2025 White Sox Individual Top 30: Jasper Roos

White Sox Prospects 1-5: Blue Chip Central

• 1. Noah Schultz, LHP
• 2. Kyle Teel, C
• 3. Colson Montgomery, SS
• 4. Hagen Smith, LHP
• 5. Edgar Quero, C

This group of five does not strike me as controversial; save for the fact that some might feel Hagen Smith should be ranked ahead of Colson Montgomery. I understand this sentiment, and by mid-season, this may be the case, depending on how the minor league season unfolds. For now, I’m only bumping Teel past Colson for the sheer fact that Teel is just a beast.

Edgar Quero, I still feel should be up in the big leagues at some point this season, but then again, so should the rest of this top five. I’m ready for it. These players all ranked in the top five on the FutureSox preseason top 30 list as well.

White Sox Prospects 6-10: Upside Plays

• 6. Braden Montgomery, OF
• 7. Grant Taylor, RHP
• 8. Jairo Iriarte, RHP
• 9. Mason Adams, RHP
• 10. George Wolkow, OF

Two toolsy outfielders sandwiching three right-handed hurlers checks out for a White Sox system. Montgomery, with as little professional experience as he has, is as tantalizing a prospect as you can imagine. Wolkow has power for days, he just needs to tighten everything up.

The Taylor/Iriarte/Adams (prior to Adams’ injury) trio should make it to the big leagues at some point this year, because why the heck not, with the state of the Sox’ pitching staff. This top 10 is as good as it’s been in years, and with 10 players to dream on. These players fall in a similar spot on the updated ranking at MLB Pipeline.

White Sox Prospects 11-15: Upside or Ready Hitters

• 11. Chase Meidroth, SS
• 12. Caleb Bonemer, SS
• 13. Sean Burke, RHP
• 14. Ky Bush, LHP
• 15. Aldrin Batista, RHP

Ky Bush is out with Tommy John, but since I ranked him before the injury, I’ll leave him be. When I ranked Burke 13th, I figured I’d be the low-guy on him, but Elijah and I turned out to have ranked him the highest out of the six writers who participated. That felt off, because I’m not that big on Burke. He showed out in his Opening Day start, but got tuned up again by Minnesota in his following start, so the jury is still out. Meidroth should be in the Majors this season, while Bonemer and Batista have been climbing the ranks steadily, to make for a solid five-player slot in this list.

White Sox Prospects 16-20: Latin Kings

• 16. Wikelman Gonzalez, RHP
• 17. William Bergolla, 2B
• 18. Jeral Perez, 2B
• 19. Samuel Zavala, CF
• 20. Bryan Ramos, 3B

I should not operate under the assumption yet that Wikelman Gonzalez will end up being a reliever, but part of me ranking him at 15 is because of this exact development. The stuff is there; I just think he could be more of a force out of the bullpen. Bergolla, Perez and Zavala all ooze upside, but especially Zavala will have to take steps this year. Ramos has fallen down the list tremendously (and not for the first time in his Sox career), so he has to rebuild the prospect status he held over the last few years. It’s not a vote of confidence that

White Sox Prospects 21-25: The ‘not sold on this group’ Group.

• 21. Alexander Albertus, 3B
• 22. Jake Eder, LHP
• 23. Jacob Gonzalez, SS
• 24. Nick Nastrini, RHP
• 25. Blake Larson, LHP

Scratch Jake Eder; he’s been DFA’d and traded to the Angels. Even before that, I had more or less reached my endpoint on the excitement scale for him. The same can now be said about Gonzalez, who is looking more and more like a bust, and Nastrini, who isn’t able to maintain the buzz he had when he was acquired. Larson and Albertus have at least some helium left, albeit a leaky tank.

White Sox Prospects 26-30: The crap shoot

• 26. Nick McLain, OF
• 27. Juan Carela, RHP
• 28. Wilfred Veras, OF
• 29. Seth Keener, RHP
• 30. Rikuu Nishida, Utility

I’m a big Nishida guy. I wanted to make sure to find a spot for him. The other four are interesting, but they have mostly been around for a while. At some point, you have to wonder if the ceiling has been reached. Carela has recently been released by the White Sox but he could return on a minor league deal as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery.