indians_white_sox_baseball_71003613.jpg

Eloy Jimenez is already a member of the White Sox 40-man roster. | Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Countdown to White Sox spring training: Is it baseball season yet?

Baseball season is almost here.

The White Sox loaded up their equipment truck Friday morning, which means spring training is in less than two weeks.

It’ll take the truck drivers roughly 3 to 4 days to make their nearly 1,800-mile trip to Phoenix, Arizona.

The White Sox invited 22 non-roster players to spring training this month. Seven of those players are currently rated among the club’s Top 10 Prospects by Baseball America and MLB.com entering the 2018 season.

Eloy Jimenez, who is the league’s No. 4 prospect, didn’t need a non-roster invite to spring training because he’s already on the 40-man roster.

The White Sox invited 14 pitchers and three catchers, who will report to spring training on Feb. 14 to undergo their physicals and participate in their first team workout. Position players will report five days later on Feb. 19, which is when the team will host its first full-squad workout.

Here are the 22 players:

  • Chris Beck, RHP
  • Jake Burger, INF
  • Dylan Cease, RHP
  • Brian Clark, LHP
  • Zack Collins, C
  • Tyler Danish, RHP
  • Dane Dunning, RHP
  • Alfredo Gonzalez, C
  • Jordan Guerrero, LHP
  • Alec Hansen, RHP
  • T.J. House, LHP
  • Michael Kopech, RHP
  • Patrick Leonard, INF
  • Jacob May, OF
  • Luis Robert, OF
  • Rob Scahill, RHP
  • Matt Skole, INF
  • Jordan Stephens, RHP
  • Chris Volstad, RHP
  • Connor Walsh, RHP
  • Michael Ynoa, RHP
  • Seby Zavala, C

The White Sox begin the 2018 Cactus League season on Feb. 23 as the visiting team against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch. Their first home game is scheduled for Feb. 25 when they host Cincinnati.

With all the excitement, here are some stories to help you survive the next week without baseball:

Yoan Moncada adapts, adjusts, leads in White Sox’ youth movement Eloy Jimenenz says White Sox are ‘going to win a lot of World Series’ White Sox looking to bolster prospect cache through draft When time is right, White Sox prepared to spend big, Hahn says Watch fan surprise White Sox’ Matt Davidson with his Futures Game MVP jersey White Sox not rushing Carlos Rodon’s return MORRISSEY: A former anti-tanker revels in the White Sox’ ode to losing

Follow me on Twitter: @madkenney

The Latest
The Hawks finished their season 23-53-6 — with the most losses in franchise history — after a 5-4 overtime defeat Thursday in Los Angeles. They ripped off three third-period goals to take the lead, but conceded late in regulation and then six seconds into overtime.
In moments, her 11th album feels like a bloodletting: A cathartic purge after a major heartbreak delivered through an ascendant vocal run, an elegiac verse, or mobile, synthesized productions that underscore the powers of Swift’s storytelling.
Sounds of explosions near an air base in Isfahan on Friday morning prompted fears of Israeli reprisals following a drone and missile strike by Iran on Israeli targets. State TV in Tehran reported defenses fired across several provinces.
Hall participated in Hawks morning skate Thursday — on the last day of the season — for the first time since his surgery in November. He expects to be fully healthy for training camp next season.