As I’ve said here and there, I’m not a big believer in midseason prospect list revisions. I think there are some valid individual reasons to slightly shuffle some systems – graduations, draft picks, injuries and returns from injuries, namely – but when it comes to more ordinary forms of hot and cold, I’d rather wait for any smaller sample weirdness to wash out over the course of a full season.
I actually believe that. It’s not just something I’m saying because I don’t want to be subjected to the exercise of re-ranking White Sox prospects at this moment in time. It would be a dreadful exercise if I were obligated to do so, certainly, but thank goodness for values.
One can reflect on the system without considering the entire order of things, and the shifting from the first to second half is as good a time as any. It’s not any more pleasant, but it spares me from having to put a new number on a player when, frankly, I don’t wanna.
Here was my top 10 at the start of the season:
- Colson Montgomery
- Oscar Colás
- Bryan Ramos
- Lenyn Sosa
- José Rodríguez
- Cristian Mena
- Peyton Pallette
- Noah Schultz
- Sean Burke
- Norge Vera
Of this entire list, the only one who has made undeniable, catch-free progress is Noah Schultz, and he had the benefit of starting from nothing. Still, his first few outings in Kannapolis have exceeded the hype, so the talent is there. The other half of his prospect stock depends on his ability to accrue a meaningful amount of appearances and/or innings, which was the reason I had him in the back half of the top 10.
Otherwise, there isn’t an unqualified success in the group.
Lenyn Sosa and Oscar Colás have held their ground with their returns to Triple-A, but they’ve made no dent in addressing the biggest question (“Can they adjust to MLB pitching?”). Sosa dealt with an oblique injury, but Colás has been in a circling pattern in Charlotte while waiting for his power to come around, and now that he's hitting homers, it's probably time to give him another look. Cristian Mena has held his own as a 20-year-old in Birmingham on the whole, but his best work came in his first five starts of the season, and we’ll see what he looks like when the Southern League reverts to the normal baseball, rather than the enhanced-grip variety.
Bryan Ramos and José Rodríguez look like they’re on the cusp of putting their injuries behind them, while Colson Montgomery just started playing in the ACL and Peyton Pallette is battling the typical rust after Tommy John surgery.
As for Sean Burke and Norge Vera, the less said the better.
The system is in better shape than it was a month ago, when Montgomery, Ramos and Schultz weren’t active. But normally there's somebody in the first half surging up the charts or knocking on the door, and that guy isn't quite there yet -- even when adding the guys who were honorable mentions.
- Wilfred Veras
- Ryan Burrowes
- Luis Mieses
- Carlos Pérez
- Jonathan Cannon
- Tanner McDougal
Jonathan Cannon is representing the White Sox in the Futures Game, so he's a natural candidate to slide into the top 10 list. The other spot is up for grabs.
Ryan Burrowes has avoided the stateside crash that fellow Panamanian Benyamin Bailey experienced in his first few weeks at Arizona, although he's committed eight errors in 12 games. Wilfred Veras has the same strengths (extra-base power, decent hit tool) and weaknesses (plate discipline chasm, no natural position) as before, although he is stealing more bases than ever. Tanner McDougal is being gently introduced to the full-season grind after his own Tommy John surgery, and the early returns are intriguing.
Among prospects who I didn't single out, Terrell Tatum has been incredibly active at Winston-Salem (.268/.434/.421, 54 runs in 60 games), but he turns 24 in a month, and his motor-based play tends to make less of an impact at higher levels. Jared Kelley has rediscovered a form worth monitoring after switching to piggybacking at Winston-Salem (26 strikeouts, 15 baserunners over his last 18⅔ innings), and Matthew Thompson always finds a way to rebound when I'm thinking about writing him off.
Jacob Burke has more helium than anybody in the system, hitting .315/.416/.512 and reaching in every single one of his 35 games with Kannapolis. He's 22 and was drafted out of the University of Miami, so low-A might not be challenging him as much as it normally would for an 11th-rounder, even if he only played one year in a major conference. If he can reproduce that success in Winston-Salem by the end of the year, his case will feel considerably sturdier.
