The White Sox acquired several prospects over the past 12 months to jumpstart a rebuild and now one of those pieces is set to make his MLB debut. Right-handed pitching prospect Nick Nastrini, a strikeout aficionado in the Minors, is set to join the White Sox and make his MLB debut on April 15.
A Look at Nastrini
The White Sox acquired pitching prospect Nick Nastrini along with Jordan Leasure and outfielder Trayce Thompson last summer from the Dodgers, in the deal that sent Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn to Los Angeles. Nastrini was considered the centerpiece of the deal, as many considered the righty — who was rated #8 in the White Sox organization by MLB.com — a high-end pitching prospect.
The 24-year-old was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft after the righty pitched at UCLA. Nastrini didn’t have a great track record on paper but the stuff was there. To this point, Nastrini’s developed into a solid pitching prospect.
Nastrini doesn’t have an overpowering fastball on paper, as it mainly sat in the 91-94 MPH range courtesy of available public Triple-A data. But what Nastrini’s fastball does have is plus carry, as his 18.0” IVB between 2023-24 (only available Statcast data included) is well above average for an MLB pitcher.
He pairs that fastball with a pair of breaking balls, a low-80s slider and mid-70s curveball, and a changeup that differs about 8-10 MPH from the fastball. That arsenal helped Nastrini net plenty of strikeouts in the Minors. Last season between Double and Triple-A, Nastrini struck out 139 over 114.2 IP.
Walks, however, have been a problem for Nastrini. This is dating back to his college days, as Nastrini walked 38 over 31.1 IP in his junior season three years ago with the UCLA Bruins.
He doesn’t have a complicated delivery but keeping everything together and harnessing his stuff has been an issue to this point.
Nick Nastrini is set to make his MLB debut for the White Sox on April 15 against the Royals.
Analysis
In a rebuild, the White Sox don’t have an elite rotation. Lefty Garrett Crochet has been excellent to this point, while Erick Fedde has been solid since his return from Korea. However, the Sox -— who have run with a four-man rotation to begin 2024 — have not received great results from Chris Flexen and Michael Soroka, both of whom have ERAs north of 6.00.
Manager Pedro Grifol stated he loved Nastrini’s stuff, and it’s hard not to see why given his lofty strikeout numbers. However, how long Nastrini will stick at the MLB level will likely depend less on the return of Mike Clevinger and more on his command and mechanics.
Fantasy Outlook
Nastrini could be an intriguing name in fantasy, given the strikeout numbers that he produced in the Minors. We’ve already seen fellow prospect Jared Jones succeed in the Majors but Nastrini is in a different situation.
Still, monitor Nastrini, even though his win potential in Chicago is limited.