GLENDALE, Ariz. — It’s not regularly cited as a tentpole acquisition of the White Sox rebuild, and he wasn’t given an invite to major league camp or toured in front of Chicago media, but last July’s trade of Melky Cabrera to the Royals brought in former second-round pick A.J. Puckett. The 22-year-old right-hander and Pepperdine product had a solid, if unspectacular 2017, recording a 3.98 ERA over 135 2/3 High-A innings, striking out 20.2 percent of opposing hitters and walking 8.6 percent.



Perhaps more compelling than his raw stuff or early career numbers, Puckett boasts ideal size (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) and athleticism (played football in high school) to provide hope he could hold up under the rigors of pitching in a starting rotation one day, and he spoke with The Athletic at length to provide a view into his game.



On getting traded



“You’re kind of sad about it at first. Everybody wants to be with the team that...