South Side Hit Pen Top Prospect 60: Elijah Tatís
Slow start: Tatís had a short pro debut but should still see the States in 2020. (@BenBadler)
Elijah Tatís
Second Baseman
5´11´´
155 pounds
Age: 18
SSHP rank among all second basemen in the system: 4
Elijah is the son of former major leaguer Fernando Tatís and the brother of former Sox farmhand Fernando Tatís Jr. According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, "Tatís possesses a strong and accurate arm and has impressed scouts with the way the ball jumps off his bat, as well as his ability to square up fastballs." With that kind of ability, the White Sox were happy to sign him with a $500,000 bonus on 2019's International Signing Day.
Tatís struggled out of the gate for the DSL White Sox this year, however, and only managed to slash .187/.300/.213 in 25 games with two doubles, 10 RBIs, five stolen bases, 13 walks (14.4%) and 16 strikeouts (17.8%). Largely because defensive wizard Yolbert Sánchez played shortstop for the DSL squad, Tatís actually played a bit more at second base this year than would've been expected. Eventually, as he gets older and bulks up, Tatís is expected to eventually have the power to be an everyday third baseman. Despite him actually having a lower OPS this year than the aforementioned Cesar Jiménez, expect Tatís to be promoted to the AZL squad for 2020 due to his much higher ceiling.
I'm the writer formerly known as WSM20051917. Despite my entire family being Cub fans, I grew up listening to Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall on the radio as I listened to the entire season of the South Side Hit Men of '77. While it's true I have a myriad of other interests (American history, classic literature, classic rock, classic country, blues, jazz, gardening, family, etc.—not all in that order), few things aside from family surpass my interest in all things baseball — especially the White Sox.