We just updated our prospect rankings here at FutureSox and we have tons of content to go with that.
In addition to our regular content, some of our writers who participated in ranking the prospects (James Fox, Mike Rankin, Dan Santaromita, Steve Hasman, Sean Williams, Adam Hess and Jasper Roos) will each release their individual top 30 lists to Patrons!
1. Luis Robert
2. Michael Kopech
3. Andrew Vaughn
4. Nick Madrigal
5. Garrett Crochet
When we made these lists, Robert was still prospect eligible and the obvious number one. While I am a bit apprehensive about Kopech moving into 2021 due to the fact that he will be pitching for the first time in more than two years, so long as the fastball velocity and slider haven’t completely faded in his downtime, his ceiling remains sky high. He can still be the ace of the future for this club. I kept Vaughn below Kopech, but did put serious consideration into ranking him second. My only hesitation there is I prefer to keep my rankings based moreso on ceilings, and as a pure first basemen I do question just how high Vaughn’s will be (though it is still very high for a first baseman).
I’m not ready to rank anyone else in the system above Madrigal quite yet, and the only reason I ranked Crochet above Jared Kelley is because it’s clear the Sox view him as the better prospect, given that they drafted him higher and paid him more.
6. Jared Kelley
7. Jonathan Stiever
8. Dane Dunning
9. Matthew Thompson
10. Andrew Dalquist
As stated above, I strongly considered putting Kelley into my top five. I think Kelley is not far away from being one of the better pitching prospects in the game. The fact that he is an 18-year-old pitcher who has a pro-ready repertoire and build means he could be a fast riser through the system, a general rarity in prep arms. After Kelley, this list could be somewhat interchangeable.
Quite frankly, had I submitted this list a week later than I did, I probably would have ranked Dunning ahead of Stiever because by that time we would’ve seen Dunning’s MLB debut, in which he was rather impressive. In general, I think that Dunning and Stiever have very similar profiles, and the same goes for Thompson and Dalquist. Moreover, I think all four players have similar ceilings, that being a mid-rotation, No. 3 starter type. Dunning and Stiever being older and thus closer to the bigs just gave them rankings edge for me in this instance.
11. Micker Adolfo
12. Jimmy Lambert
13. Gavin Sheets
14. Codi Heuer
15. Luis Gonzalez
The list started getting a bit harder for me here. I am still a believer in Adolfo’s raw tools, but the loss of a minor league system hurts him especially from the development perspective. Lambert still has impressive stuff, and it is unfortunate that injuries have derailed his last two seasons. Sheets quelled a lot of my fears about him last year, and might carve out a role as a big leaguer, but as a first baseman his ceiling is limited. I am not sure he has a path to the majors with the Sox. Heuer looks like he could be a high-leverage reliever or closer for a long time in the majors. Gonzalez has the tools to be a solid fourth outfielder for the Sox for a good while as well.
16. Blake Rutherford
17. Bryce Bush
18. Jake Burger
19. Zack Burdi
20. Yolbert Sanchez
Quite frankly, each year I grow less and less optimistic about Rutherford. He continues to get older each year, but never quite feels like he is getting any closer to the big leagues. Now that he is on the 40-man roster, I think a hard decision could need to be made regarding his future with the organization, and soon.
The biggest jumper for myself in this section is Burger. Him being healthy now and reportedly have a strong showing in independent ball is a big development for himself individually and the Sox’ system as a whole. Burger’s defensive abilities may create some questions about overall ceiling, but the bat should play.
21. Benyamin Bailey
22. James Beard
23. DJ Gladney
24. Jose Rodriguez
25. Konnor Pilkington
Similar to the group of pitchers earlier, this part of the list could be largely interchangeable. My favorite thing about this part of the list is that it is littered with toolsy youngsters that the Sox have added in recent years.
Bailey was extremely impressive in the AZL last year, walking almost once a game and ending the season with a higher OBP (.477) than SLG (.454) and an impressive .931 OPS. If his plate discipline and pitch selection comes with him throughout the minor league system, he could be a very useful piece in the future. Rodriguez has one of my absolute favorite swings in the future, and his nine homers and .505 SLG in the AZL last year lead me to believe there is still a good mount of power potential to be developed in the future. I think both of these players especially could end up being top 15 players in the system within the next few years.
26. Tyler Johnson
27. Bernardo Flores
28. Matt Foster
29. Bryan Ramos
30. Lency Delgado
At this point the pickings got a little slim, honestly. I really like Foster and have been impressed with him in MLB this year. I think he could have a nice future as a middle reliever.