FutureSox 2023 Chicago White Sox prospect list: Middle Infielders

By / / FutureSox, Prospect Week 2023

FutureSox is highlighting the 2023 Chicago White Sox top prospects by position. This iteration includes the notable middle infielders.

*Age listed in parenthesis

Colson Montgomery, SS (21)

  • Last played: AA Birmingham

The first full season as a member of the White Sox system couldn’t have gone much better for the 2021 first rounder. Montgomery was initially sent to low-A Kannapolis to begin 2022, facing competition that was nearly a year older and put up a .900 OPS across 45 games. The Indiana high-schooler was promoted to high-A Winston-Salem, battling against players nearly two and half years his senior and posted an .804 OPS across 37 games before ending his season as a member of the ‘Project Birmingham‘ experiment.

This offseason saw Montgomery working on his first step quickness as he began to fill out and add muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame. The 21 year old demonstrates an advanced plate approach working counts, drawing walks, and making positive swing decisions. The power flashed during games last season, but there is optimism for more behind strong power metrics and displaying exit velocities of 106 mph per Baseball America. An average runner, there is also growing optimism in Montgomery’s ability to stick at shortstop due to an above-average arm, good instincts and athleticism, and fluid actions on the infield. Working under the premise that the Indiana native will stick at shortstop, he projects as an above-average regular.

Lenyn Sosa, 2B/SS (23)

  • Last played: AAA Charlotte

Signed out of Venezuela for $350,000 in 2016, Lenyn Sosa was always aggressivley pushed by the White Sox. While he held his own, 2022 was a true breakout for the then 22 year old. A swing change incorporating more of his lower half allowed him to start tapping into his power, knocking out 14 home runs and a .331/.384/.549 slash line with a .933 OPS and a 141 wRC+ before a brief June promotion to the major leagues. Sosa was then sent to Charlotte (outside of another brief promotion in mid-August) where after an adjustment period to a new level where he was nearly four and a half years younger than average, he finished with nine home runs, a .296/.352/.469 slash line, .821 OPS and a 117 wRC+.

The young Venezuelan displays solid bat speed and contact skills as well as an improving approach at the plate that could result in tapping into more power. Sosa is a solid defender on the dirt with good instincts, average arm strength, and is capable of playing second, third, and shortstop. He’s been more lauded for his work at second and third over shortstop due to a lack of speed and range the position typically calls for, profiliing best at second base where the power could help to propel him as a regular.

Jose Rodriguez, 2B/SS (22)

  • Last played: AA Birmingham

A $50,000 siging out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Jose Rodriguez has continued his ascent up the White Sox farm system. Playing at three levels in 2021, the then 20 year old returned to Birmingham to begin 2022 by playing against competition over three years older than him. He dealt with some nagging injuries and struggled mightly in the first two months of last season batting .235/.290/.324 with a .619 OPS, a 62 wRC+, one home run and going 11-for-13 on stolen bases. Once June rolled around, though, things really started to click, as Rodriguez batted .307/.371/.496 with an .868 OPS, a 128 wRC+, 10 home runs (nine of which came in August) and went 29-for-37 on stolen bases before a broken hamate ended his season prematurely.

The calling card for “Popeye” has been his hit tool, as he has an aggressive approach at the plate but doesn’t strike out often (13.6 K% last season and a 14.9 K% for his minor league career) while making hard contact with his quick hands, resulting in average power. While he possesses average speed, he does have solid instincts on the basepaths that has yielded high stolen base totals with a solid success rate (78%) during his minor league career. Displaying good defensive instincts as an average defender with an average arm, Rodriguez can sometimes appear to be too loose with his defensive effort. He may be best suited to man second base in the future where his bat could make him a regular (or greater) at the keystone.

Ryan Burrowes, SS (19)

  • Last played: DSL White Sox

A $70,000 signing out of Panama, Ryan Burrowes quickly caught the eye of the industry by hitting .266/.393/.392 as a 17 year old in the DSL and going 12-for-12 on stolen bases. His play made him a popular ask in trade discussions during the offseason, as teams are intrigued by his 6-foot-2 frame and advanced feel for the bat. Burrowes has also posted intriguing exit velocities that offer optimism for average or better power in the future.

The Panamanian is relatively new to calling shortstop his primary home, as he bounced around the infield prior to turning pro. He does display an above average arm, speed, and average fielding ability, he just needs to get more game reps at shortstop to continue to build upon his initial DSL success. Burrowes doesn’t turn 19 until mid-August, so he’ll essentially play his entire first season stateside in the Arizona Complex League as an 18 year old.

Jordan Sprinkle, SS (22)

  • Last played: A- Kannapolis

Heading into his draft year, Jordan Sprinkle was getting buzz as a potential first round talent in the 2022 draft. A down year at the plate silenced that buzz, but the White Sox were happy to select the UCSB product in the fourth round. Defense was and currently is his calling card, as he displays above average to plus speed, a plus glove, quick release, and an above average arm from the shortstop position.

Offensively is where the work needs to be done for the 22 year old. Sprinkle played briefly in the ACL before wrapping up his season in Kannapolis where he slashed .237/.290/.301 with one home and went 8-for-9 on stolen bases across 22 games. While he does posses above average bat speed, he can get too aggressive which adds length to his swing. As it currently stands, the hit tool and power are regarded as fringe-average to below, which would place him into a utility infielder outlook. Fixing the flaws at the plate however could drastically alter the trajectory (and ceiling) for the California native.

Loidel Chapelli, 2B (21)

  • Last played: DSL White Sox

Signed for $500,000 out of Cuba before the start of the 2022 DSL season, Loidel Chapelli (CHA-PAY-EE) was an outfielder by trade that was given the task of playing second base as a pro. While he played against much younger competition in the DSL (around two years on average), the Cuban performed as he should and slashed .344/.448/.636 for a 1.084 OPS, eight home runs and went 10-for-13 on stolen bases.

Standing at 5-foot-8, the 21 year old has a smooth left-handed swing that resulted in hard contact and some surprising power while also displaying a good approach at the plate. Despite being new to second base, he’s taken to the position well with his above average speed, fast hands and average arm. The true test for Chapelli will be when he makes his stateside debut this year with a full season affiliate.

Yolbert Sanchez, 2B/SS (26)

  • Last played: AAA Charlotte

Yolbert Sanchez displays a contact orientated approach at that plate which sapped all the power out of his bat (.280/.324/.341 slash line in Charlotte) and resulted in too many balls on the ground (51.8% in Charlotte) last year. The 26 year old is now an average to above defender at second base, but is capable of handling shortstop and third base in a utility fashion. Sanchez doesn’t hit with enough authority to be considered more than a utility infielder at this point.

Alsander Womack, 2B (24)

  • Last played: A+ Winston-Salem

A standout for Norfolk State, Alsander Womack signed with the White Sox as an undrafted free agent and spent time at both A-ball affiliates in 2022. Standing 5-foot-9 and 205 lbs, the son of former major leaguer Tony Womack unleashed a solid plan at the plate (12.1 BB%, 15.0 K% at Winston-Salem) while hitting .272/.363/.396 with eight home runs and a 111 wRC+ in his first season as a pro. Womack displays good instincts and a high baseball IQ on the diamond.

Moises Castillo, 2B/SS (24)

  • Last played: AA Birmingham

Moises Castillo came to the White Sox organization by way of the St. Louis Cardinals via the Rule 5 Draft in 2021. Known more for his defensive ability over his bat, Castillo posted a .280/.388/.323 slash line and a 106 wRC+ across 47 games for the Dash before getting promoted to Birmingham. The offensive numbers did tick down upon the promotion, as he slashed .236/.328/.318 with a 77 wRC+ in 63 games as a Baron while manning both second base and shortstop. The White Sox sent the Dominican to the Arizona Fall League to get more work in where he hit quite well in limited reps, batting .347/.429/.510 with a .939 OPS, one home run, and went 2-for-2 on stolen bases across 14 games. Unless Castillo is able to do more damage with the bat, he would likely top out with a utility infielder ceiling.

6 thoughts on “FutureSox 2023 Chicago White Sox prospect list: Middle Infielders”

  1. knoxfire30

    Things rarely said in the history of my whitesox fandom…. the whitesox have a pretty strong group of middle infielders in their minor league system….hooray!!!

    1. Wayne

      A couple top end type guys, and some utility types. Having watched the system for some time, you know a number of these guys will never contribute much at the Major League level. But the key is there does seem to be a larger group of guys to be excited about. A few pan out well, and the team is in great shape.

  2. jorgefabregas

    Triple-A opening day is Friday and the other full-season levels start next Thursday. Minor league games are included with MLB.TV this year and it looks like there will be players to watch at pretty much every level.

    1. knoxfire30

      Id imagine they would go Burger if taking someone from minors, or just use Romy if it was someone on the 26 man roster.

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