Look out below: White Sox pitching down on the farm could offer hope for future

 At 20-54, all you can do is look ahead.

Or look below, to the farm system, if you’re the White Sox.

The best place in particular is Double-A Birmingham, where the Barons own the best record in the Southern League.

The Sox are pleased with the starting rotation at Birmingham, from where Drew Thorpe leap-frogged Triple-A Charlotte to the majors after pitching to a 1.35 ERA in 11 starts and where 2022 first-round left-hander Noah Schultz is flourishing after his recent promotion.

The Sox also love what they are seeing from rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon, who has allowed one run and one walk in his last 18 2/3 innings, and lefty Garrett Crochet, who in his first season as a starter entered Wednesday’s game against the Astros at Guaranteed Rate Field leading the major leagues in strikeouts. Crochet, who turns 25 Friday, carried a 5-1 record and 1.36 ERA in his last nine starts into the 16th outing of the season.

“This experiment could not be going any better,” general manager Chris Getz said of Crochet, the surprise Opening Day starter who, aside from one adjustment period after his rocky fourth, fifth and sixth starts, is pitching like an All-Star.

Whether Crochet, who is eligible for free agency after 2026 and is being held as a trade chip as Getz aims to further bolster the farm system, is part of the future remains to be seen. Envisioning a rotation of Crochet, Cannon, Schultz, Thorpe and perhaps a free agent or a prospect such as lefty Ky Bush, the Southern League Pitcher of the Week who owns a 1.78 ERA in 12 starts for Birmingham, looks like something the Sox could work with in their next contention window.

In four starts covering an easy-innings workload of 15 2/3 over four starts at Birmingham, the 6-9 Schultz owns a 1.72 ERA with 21 strikeouts and no walks.

Enough is coming together for Getz to “feel pretty good about the future outlook of our club.”

“Looking at the wins and loss record, yeah, it’s not something that you get excited about looking at,” Getz said Tuesday. “It speaks to the amount of work that we have ahead of us. But look at what [right-hander] Erick Fedde and what Garrett Crochet has done, the development of [catcher] Korey Lee, these young players who have come up.”

That said, Thorpe’s bad start (seven runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks that followed a strong debut (one earned run, five innings at Seattle), is a reminder that "The Show,” as Bush referred to the big leagues multiple times in a conference call Monday, is an obviously different animal than the minor leagues. Cannon and Nick Nastrini experienced the same good-then-bad two-start adventure when they were called up from Charlotte

There are no promises when it comes to prospects, even the most highly rated.

“This is a tough league,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “There is a big difference in the minor leagues and the big leagues. Pitchers and players who don’t face adversity when they get here are few and far between. The most important thing for us as an organization is for them as individuals is to really reflect on the outing, dissect, discern and go out and apply.”

Cannon made adjustments when he returned to Charlotte and has allowed one earned run in 18 1/3 innings since coming back. These are developments the Sox must cling to as they aim to rebuild a franchise whose product on the field is baseball's worst.

Perhaps Bush, a 6-6 lefty acquired from the Angels with switch-hitting Birmingham catcher Edgar Quero in the trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez last summer, will be the next prospect to get an audition and taste of the in the majors.

“Pretty cool to see Drew, a guy I was rooming with, in the Show," Bush said. "It shows whether it's Double-A or Triple-A, if they think you’re ready then they call your name.”