This Chicago White Sox top prospect could be a future foundational piece in the starting rotation.
The Chicago White Sox have a pitcher on their 40-man roster who could potentially be a future rotational piece for them for this season. With a need for starting pitcher the White Sox number twenty-nine overall prospect Juan Carela could figure to be up with the team at some point this season.
Juan Carela (No. 29 overall prospect)
The 23-year-old Juan Carela was added to the Chicago White Sox 40-man roster earlier this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Juan Carela was traded to the Chicago White Sox from the New York Yankees for Keynan Middleton on August 1st, 2023. Sine his acquisition Carela has spent time at both Single-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. Last season Carela made 23 starts, went 7-7 with a 4.05 ERA, collecting 114 strikeouts in 106.2 innings pitched. According to MLB.com Juan Carela has a four-pitch mix consisting of a fastball (50/80), a curveball (50/80), a changeup (50/80), and a slider (55/80) which is his favorite pitch.
What will the 2025 season bring for Juan Carela?
The Dominican Republic native will figure to start the year down at Double-A to see if he can have a little more success and get more reps as a starter. With top pitching prospect Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith being above Carela on the depth chart and who have a clearer path to the starter rotation than Carela, he could figure to have a slow trek to get to the big leagues. With Juan Carela being able to repeat his delivery well but being a slider happy pitcher and not having the best control Juan Carela could slot better in the bullpen as a middle reliever. According to MLB.com if Carela:
“find a second better-than-average pitch, he could slot in the back of a rotation. Otherwise, he’ll probably wind up as a slider-happy middle reliever”
If he can find another secondary pitch to get hitters out than Juan Carela could be a solid fourth or fifth option for the starting rotation.
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