ORLANDO, Fla. — The White Sox are hoping they can strike gold again in the Rule 5 Draft.
After getting an All-Star season out of right-hander Shane Smith and significant contributions from righty Mike Vasil, both Rule 5 picks last year, the Sox selected right-hander Jedixson Paez with the No. 2 pick in the draft Wednesday and right-hander Alexander Alberto in the second round.
Paez, a member of the Red Sox’ organization, had a 2.79 ERA at High-A Greenville last season. The Sox like his ability to navigate both left- and right-handed hitters with multiple pitches. But Paez dealt with a calf injury last season that limited him to just seven starts and 19⅓ innings, and he has yet to pitch above High-A.
“In terms of the command and the amount of pitches he has, our group was really excited about it,” general manager Chris Getz said. “Long-term wise, we view him as a real starter for us.”
The team views the 6-8 Alberto, who was in the Rays’ organization, as a reliever with “big-time stuff.”
“It’s a unique pitch with his cutter,” Getz said. “When you’re going through the Rule 5, you look at some of the candidates, there’s always a reason why there’s availability on some of those players. Some of it is just the gap between where they’ve pitched and the big leagues, injury history, what have you.
“In this sense, we feel like this is a chance worth taking on both of those guys, and we’ve proven last year that we were able to navigate with two Rule 5 picks, three at one point. We’re excited to see what these guys can do for us.”
MLB.com said that Paez had the “best control in Boston’s system.” His fastball velocity has ticked up from the high-80s to peaking at 94 mph last season, but it’s still relatively below average for a starter.
But the Sox are confident they can maximize both Paez and Alberto’s potential because of the pitching infrastructure in place, led by director of pitching Brian Bannister. New pitching coach Zach Bove has experience working with young pitchers from his time with the Royals.
“Candidly, it’s a lot easier after making the selections last year and watching how that played out,” Getz said. “Our group had conviction on these two, so it’s a comprehensive process.
“You look at how their bodies move. See if there’s some tweaks to their arsenal or any sort of adjustment, and we feel like with the pedigree, these guys have the makings of being effective major-league pitchers in the short term.”
The Sox have two open rotation spots behind Smith, Davis Martin and Anthony Kay. They also acquired left-hander Chris Murphy from the Red Sox earlier this offseason. Murphy is hoping to break spring training in the rotation after registering a 3.12 ERA last season out of the bullpen.
After their bullpen threw the most innings in the majors last season, the Sox are acquiring intriguing young arms with possible upside at a relatively cheap cost. Getz thinks that despite Paez and Alberto’s inexperience, they can contribute at the major-league level.
“Arms come up to the big leagues fairly quickly,” Getz said. “In this case, it’s really, ‘Do these guys have the stuff to be able to compete at that level?’ And both of these guys do. It’s just a matter of finding the right opportunity to use these guys, get them comfortable and hopefully they become real assets for us.”