Courtesy Michael Guariglia/FutureSox

Four White Sox prospects ranked in the top 75 of Just Baseball’s updated rankings

By / / FutureSox, Prospect Focus

The Chicago White Sox farm system was considered to be one of the worst in baseball just last season and even at the beginning of this year. Colson Montgomery was the lone prospect within the system deemed worthy of top 100 status according to the vast majority of publications in recent memory. However, a combination of internal growth and recent acquisitions has led to a much-improved farm.

Our friends at Just Baseball released their Updated Top 100 crafted by Aram Leighton and it’s one of the few lists that features four White Sox prospects with all of them slotting into the top 75 players on the list.

Colson Montgomery ranks 15th and could easily climb the list as he continues to improve in Birmingham this year. He’s shown an elite plate approach and bat-to-ball skills through his first two professional seasons and his missed time due to injury hasn’t harmed his outlook at all. He was dominating High-A with a 1.089 OPS through 17 games as he got back into the swing of things following a back that kept him away from play until the All-Star break.

Montgomery made his second trip to Birmingham dating back to last year and has been a little rusty with the bat to this point, but he makes up for it with an approach that defies his age. He has registered 10 walks in just nine games with the Barons.

Montgomery features a blend of skills that makes him one of the best prospects in baseball. His contact skills and approach provide a strong floor while his power is still developing and his glove has continued to improve the past few years. Once looked at as a likely third baseman by many, Montgomery looks like he could be a quality shortstop with excellent on-base skills and the potential to be a 20-homer hitter regularly.

The next prospect ranked by Just Baseball is left-hander Noah Schultz, who comes in at No. 50. After missing the early part of the season with a forearm injury, the 2022 first-rounder has shown out in Single-A Kannapolis in his first professional season. Schultz had one poor start but has otherwise yet to allow a single earned run in the other nine games he has pitched in this year.

His innings are being monitored carefully by the organization, but he has an impressive 38 strikeouts through just 27 innings pitched as his fastball and slider combination has been lethal.

The young lefty has one of the best sliders in the minor leagues right now and his fastball break and location have continued to improve all season. Schultz is one of the highest-upside arms in baseball right now and should continue to rise up the rankings with more innings under his belt during the rest of this season and next year.

Following Schultz is recently-acquired catcher Edgar Quero, who is ranked 69th on the Just Baseball ranking and is generally a consensus top 100 player on most outlets. Quero had one of the most impressive seasons I’ve seen from a 19-year-old last season in Single-A with the Angels organization.

He was pushed aggressively to Double-A in 2023 and saw his production regress but maintained a great approach and feel to hit. Since being acquired by the White Sox in the Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez trade, Quero has shown even more signs of being the future of the catching position in Chicago. He has a .879 through his first 13 games with Double-A Birmingham and I was lucky to be in attendance and talk with him after his first two home runs with the Barons, which came in the same game.

Quero has work to be done behind the plate, which he acknowledges and is working hard at right now, but has shown ample promise from both sides of the plate and with his game-calling. At just 20 years old, Quero is already a productive player in Double-A and could realistically be catching for the White Sox on most days in 2025.

Ranked closely behind Quero at No. 72 is third baseman Bryan Ramos. The talented 21-year-old broke out last season with Winston-Salem as he mashed his way to a .821 OPS there with 19 home runs across his 99 games played. He joined Project Birmingham late in the season and was set to start there this season prior to an injury. Ramos has taken another step forward this season remarkably since making his way back from injury.

Ramos has been on fire as of late, raising his season slash line with the Barons to .273/.392/.503 with 11 home runs and 29 walks in his 50 games played. His defense has improved at third base as well this year and he has the ability to play second too. Ramos has elite power potential with contact skills that are slowly getting better as he ages. If Ramos is able to minimize his whiff rate, he can be an average contact hitter with 30-homer upside every year.

With an explosive swing that generates plenty of high exit velocities, Ramos has All-Star upside at the plate and will have a chance to be a top-50 prospect after the season given how he’s hitting right now.

While still not among the best in the league, I believe the White Sox system is above-average now after being close to the worst earlier this year. These four prospects are all incredibly talented and more players are knocking on the door of top 100 consideration right now.

 

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