With White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson out for at least the new few weeks, one of Chicago’s top prospects in Lenyn Sosa will get a chance in the Majors yet again. The 23-year-old was one of the best performers in the White Sox farm system in 2022, and he heads back to Chicago after a torrid start to the 2023 campaign.
Related: 2023 MLB Fantasy: Which Shortstops Can You Target with Oneil Cruz Out?
A Look at Sosa
In our initial look at some of the Minor Leagues to keep an eye on in fantasy last week, we mentioned the name of Lenyn Sosa. The 23-year-old White Sox prospect shot up prospect rankings last year, when he hit a career-high 23 home runs in 2022 between Birmingham (AA) and Charlotte (AAA).
Thus far, the 23-year-old started right where he left off in 2022. In his first nine games with Charlotte (AAA), Sosa hit .448/.556/.828 with two home runs, seven extra base hits, and eight runs batted in. Along the way, he’s shown a quick bat and above-average strength and power. Look no further than this opposite field home run from April 4 as proof of that.
Sosa was called up to the White Sox on April 11, but this won’t be his first time up with the big club. The young infielder saw 35 at-bats with the Sox in 2022. He didn’t have much success, though. Sosa only hit .114/.139/.229 with 12 strikeouts in 11 games (36 PA).
Defensively, Sosa has shared time between second and third in 2023. That’s not much of a shock, given that his likeliest path to the Majors was at second base. However, he’ll probably get a good look at short with the White Sox’s start shortstop out for the time being.
A Look at the White Sox
The White Sox left Target Field with a win on April 10, but lost shortstop Tim Anderson on a play in which he attempted to corral in a throw from Hansel Alberto and tag out Minnesota outfielder Matt Wallner out at third. In the process, Wallner collided into Anderson’s knee. Anderson stayed in the game briefly, but was relieved later on and Elvis Andrus shifted back to short. The two-time All-Star is set to miss two to four weeks.
The White Sox will look for Sosa to provide some pop in the wake of Anderson’s injury, and expect him to factor into the middle infield situation in Chicago that includes the aforementioned Andrus and Romy Gonzalez. It won’t, however, be easy to replace the impact of Anderson. The veteran shortstop is among the league’s best in terms of making solid contact, and he already had 14 hits on the young season.
While Sosa doesn’t project to have the elite contact ability that Anderson has, the 23-year-old does project to have at least an average to above-average hit tool. If he can show that in Chicago along with his power stroke, the Sox may not be in all that bad of a position without Anderson.