The laggards at MLB Pipeline finally got around to posting their top 30 prospects for the White Sox in 2021. Reading it, I first noticed that it's the only list to match mine through the first seven. I then realized that it was the final outstanding list needed in order to compile the annual big board of White Sox prospect rankings.
Here is said big board of White Sox prospect rankings, with the usual bunch of observations below it.
| # | SM | BA | MLB | Law | FG | BP | FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaughn | Vaughn | Vaughn | Vaughn | Vaughn | Madrigal | Vaughn |
| 2 | Kopech | Kopech | Kopech | Kopech | Kopech | Vaughn | Kopech |
| 3 | Madrigal | Madrigal | Madrigal | Madrigal | Madrigal | Crochet | Crochet |
| 4 | Crochet | Crochet | Crochet | Crochet | Crochet | Kopech | Madrigal |
| 5 | Kelley | Kelley | Kelley | Thompson | Kelley | Kelley | |
| 6 | Céspedes | Thompson | Céspedes | Kelley | Burdi | Kelley | Stiever |
| 7 | Thompson | Stiever | Thompson | Stiever | Bailey | Stiever | Thompson |
| 8 | Dalquist | Dalquist | Stiever | Burger | Rodriguez | Dalquist | Dalquist |
| 9 | Vera | González | Dalquist | Dalquist | Adolfo | Heuer | Céspedes |
| 10 | Ramos | Sheets | Adolfo | Adolfo | Thompson | Vera |
*The consensus is clear: Andrew Vaughn, Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal and Garrett Crochet as the top four. Baseball Prospectus' list is the lone exception due to its exuberance for Madrigal, but it only has Vaughn two spots behind in BP's Top 101 list (12th and 14th), with Kopech one spot behind Crochet (36th and 37th).
*Matthew Thompson was the only pitcher still in the organization to usurp Jared Kelley on any list. That was courtesy of Keith Law, who explained his enthusiasm for Thompson's case on the Sox Machine Podcast.
LISTEN: Sox Machine Podcast: State of the White Sox farm system with Keith Law
*Jonathan Stiever finished just outside my top 10, mostly because I couldn't separate him from Jimmy Lambert, who didn't quite feel top-10 material to me. It'd be great if either embarrassed me for my pessimism.
*Yoelqui Céspedes is the hardest guy to place, partially because he didn't show up until after the publication of some lists (Baseball America, BPro), because outlets had old information (FanGraphs), or because reports simply vary wildly.
*FanGraphs' future value-based rankings resulted in the most unusual list, although Zack Burdi's inclusion is the only one that strikes me as truly out of place. He just turned 26, and he's not a great candidate to stick in the bullpen.
*Micker Adolfo still has his share of fans, perhaps because he's the one outfielder in the White Sox system who has shown the ability to pull the ball in the air. I just think he's missed too many reps to give him too much consideration. I'd rather give the nod to younger prospects who haven't yet shown any fatal flaws, Bryan Ramos being the most promising thus far.
*Codi Heuer made two lists, which also confuses me since he used up his rookie eligibility last year. Besides BPro, BA ranked him 11th.
