Lopez debuts

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn announced Tuesday evening that top pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez will be called up to start Friday night’s series opener against the Royals, adding that he expects the 23-year-old right-hander to be up for good.

Lopez was acquired from the Nationals in December as part of the Adam Eaton trade and he has registered a 3.79 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 131/49 K/BB ratio over 121 innings this season at Triple-A Charlotte. If those numbers don’t do anything for you, consider his recent production: a 2.70 ERA, .193 opponents' batting average, and 63 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings since June 29.

Lopez struggled in his first taste of the majors last year in Washington, but the rebuilding White Sox have been able to take a more player-friendly approach to his development and the hard-throwing Dominican now looks far more ready for his close-up. He should be added in most standard mixed fantasy leagues and made active for his White Sox debut against a Kansas City offense that ranks 23rd in runs scored.

Mike Pelfrey has been demoted to the White Sox bullpen to vacate a rotation spot for Lopez. The 33-year-old right-hander stands 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 59/47 K/BB ratio in 95 innings (19 starts, two relief appearances) this season.

Lopez, who is scheduled to be activated and join the Sox's rotation against the Royals on Friday night, visited with his new teammates and played catch prior to the series finale against the Astros. The 23-year-old's arrival gave many in the Sox organization a little extra pep in their steps knowing they are about to get a close-up look at another of the prized prospects acquired during the team's massive rebuild.

The White Sox are about to get another up-close look at the future.

General manager Rick Hahn confirmed Tuesday that prized pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez will be recalled from Triple-A Charlotte and join the Sox rotation beginning with a start against the Royals on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

"He has answered all the questions we've had for him at the Triple-A level (so) it's now time to challenge him a little further with big-league hitters on an every fifth-day basis," Hahn said before the Sox played the Astros on Tuesday night. "In the end, that last stage of development has to happen at the big-league level where the speed of the game is a little quicker and the hitters are a little bit more advanced. I look forward to seeing how he responds to that challenge."
Lopez went 6-7 with a 3.79 earned-run average and 131 strikeouts in 22 starts with Charlotte and will replace veteran Mike Pelfrey in the Sox rotation with Pelfrey headed to the bullpen.