Sox Add Two Knights to 40-Man Roster
On Tuesday, November 21st, the Chicago White Sox purchased the contracts of right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease and left-hander Kodi Medeiros from Double-A Birmingham and right-hander Jordan Stephens and catcher Seby Zavala from the Charlotte Knights.
Let’s take a look at Stephens and Zavala, who both spent time with the Knights in 2018.
Jordan Stephens entered the 2018 season ranked as the number 16 prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization by Baseball America. He posted a 4–3 record with a 2.95 ERA in seven starts (39.2 IP/40 SO) with Birmingham in 2018 before being promoted to Charlotte on May 13th.
At the time of his promotion to the Knights in May, the Houston, TX native was in the midst of a solid stretch. He earned a win in each of his last four Double-A starts and went 4–0 with a 1.31 ERA over that four-game span (23.2 IP). Also at the time of his promotion, he ranked sixth in the Southern League in ERA (2.95) and fifth in strikeouts (40).
With the Knights, Stephens posted a 4–7 record with a 4.71 ERA in 21 starts (107.0 IP) in 2018. He earned his first career Triple-A win on May 21st with 6.1 solid innings against the Norfolk Tides at BB&T Ballpark. In the month of May with the club, he went 2–1 with a 2.59 ERA in four starts (24.1 IP).
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Overall in 2018, he went 8–10 with a 4.23 ERA (146.2 IP) with 139 strikeouts over 28 combined starts between Birmingham and Charlotte. Stephens, 26, was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft.
Seby Zavala hit .243 (44-for-181) with 18 runs scored, 15 doubles, two home runs, and 20 RBIs with the Knights in 48 games in 2018.
Zavala was promoted to the Knights from Double-A Birmingham, along with Eloy Jiménez and Ian Hamilton on June 21. At the time of his promotion, Zavala was hitting .271 (54-for-199) with 32 runs scored, seven doubles, 11 home runs, and 31 RBIs in 56 games with the Barons.
Overall in 2018, Zavala hit .258 (98-for-380) with 50 runs scored, 22 doubles, 13 home runs, and 51 RBIs over 104 games between Birmingham and Charlotte. He combined to throw out 32.7 percent (18–55) of attempted baserunners and was named to the Southern League midseason All-Star Team with the Barons.
The Fort Hood, TX native entered the 2018 season ranked by Baseball America as the 29th best prospect in the organization after combining to hit 21 home runs in 2017 between Kannapolis (Low-A) and Winston-Salem (High-A).
He was originally selected by the Sox in the 12th round of the 2015 draft out of San Diego State.
