Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2025 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. LHP Noah Schultz | 21 | AA | 2026
At 6’9” 220 lbs with a low-three-quarters release, Schultz brings a unique look that has helped him dominate throughout his minor league career. His command feels like an overlooked part of the profile, as he spots his slider extremely well, especially for a pitch with that much movement, which gives him upside beyond his pitch-mix. Despite the dominant outcomes (0.98 WHIP in 88.1 innings across two levels), his changeup has work to do, and his fastball could use some tweaking to play better up in the zone, but I suspect, given his delivery and release, a cutter and sinker will be auditioned at some point, so his fastball could be separated into a few different pitches (4-seam, sinker, cutter) across time, at which point he’d be a nightmare matchup for just about anybody.
2. LHP Hagen Smith | 21 | A+ | 2026
Smith toed the steel-sharpens-steel path of pitching a lot as a freshman in the SEC (15 starts in 2022) and got better throughout his career, culminating in a fantastic junior season (2.04 ERA, 0.893 WHIP with 164 strikeouts in 84 innings). The Sox sent him to High-A for three games at season’s end, and his dynamic three-pitch (fastball, slider, splitter) was predictably effective. He could probably pitch in the majors in 2025, but the team has little incentive to force the issue, which is the same logic pushing the Schultz ETA into 2026.
3. C Edgar Quero | 21 | AAA | 2025
Quero came over in 2023 with Ky Bush in the Lucas Giolito deal, a major boon for Chicago. A switch-hitter at 5’10” 210 lbs, he slashed .280/.366/.463 with 16 home runs in 98 games across two levels. He struck out just 70 times and drew 39 walks. On the big league side, Korey Lee struck out 31 percent the time, walked at a four percent clip and produced a 64 wRC+, which isn’t necessarily disqualifying for a rookie backstop on baseball’s worst team but doesn’t make him much of a hindrance to Quero’s ascendance.
4. SS Colson Montgomery | 22 | AAA | 2025
A left-handed hitter with patience and power at 6’3” 205 lbs, Montgomery has a lot of backers in the scouting community, but his outcomes were not encouraging in 2024: .214/.329/.381 with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate in 130 Triple-A games. Can forgive some of that due to age and inexperience, but there’s definitely a little more dynasty risk here than you’ll find in most name-brand middle infielders. He’ll probably be useful in OBP leagues regardless, but if the power doesn’t play, you’ll be falling behind in multiple standard rotisserie categories.
5. RHP Grant Taylor | 22 | A | 2026
The 51st overall pick in 2023 coming off a season lost to Tommy John surgery, Taylor looked like his old self late in 2024, recording a 0.72 WHIP and 32 strikeouts across 19.1 Low-A innings. As an SEC arm with a 99 mph fastball that plays well up in the zone, he probably should dominate in the lower minors, but it’s nice to see anyway. At 6’3” 230 lbs with a four-pitch mix (fastball, cutter, slider, curve), he could cruise through several levels this season if he stays healthy.
6. RHP Jairo Iriarte | 23 | MLB | 2024
Iriarte is a twitchy athlete with excellent stuff on the mound, particularly a high-90’s fastball with ride, but the control hasn’t been great. He came up as a reliever after skipping Triple-A, and he could quickly become a dominant late-inning arm if that’s his path, but the three-pitch mix of fastball, slider, changeup looks like that of a starter, which I think Iriarte would be come if the team gives him time to do that. He walked eight batters against six strikeouts in his six MLB innings, which does not seem like a sustainable approach. I’m hoping he opens 2025 as a starter in Triple-A and only comes up because he’s repeating his delivery and pounding the strike zone and not because the big Sawx need an arm for a weekend.
7. OF George Wolkow | 19 | A | 2028
A left-handed hitter at 6’7” 239 lbs, George Wolkow shops in a different part of the store than you do. Might need a different store altogether. As you might imagine, he has big power in the batter’s box and a big swing that invites a lot of strikeouts: 132 across 76 Low-A games. He still slashed .241/.342/.428 with 11 home runs and six steals. He’ll probably remain a power and patience type the whole way up, but we’ve been seeing that work a fair bit lately, so it makes sense to take a flier on Wolkow and abandon ship if the contact evaporates entirely.
8. 2B Alexander Albertus | 20 | A | 2028
Albertus came over in the three-way Fedde trade, which, I dunno, just keep your good starting pitchers if you have them, is my thinking. No offense to Albertus, a patient hitter with a great approach in the lower levels. He played just 19 games in Low-A and slashed .229/.317/.329 with one home run and one steal. I feel pretty strongly that if they hold a little longer, they get more in return for 1.5 cheap seasons ($7.5 million per) of Fedde in just about every other universe.
9. OF Samuel Zavala | 20 | A+ | 2027
San Diego put Zavala on a fast track that fan off the rails when they traded him away in the Dylan Cease deal. Zavala slashed .187/.340/.301 in 111 High-A games with the Sox and just about torpedoed his dynasty stock in the process, but he retains the upside of an athletic 6’1” 175 lb left-handed bat with power and plate discipline.
10. 3B Bryan Ramos | 23 | MLB | 2024
A powerful right-handed hitter with a good idea of the strike zone, Ramos profiles as a high-probability major leaguer at 6’2” 190 lbs with the defensive chops to stay on the dirt and the contact skills to get to his power against high-end arms. Like all the White Sox, he struggled in 2024 but wound up hitting .264 with eight home runs and six stolen bases in 64 Triple-A games. That’s not so bad, I guess, though it’s not sending anyone sprinting to the waiver wire.
Thanks for reading!
