Before the start of every spring training, we sketch out the present for dozens of White Sox prospects before settling on top-10 lists with a smattering of honorable mentions.
At the end of every season, we review the bodies of work for dozens of White Sox prospects, then survey the body count from the top-10 lists we posted in February. These lists were never updated during the season because revisions are for cowards.
No. 1: Noah Schultz
James: He got hurt, which seems to tie together all the various weird ways he struggled (4.68 ERA, 45 walks in 73 total innings) or even just didn’t look like the 2024 version throughout 2025. But the outlier sized pitching prospect getting hurt has been a chilling part of the profile throughout his time on the public radar. Schultz always throwing strikes up to this point had provided a large runway for his stuff to develop. With the knee injury sapping at that quality this year, I don’t think I question his ability to do it going forward so much as his health merits a brighter shade of red flag.
Jim: The defenses of his poor start started raising personal suspicions when they tied his command issues to growing an inch, because that happened while he was pitching last year, and he finished that season stronger than he started it. I am curious about what the development/abandonment of the cutter looks like when it's separated from knee problem, because the sinker-slider combo seems good enough to get to the majors on its own, and the way he and Brian Bannister have talked about it seems like it's running the risk of messing with his meal ticket.
No. 2: Kyle Teel (Jim)
No. 2: Hagen Smith (James)
Jim: I placed Teel second because it seemed like he had a few ways to get to “above-average catcher” in a hurry, whether it was hitting for average, hitting for power, or his athleticism helping him get a handle of catching's finer points ahead of schedule. The hit tool led the way, at least against righties, and he's shown flashes of going at least 2-for-3, which makes him All-Star caliber, even if only as a Cal Raleigh backup.
James: I certainly wasn’t the only one who thought Smith was more advanced than he actually was, since Chris Getz admitted recently that he initially hoped the fifth overall pick would be a rotation option out of the gate for 2026. Smith wasn’t a consistent strike-thrower until his last year, which was tied to the amount of strength he was able to add in Arkansas strength program (Smith still texts his UA strength coach all the time, they’re tight), bringing a newfound level of stability to his delivery.
Or, that was the thought at the time. Now it looks more like a guy who has always been a little wild outside a window where his stuff was too overwhelming for anything else to matter, and the White Sox seem more optimistic on restoring the stuff to the same power than finding typical starter-level command. Power left-handers maintain such a high potential peak that I don’t really look at this spot with regret, but there’s obviously more relief risk now, or just risk his most cohesive years as a starter happen in the later years of team control.
No. 3: Hagen Smith (Jim)
No. 3: Kyle Teel (James)
Jim: When Smith was hovering 92-93 mph one month into the season, that briefly brought Jacob Gonzalez to mind, in the sense of, “Are they positive this is the same guy they drafted?” After they sidelined Smith for rest and mechanical work, he got back to where he should be, both in terms of velocity and having three-inning stretches where Double-A hitters are swinging at ghosts. The remaining question – can he regularly get through 5-6 innings without lengthy lapses of control – is a significant one, but enough has been written about “The Year of the Lefty” that handedness and bat-missing ability buoy his value against justifiable rising doubt at this particular moment.
James: There are plenty of pro scouts around the league who haven’t moved off the evaluation of Teel as a solid regular starting catcher (pretty darn valuable and important in its own right) but don’t see a potential star. Statistically, a 125 wRC+ rookie season with framing numbers that turned sharply toward the positive late would contravene that. Teel had a .361 BABIP to help him overperform an above-average amount of whiffing in the strike zone, but these were also the first 78 major league games of his life, and it didn’t even seem like he got to all the power that his lefty upper cut stroke is geared toward. The framing progress is encouraging in his own right, but it’s the second-straight season he’s pulled off a midyear upswing in his receiving numbers, boding well for further soft skill progress. There’s reason to watch out for some sophomore offensive regression, or just more streakiness given the amount of swing-and-miss, but Teel’s pushing the envelope in the right way.
No. 4: Edgar Quero
James: While there was enough instability around him to make me question whether Quero actually would slot fourth again, he stuck pretty close to expectations. Preseason, I was wary that his batted ball data suggested he didn’t actually have the consistent 15-homer juice he showed in the minors, and he sure didn’t, but showed some torpedo-infused pop in the second half. His minor league walk numbers seemed pumped up by a passive approach against wild pitchers, and they were, but he still had enough bat-to-ball skill to post an above-average OBP as a 22-year-old. He was supposed to be a bat-first catcher, and unfortunately, his league-worst framing numbers means his worst defensive skill is his most easily quantifiable one, but his soft skill reputation is solid.
The presence of the toolsier Teel doesn’t do Quero favors, but especially factoring in his age, this seems like a potential starting catcher. Those don’t come along very easily, even if it takes more squinting to see a future impact player.
Jim: There were discussions in comment sections here about whether Quero should rank ahead of Teel because when looking at the numbers, Quero had the better 2024 at the same levels while being a year younger. It was a valid point worth batting around, but as it played out, you can see why athleticism is so highly coveted, because that facet determines how easy a player can make the game look.
No. 5: Braden Montgomery (Jim)
No. 5: Colson Montgomery (James)
Jim: Admittedly this was a blind ranking of Braden Montgomery, partially to make a point about how discouraging my non-blind looks at Colson Montgomery were. Fortunately, he validated it with a well-rounded showing that alleviated some fears (production from the right side, defense being hampered by the ankle), although not all of them (strikeout rate ticking upward as he climbs). I wish Double-A parks had Statcast, and particularly bat-tracking technology, to show how much harder he hits the ball compared to the rest of the Birmingham lineup. Also, his quads are huge.
James: Granted it was a feeding frenzy in the moment, but when Colson Montgomery was scuffling horribly at the start of the season and I was polling scouts on how dire it seemed, many claimed to have never been believers in his bat-to-ball ability. His swing decisions, power projection and defensive position drove a big ceiling, but many always felt he’d swing and miss a lot at the highest level. That lines up more with the current version we see, who has so much juice that only the bare minimum level of contact can allow for flashes of stardom, but also can’t really afford to whiff more than he already is. Colson Montgomery in 2025 basically hits the way we all dream George Wolkow will one day, and being tentative on that sort of profile – even while acknowledging the enormous potential – is something I can live with.
What’s harder to reconcile is Montgomery’s plus defensive grades at short, after years of deep industry skepticism he could stay there, or on the infield dirt at all. He’s still huge for the position and that could make the position more demanding on his body, even if it looks well within his skill set, so maybe this good time at shortstop still won’t be a long time. But other than that, it’ll be hard to explain why a sure-thing shortstop with 70-grade pop jumped around in the rankings so much.
No. 6: Colson Montgomery (Jim)
No. 6: Bryan Ramos (James)
Jim: In 2025, Colson was both a prospect who was so horrendous at Triple-A that he required an intervention that was unprecedented for the White Sox, and a 3 WAR MLB shortstop in just 71 games, so any preseason ranking could be considered correct.
But more specific to the skepticism behind my ranking, the White Sox's attitude toward Montgomery over the course of the offseason reflected some concern (the powwow with his agency regarding a path out of his about his 2024 struggles), yet also a fair amount of denial (clearing the path to shortstop without seeing if he was ready for it). The way his 2025 season opened was a manifestation of those apprehensions, albeit even grislier than I could've imagined. Then again, the severity probably helped. If he opened 2025 as a barely better version of his 2024 self, then everybody might've spent the entire year just getting by.
James: Have you ever spoken to Bryan? Experienced his winning charm and enthusiasm? Seen his wide and bright chipped-tooth grin? Did you remember when he studied and passed his citizenship exam midseason, which he was determined to complete so that he could bring his parents to watch him play regularly? Did you ever hear his story about how listening to Lil’ Baby helped him learn English, which he’s been capable of interviewing in since he was a teenager?
So yes – yes – I overrated him, it would seem. Maybe a scout spent much of April texting me memes about my overexuberance for him. I still think there’s a four corners bench player in here.
No. 7: Sean Burke (Jim)
No. 7: Drew Thorpe (James)
Jim: I was probably a little high on Burke having just come off of seeing a very real example of how it could work in the majors at the end of the 2024 season, and chalking up the reasons it hadn't worked with any consistency before then to injury. It was my understanding that development was linear, I apologize.
James: It would be nice if Thorpe wasn’t on track to go nearly two years between major league starts. It would be nice if the fastball we already knew was vulnerable hadn’t been banged like a kettle drum in his big league debut. But I’m mostly fine with standing pat with an evaluation of him as a safe back-end starter, especially since his one stretch of not looking like a 70-command guy came as his arm was going kablooey. No, my one regret is letting another major outlet having Thorpe on their preseason list trick me into thinking he was still prospect-eligible in spring 2025.
No. 8: Drew Thorpe (Jim)
No. 8: Braden Montgomery (James)
Jim: I have no regrets about ranking Thorpe because the incomplete showing due to an elbow problem that was eventually identified, compounded by a more severe elbow problem that cost him all of the 2025 season, still gives him the feel of somebody who needs to be projected, rather than anybody resembling a known entity. Hell, I may rank him again. The enemy's dangerous, but right now I'm worse.
James: Speaking of Montgomeries who are struggling to maintain 70 percent contact rates!
I have that joke and some very real concerns that this dude really does whiff a lot, despite a lot of exposure to – and to be fair, performance against – advanced pitching and indefatigable approach to swing decision work. But otherwise, this guy is super tooled-up and has hit the ball very hard his whole life, and probably shouldn’t have been slotted behind Ramos, Quero, Thorpe and players without his potential for impact.
No. 9: Grant Taylor (Jim)
No. 9: Sean Burke (James)
Jim: Taylor lost an entire season to Tommy John surgery, then lost most of his comeback season to a lat strain. The 16 innings he pitched against Low-A hitters between injuries brought to mind the Dave Barry quote about the right to bear arms (“The Second Amendment states that, since a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, you can buy high-powered guns via mail order and go out in the woods with your friends and absolutely vaporize some deer”). Putting him toward the end of the top 10 felt like a fair compromise, especially if the bullpen was the more likely outcome.
James: My premise is that it was easier for me to see Burke becoming a light out leverage option than a consistently productive starter, given a rocky health history that was light on long stretches of him at his best. After 134⅓ innings of 98 ERA+ ball later, I’m not sure this decision line has moved much. Obviously the front office disagreed for a few weeks, but Burke pitched well enough to keep a rotation slot on a rebuilding team. He’s had several flashes of high-end stuff and execution to keep chasing, and some of his biggest problems were accidental effects on his best pitches from efforts to add a sinker and changeup. Understandable as that may be, he probably wouldn’t be slogging through these issues as a reliever and a deeper field of starters might have pushed him there in a different organization. Should it click and he’s able to string multiple September of 2024s together in a season, it’ll be a pretty clear example of someone benefitting from a longer developmental window.
No. 10: Brooks Baldwin (Jim)
No. 10: Grant Taylor (James)
Jim: I used my final spot on Baldwin because I had something to say about him, as opposed to somebody like Caleb Bonemer, for whom all I could add to the discourse was “The letters in his name can be rearranged to spell 'Cobbler Enema.'” Granted, what I said about Baldwin was that his ability to play shortstop could create surprising value, especially if he continued to grow into his power, because I liked his defense there better than any other place I'd seen him. And if he played that decent shortstop while posting a 93 OPS+ on the season (and .263/.320/.473 since he was recalled), I'd be celebrating my read.
Instead, the White Sox only played him 43 innings at short, and instead pressed him into stunningly inconsistent outfield duties that undermined his offensive contributions. The fact that Colson Montgomery eventually emerged as the everyday shortstop somewhat validated the White Sox's desire to expedite the superutility process, but I dunno, it still feels like the they could've used Baldwin where they applied Jake Amaya, and then expanded outward from there.
James: This is, like, the value of in-person scouting personified. Which is not to make a scouts-versus-stats argument, because Taylor’s pitch data is also tremendous. But it’s to say that from far, every “big stuff, let’s see if he throws strikes/stays healthy” prospect runs together until you see how the genuine article looks/moves/and how his stuff crackles up close. I don’t think, even with his reliever risk already super high, that I would have put Taylor this low after seeing him in person in spring.
Honorable Mentions
| Jim Margalus | James Fegan |
|---|---|
| Bryan Ramos Chase Meidroth Mason Adams Ky Bush George Wolkow Caleb Bonemer Blake Larson Jacob Gonzalez | Caleb Bonemer Blake Larson Chase Meidroth Jacob Gonzalez |
Jim: Outside of Bonemer, whom I passed on ranking until I saw him with mine own eyes and had something honest to say, and Meidroth, who held his own but might not be able to carry much more, this list isn't terribly exciting thanks to the Tommies John for Adams, Bush and Larson. I didn't see Tanner McDougal meaningfully reversing his slide as a starter, and relief prospects don't get me particularly fired up, but he had the velocity and spin talent to have his fans elsewhere, so I suppose I could've taken the latent potential more seriously.
James: Talking about his 2024 bridge league play that few had actually seen, Paul Janish said Bonemer was already one of the better athletes in the organization. That was surprising, because Bonemer’s selling point at the time was his bat and pull power, along with a lot of scouts dismissing his chances of sticking at short. After his first pro year, Bonemer’s selling point is still his bat, and it looks like he’s already going to be playing much less shortstop going forward. But I also see his point. Bonemer is already pretty close to a big league body and his physical development/core stability is a big part of him providing such a consistent debut season.
Larson played absolutely zero baseball, so I don’t know if I’m thinking of him any differently. Meidroth played 122 major league games and looked like a surefire big leaguer but maybe more of a great reserve than an everyday regular, so I don’t know if I’m thinking of him any differently. Gonzalez doing everything at a big league level except hitting the ball hard is reaching the point where profiles like Meidroth, Sam Antonacci or even Kyle Lodise become more compelling.
