White Sox Promote An Intriguing Bullpen Arm To AAA
There isn’t a lot to be excited about as a White Sox fan in 2024. However, one reason for excitement is the fact that the White Sox have a plethora of young arms in the minor leagues that will push to contribute for the big league team in September of this year, as well as in the early part of the 2025 season.
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa is one of those intriguing arms, and according to Chase Ford, he will make his way to Charlotte for a promotion to AAA.
While the move isn’t official on the White Sox transactions page, it usually takes a few days for them to announce the promotion, as they will need to make a corresponding move to free up a roster spot. When the news broke about Mason Adams getting promoted to AAA, it took the White Sox until the day of his first start to announce the move.
This is a well deserved promotion for Hoopii-Tuionetoa, as he has been lights out this season in AA. In 33 appearances, which have equated to 37.1 innings, he has a 2.17 ERA with 39 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP.
Hoopii-Tuionetoa also has four saves in five opportunities, as well as three holds. He hasn’t walked many batters either, as he has a very good 2.89 BB/9 ratio. When you add that to his 9.4 K/9 ratio, that is a recipe for a fantastic relief pitcher.
What makes this season from Hoopii-Tuionetoa even better is the fact he was acquired for Robbie Grossman a few months ago. Grossman was picked up by the White Sox so they could flip him, and they did just that. However, the return is even better than anyone could have imagined, as Hoopii-Tuionetoa has been very good this year.
Hoopii-Tuionetoa is 24, so he could make his way to the major leagues very soon. He joins a Charlotte Knights bullpen with a few other arms pushing to join the team in Chicago, so he will have extra incentive to pitch well. If he puts a few strong appearances together in the next few weeks, he could be part of the September call ups. If he isn’t, expect him to make a strong case to start the 2025 season in the major league bullpen.
Chris Getz has been very aggressive with his promotions this year and Hoopii-Tuionetoa is another pitcher in the long line of pitchers who have been promoted to AAA within the last month or so. I like these moves from Getz, as there is little sense leaving a pitcher in the minors if he shows he’s ready, and even more so when the current bullpen in Chicago is one of, if not the worst in the MLB.