Most of the adjustments made here were shifting players from the existing list down with the additions of Thorpe, Zavala, and Iriarte all cracking my top 10. There were also some slight rearrangements at the bottom since I’m updating it after the fact, but that update has no effect on our current top 30, it’s just what I would have done if the trade was made prior to the list coming out.
White Sox Prospects 1-5
- 1. Colson Montgomery, shortstop
- 2. Noah Schultz, left-handed pitcher
- 3. Drew Thorpe, right-handed pitcher
- 4. Bryan Ramos, third baseman
- 5. Edgar Quero, catcher
The addition of Drew Thorpe to the system gives the White Sox arguably their most advanced starting pitching prospect, which is no slight towards Nick Nastrini, who happened to be bumped out of my top five post Thorpe’s acquisition. Thorpe isn’t going to wow you with big velocity but the command of all his pitches, especially the plus-plus changeup, is what led to his wildly successful first professional season in 2023.
Drew Thorpe: 2023 MiLB Pitcher of the Year; .98 WHIP, 2.52 ERA, 182K to 38BB's. 3 pitch mix. His FB is said to be the red flag due to his velo, but it has run and does not get squared up on often due to his ++ Change and ++ Slider with variation. Last A+ start below (Cont) pic.twitter.com/E9Xo1f8yIb
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) March 14, 2024
White Sox Prospects 6-10
- 6. Nick Nastrini, right-handed pitcher
- 7. Samuel Zavala, outfielder
- 8. Jake Eder, left-handed pitcher
- 9. Jairo Iriarte, right-handed pitcher
- 10. Jacob Gonzalez, shortstop
Two more new additions slot in here, pushing both Jonathan Cannon and Peyton Pallette out of the top 10, respectively. Samuel Zavala brings an interesting mix of youth with an understanding for the zone, as he got on base at a .420 clip for Single-A Lake Elsinore as an 18/19 year old. While the strikeouts did jump up in 2023, the tools from the left side of the plate are quite exciting and he immediately jumps to my top OF spot in the system. Jairo Iriarte can touch 100 with the fastball and has average to above secondary offerings in the slider and changeup, but the control is what has plagued him throughout his minor league journey.
If that gets cleaned up, the White Sox may have some very special talent in the 22 year old right hander. Jacob Gonzalez checks in at ten behind the former Padres prospects. The professional debut was absolutely one to forget, and it’s not something that I try putting too much stock into, but it was also bad enough that I couldn’t ignore it either. He’s appeared to make some swing changes so we’ll see how well they take when the minor league season kicks off.
Nick Nastrini made his first start for the #Knights on Thursday and he looked fantastic. Quality start: 6 innings allowing 2R on 2H and 2BB, while striking out 9. His first K coming on a foul bunt. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/dlBR8nvEPN
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) September 1, 2023
White Sox Prospects 11-15
- 11. Jonathan Cannon, right-handed pitcher
- 12. Peyton Pallette, right-handed pitcher
- 13. Grant Taylor, right-handed pitcher
- 14. Dominic Fletcher, outfielder
- 15. Jose Rodriguez, shortstop
Jose Rodriguez slides down to 15 here, as the hamate injury seemed to hinder him from the jump and even more aggressiveness in his approach led to a nearly 22 K%, which was up nearly 8% from his 2022 season. Peyton Pallette had a solid yet unspectacular year as he was a year removed post-TJ, so him taking the ball every week was the most important factor for me.
White Sox Prospects 16-20
- 16. Ky Bush, left-handed pitcher
- 17. Zach DeLoach, outfielder
- 18. George Wolkow, outfielder
- 19. Wilfred Veras, outfielder
- 20. Seth Keener, right-handed pitcher
Recent draftee and behemoth of an outfielder George Wolkow is going to be a fun player to monitor in the complex league, assuming that’s where he plays in 2024. The raw power is ridiculous, he’s just prone to swing and miss.
Wilfred Veras may still hold questions about a future defensive home, but he really started to figure something out at the plate just prior to his promotion to Birmingham. While the strikeouts did jump up a tad from his time in Winston-Salem (25.1 K% to 27.2 K%), Veras’ .879 OPS and 129 wRC+ were most definitely noticeable and vastly improved from his Winston production. He even managed to swipe 24 bags across both levels which was surprising given that he’s not the fleetest of foot.
Ky Bush made the Saturday start for the #Barons. He goes 5 innings and allows 3R on 2H and 3BB. He strikes out 7 on 55/94. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/CEX0as8DOt
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) August 27, 2023
White Sox Prospects 21-25
- 21. Tanner McDougal, right-handed pitcher
- 22. Ryan Burrowes, shortstop
- 23. Jacob Burke, outfielder
- 24. Jordan Leasure, right-handed pitcher
- 25. Terrell Tatum, outfielder
Tanner McDougal was another White Sox minor league starter working their way back from Tommy John surgery in 2023. McDougal’s high RPM breaking pitches were on display as well as a now mid 90s fastball that touches up to 98-99, but the command would escape him and lead to problems. McDougal logged nearly 70 innings in his first full professional season, as he’ll most likely look to build upon that total in Winston-Salem.
Jacob Burke plays defense like his hair is on fire and he’s a lot of fun to watch covering ground in centerfield. After heading over with Nick Nastrini in the Lance Lynn/Joe Kelly deal, Jordan Leasure looks like he may break camp with the White Sox in 2024. His fastball is plus-plus and touches 100 and is considered one of the best in all of the minor leagues while the slider is above average and sits in the upper 80s.
Tanner McDougal throws a pitch so dirty that he gets a ⚔️ while also hitting the batter. You love to see it. #Ballers #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/Kx0B2vjt2r
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) May 20, 2023
White Sox Prospects 26-30
- 26. Juan Carela, right-handed pitcher
- 27. Tyler Schweitzer, left-handed pitcher
- 28. Mason Adams, right-handed pitcher
- 29. Javier Mogollon, second baseman
- 30. Eduardo Herrera, third baseman
As I wrote up weekly Trending on the Farm pieces, Mason Adams’ name kept appearing over and over again, so much so that it really caught my eye and made me dig into what was happening here. He started piggybacking behind Noah Schultz, and then jumped into the Kannapolis rotation, was then promoted to Winston-Salem and finished the year in Birmingham with 109 innings under his belt. From June 15 until the end of the season (73.1 innings pitched), Adams had 83 strikeouts, a 10.19 K/9, 2.33 BB/9, 2.58 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, and a .226 BAA.
Chicago White Sox 2023 12th round draft pick, from France, Mathias Lacombe 10/3/23 AZ Instructional League vs the San Diego Padres. pic.twitter.com/pqyc2sl2Mg
— TheJerryEspinoza (@JEspinoza1634) October 4, 2023
In this revised version of the rankings, Mathias LaCombe would be number 31, as I shifted the top international signee Eduardo Herrera to the last spot. Javier Mogollon had the best offensive season out of anyone on the DSL White Sox roster. He received praise for his above average EVs for his age group and his ability to hit for power and pull the ball despite being shorter in stature. Putting too much stock into DSL stats will break your heart, but he’ll be a favorite of mine to track in 2024 now that he’ll be stateside.