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MiLB: Chicago White Sox Commitment to the Future Results in Strong Season for Birmingham

The Birmingham Barons ended a two-year long streak of finishing last in the North Division this season. Despite not contending for the championship, 2018 was still a strong season filled with positives for the Barons to take into the 2019 season. One of the things that have helped the Barons as an organization that took time to develop was the "high-caliber prospects". The team has nabbed some of the higher end prospects which have created a well-balanced team with some standout prospects. 

 "Two years ago the White Sox made a commitment to trading veteran players for high-caliber prospects, in addition, continuing to draft highly rated amateur players," Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson told The Walk-Off Sports Report. "This commitment has been evident here in Birmingham on the field and across all levels of the White Sox organization. In 2018 fans in Birmingham witnessed one of the top prospects in all of Minor League Baseball in Eloy Jimenez along with Dylan Cease, Luis Basabe, Zack Collins and others. The future continues to look bright with more highly rated prospects in Class A hopefully progressing to AA in 2019."

 Those prospects include Luis Robert, Nick Madrigal, and Blake Rutherford. Those three players are currently with the Winston-Salem Dash, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Barons. The players are currently in the top-10 of prospects for the Chicago White Sox, according to MLB.com and are also listed in the Top-100 prospects (Robert is the highest at No. 25). These players will make their way onto the initial roster or will eventually find their way into Birmingham for 2019.

Building a prospect is a big part of the teams' job as an affiliate. The current Barons roster is filled with players who could be the next faces of the White Sox organization. This season, Regions field held the annual Southern League All-Star Game hosting some of the biggest prospects in the league including four Barons players.

"It is an honor to host the Southern League’s premier event and doing so for the first time at Regions Field was quite a thrill. Most importantly the fans enjoyed a special day that included a thrilling Home Run Derby won by Barons catcher Zack Collins then an exciting game. It was one of those special days where the stars align, and you have great weather, a sellout crowd then exciting and memorable play on the field which creates such a fun and memorable experience for the fans, players, coaches, and community."

 It was the first time since 2009 that all of the preceding events took place in Birmingham. The All-Star Game attracted 8,500 fans, the second largest attendance in modern Southern League history. In the four All-Star Games held in Birmingham, it had the highest attendance. (Koelle,2018)

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