannon, who missed two weeks in April with a forearm injury, does not have an overpowering fastball. What he has is an impressive arsenal for a 22-year-old.

“Four-pitch mix,” Shirley said. “It’s the sinker and two breaking balls, the second breaking ball being that cutter, which is dynamic. The changeup is kind of the icing on the cake with him. He maneuvered through those (Southeastern Conference) lineups pretty well in his career.”

Cannon spent the majority of his pro debut with Low-A Kannapolis, where he allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings. He could open there in 2023 and be considered for an in-season promotion or two.

“The ability to manipulate both sides of the plate against righthanded and lefthanded hitters, that’s a dynamic piece to have,” Shirley said.

 

CHI-LITES

— Middle infielder Lenyn Sosa, who split the season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte and led the organization with a .315 batting average, is playing winter ball in his native Venezuela.

— In his first 14 games in the Arizona Fall League, middle infielder Moises Castillo was batting .347/.429/.510 with one home run. Acquired from the Cardinals last year in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, the 23-year-old Castillo split the season between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham and hit .254/.353/.320 with three homers in 110 games.