Submitted to Patreon: Sleepy Harold’s top 30 White Sox prospect list with descriptions

1. Colson Montgomery SS
2. Noah Schultz LHP
3. Bryan Ramos 3B
4. Edgar Quero C
5. Jake Eder LHP

Montgomery and Schultz as the top two were layups. I went with Ramos over Quero because I’m a big believer in Ramos’ bat and defensive improvements. Similarly to Quero this year (skipping High-A and going right to double), Ramos has always been aggressively assigned and responded well,so I decided to go with the longer track record of success. Jake Eder rounded out the top five as I was impressed with the stuff from his final Pensacola start (working back from TJ) and he had the previous prospect pedigree.

6. Jacob Gonzalez SS
7. Cristian Mena RHP
8. Nick Nastrini RHP
9. Jose Rodriguez 2B/SS
10. Jonathan Cannon RHP

I was torn on how to rank Mena and Nastrini, as both had impressed albeit with some questions surrounding command this year. Ultimately I deferred to Mena based on the age difference with otherwise pretty similar numbers.

11. Peyton Pallette RHP
12. Ky Bush LHP
13. Lenyn Sosa 2B/SS
14. Grant Taylor RHP
15. Terrell Tatum OF

Peyton Pallette displayed flashes of why the Sox liked him enough to select him in the second round of last year’s draft, and I expected a bit of rust as he was working his way back from TJ. Lenyn Sosa was prospect eligible at the time this was constructed (he’s since graduated), and Terrell Tatum’s skillset impressed me a lot this season while with Winston. Tatum displayed a knack for getting on base, being a legitimate stolen base threat, while also playing solid defense in the outfield.

16. Matthew Thompson RHP
17. Jacob Burke OF
18. Seth Keener RHP
19. George Wolkow OF
20. Ryan Burrowes SS

After catching a glimpse of Jacob Burke last season in Kannapolis and once he came back from injury this season red hot both offensively and defensively he quickly became a personal favorite. Recent draftees Seth Keener and local product George Wolkow check in here, as Wolkow has some swing and miss concerns but the power potential is outrageous and his massive frame from the left side of the plate is tantalizing. Keener could be a fast mover similar to Cannon, so that’s something I’ll be monitoring in 2024. Ryan Burrowes had a good deal of hype heading into this season, his first season stateside, and he came out of the gate hot before cooling off some as the season carried on, albeit against older competition.

21. Korey Lee C
22. Wilfred Veras OF
23. Tanner McDougal RHP
24. Sean Burke RHP
25. Jordan Leasure RHP

Korey Lee was highly regarded coming into the season, but questions arose this year with both his offensive and defensive abilities (still has an 80 arm). Wilfred Veras is the focal point of this group for me. After a solid but unspectacular season in Winston-Salem, Veras was bumped to Birmingham where his bat has taken off. The 20 year old is currently sporting a .906 OPS in 36 AA games this season and while his defensive home may still be TBD, the bat seems like it’ll continue to play. Without knowing everyone else’s lists, I’d bet that I’m the lowest on Sean Burke. A 2021 third rounder, after brief success in Winston-Salem in 2022 (28 IP), Burke struggled some in AA (albeit with a good K%), and struggled more in AAA. Burke was injured to begin this season, went back to Charlotte once healthy but continued to struggle before hitting the 60-day IL.

26. Juan Carela RHP
27. Tyler Schweitzer LHP
28. Adam Hackenberg C
29. Mason Adams RHP
30. Tonny Hernandez C

Juan Carela, acquired at this year’s trade deadline for Keynan Middleton, has looked great since joining the organization and has a starter’s frame and build. Mason Adams and Ronny Hernandez may be considered “off the board” picks, but Adams was fantastic in his first full season in affiliated ball, climbing three levels and really excelling after sliding into the rotation permanently. 18 year old catcher Ronny Hernandez was the best offensive player for the ACL White Sox this season, displaying a nice approach at the plate (18 BB to 21 K) and also had 134 wRC+ playing against competition nearly (on average) two years older than him.