Who is the second-best prospect in the White Sox system?
It is the seventh year of Top Prospect voting at South Side Sox!
Here’s how 2018 wrangled out — all 42 picks. Also, here’s an archive of every article in the 2018 series. Here’s how 2019 came together, all 50 picks, and the archive as well. Here’s 2020, with the archive. Here’s the 2021 wrap-up of just 35 picks due to flagging participation, along with the full archive. And here’s the 2022 link to the 27-pick wrap, along with the full archive. And Round 24 of voting was 2023’s last (we didn’t do an actual wrap for last year’s voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick!), with the full archive.
Our Top 100 is now underway, with Jason Matthews as our Mr. 100. We’ll try for a daily Top 100 entry on site, and the Prospect Vote will turn over as soon as the top vote-getter seems to have an insurmountable lead — but we’ll take no longer than a week to vote each round.
We have six of 10 players from last year’s initial prospect vote poll on our first ballot this year, with two players matriculating out of rookie status (Oscar Colás and Lenyn Sosa) and two pitchers falling out of Top 10 consideration (Norge Vera and Sean Burke). And though “we’re not rebuilding,” four of the Top 10 on the ballot to begin were acquired were not even in the system in 2023; put another way, not a single player from our farm system has moved up onto the first ballot in 2024. Oof.
Last year, Sosa was spending his sixth year among our Top 100 Prospects, and this year we have three players in their fifth years on the list: Bryan Ramos, Cristian Mena and José Rodríguez.
All right, let’s have some fun. And get voting!
This year, we are all in agreement, with Colson Montgomery romping to an easy win as our No. 1-voted prospect. Montgomery earned 82 of 127 votes (65%) for the easy win.
Montgomery was our No. 2-voted prospect in 2023, and in his first year on the ballot in 2022 finished at No. 5 overall.
There’s quite a battle looming for runner-up between José Rodríguez and Noah Schultz, so Round 2 promises to last a little bit longer than this initial foray.
A year ago, our top-voted prospect was Oscar Colás, who pulled off an enormous upset (like this year, Montgomery was pretty much the consensus No. 1) by not just winning, but taking 57% of the vote. In the 2022 vote, it was Norge Vera in the top spot. In 2021, Andrew Vaughn was our top pick. Luis Robert Jr. took the honors in our initial 2020 vote.
Ky Bush, brought over in the Lucas Giolito-Reynaldo López trade with the Angels in July, joins that ballot this round.
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R, acquired from the Angels in July
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -1.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 4-8 ▪️ 17 starts ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 6.91 ERA ▪️ 78 K▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.647 WHIP
Bush’s broad stats profile resembles closely fellow lefty starter Jake Eder below, but without the return from major injury for context. He’s a second-rounder who, over two full professional seasons-plus, has yet to flash much of his potential.
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R, acquired from Miami in July for Jake Burger
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -0.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 2-6 ▪️ 14 starts ▪️ 56 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 6.35 ERA ▪️ 36 BB ▪️ 70 K ▪️ 1.676 WHIP
Like Peyton Pallette below, Eder just got his first season post-surgery under his belt in 2023, with shaky results. His assignment (like Colson Montgomery and Bryan Ramos) to the Arizona Fall League due to a late (injury) season start has yielded similarly mixed results. He may need a little more Barons seasoning in 2024, but the AFL assignment indicates even if so, he’ll be in Charlotte shortly.
Shortstop
Age 21
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R, 2023 First Round draft choice
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.1 years
Overall 2023 MiLB stats 34 games ▪️ 1 HR ▪️ 17 RBI ▪️ .211/.333/.260 ▪️ 23 BB ▪️ 25 K
Chicago’s first-rounder in 2023 was dunked right into pro action, getting more than a month’s worth of play in after signing. The results were less than ideal, with zero power stroke. However, did not let his hitting issues sway his selectivity, as his near 1.00 BB/K reflects the batting-eye trend of the overall draft class.
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 21
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 8
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -6.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 8-7 ▪️ 27 starts ▪️ 133 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.85 ERA ▪️ 64 BB ▪️ 156 K ▪️ 1.414 WHIP
While stumbling some against the much older competition in Charlotte (and honestly, even Birmingham), Mena is still the top starting prospect for the White Sox, Nick Nastrini hype aside.
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R, acquired in July from L.A.
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 9-5 ▪️ 25 starts ▪️ 114 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.08 ERA ▪️ 139 K ▪️ 54 BB ▪️ 1.308 WHIP
After moving over to the White Sox organization and getting the call to Triple-A for the first time, Nastrini really tightened up his game, shrinking his WHIP to almost 1.00. That fearless approach, as well as an utter dearth of competition in Chicago’s high minors, pencils Nastrini in as First Starter Up to Chicago in 2024 — if the lack of depth doesn’t see him break north with the White Sox altogether.
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 11
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.4 years
Overall 2023 stats 0-4 ▪️ 22 starts ▪️ 72 IP ▪️ 4.13 ERA ▪️ 78 K ▪️ 41 BB ▪️ 1.361 WHIP
The 2023 season was Pallette’s first after missing all of 2022 with injury, and the early returns were promising. He’ll start at Winston-Salem this year, with an expectation of Birmingham in the second half.
Catcher
Age 20
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R, acquired in July from the Angels
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -3.6 years
Overall 2023 minor league stats 101 games ▪️ 6 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .255/.380/.351 ▪️ 72 BB ▪️ 76 K ▪️ 12-of-57 (21.1%) CS
Sorry no warning, you might have needed to sit down before reaching this point, because seeing a catcher from the White Sox system so highly regarded is a stunner; of course, Quero is not a White Sox product per se! Blessed with a great hit tool-batting eye, Quero doesn’t pack a ton of power; that could still grow. His throwing arm was plenty hyped, but one-in-five isn’t going to hack it.
Third Baseman
Age 22
2020 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 38
2021 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 22
2022 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 12
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 3
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 81 games ▪️ 15 HR ▪️ 50 RBI ▪️ .264/.358/.450 ▪️ 4-of-7 (57.1%) SB ▪️ 38 BB ▪️ 79 K
Slowed by injury, Ramos’ 2023 still wasn’t a “lost” campaign, especially given a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League. He might possibly see more time in Birmingham to start 2024, but should quickly (if not immediately) be slugging in Charlotte for the Knights.
Shortstop
Age 22
2020 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 32
2021 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 21
2022 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 3
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 5
2022 High Level White Sox (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.9 years
Overall 2023 MiLB stats 106 games ▪️ 21 HR ▪️ 62 RBI ▪️ .262/.292/.437 ▪️ 31-of-40 (77.5%) SB ▪️ 20 BB ▪️ 108 K
More home run power, but not a big jump in slugging percentage overall (seven points) given the sell-out for power (more than a K per game). Can’t say Popeye’s career is at a crossroads, but he’ll likely need Tim Anderson gone from Chicago to see significant time in the majors in 2024.
Left-handed starting pitcher
Age 20
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 6
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -2.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-2 ▪️ 10 starts ▪️ 27 IP ▪️ 1.33 ERA ▪️ 38 K ▪️ 6 BB ▪️ 0.852 WHIP
Jaw-dropping tools, including that delicious 6.33 K/BB, make Schultz the closest thing the White Sox have to a can’t-miss on the pitching side. The club is babying him some, so expect Winston-Salem in 2024 with a possibility, if health is intact, of Birmingham late.
