South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 41: Eric Adler

A promising relief arm who struggled some in his last season for Wake Forest

Eric Adler

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´2´´
190 pounds
Age: 22
2022 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -0.7 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system 6
Overall 2022 college stats 0-1 ⚾️ 22 games ⚾️ 4 SV ⚾️ 21 1⁄3 IP ⚾️ 8.86 ERA ⚾️ 1.781 WHIP ⚾️ 37 K ⚾️ 25 BB

At No. 191 in the 2022 MLB draft, the White Sox selected RHRP Eric Adler out of Wake Forest.

The righthander from a football family comes in with some built-in Chicago toughness.

Adler comes in rated as prospect No. 242 on the MLB 2022 Prospect Ranks; the White Sox saw something more, grabbing him at No. 191 overall.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 35 | Overall: 40

Adler is a big arm guy with a great, if not overwhelming, fastball. His high spin rates also suggest absolutely stellar stuff. He continued a heavy spin-rate trend with this White Sox draft.

Unfortunately, mechanical issues in Adler’s delivery have led to him struggling over his college career to throw strikes consistently. But even considering the struggles with command, Adler was able to be stellar as a reliever prior to 2022, which makes him a prime subject for Ethan Katz and his pitching lab.

If Adler can somehow gain the ability to find the strike zone more consistently, he certainly has the ability to miss bats and project as a high-leverage bullpen arm down the road.

Although Adler is unrelated to the institutional Chicago planetarium with which he shares a name, the White Sox certainly hope they can be seeing a star in the future.

Adler’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Strikeouts 96
vs. Power 92
Hittable 92
Durability 79
K/BB 29
Walks 5
Team Winning Percentage .462

Adler was better in his pro trial after the draft, dipping into two ACL games and finishing his season with four at Kannapolis. But his troubling 2022 would suggest he will need more reps in Low-A before hopefully regaining his magic. If he can be the reliever he was in 2020-21 with the Deacons, hitting Birmingham by the end of 2023 is not out of the question.

2023 South Side Sox Top 101 White Sox Prospects

41. Eric Adler, RHRP
42. Garrett Schoenle, LHSP
43. Lane Ramsey, RHRP
44. Caleb Freeman, RHRP
45. Hunter Dollander, RHSP
46. Chase Solesky, RHSP
47. Godwin Bennett, RF
48. Wilber Sánchez, SS
49. Tyler Neslony, LF
50. Mario Camilletti, 2B
51. Sammy Peralta, LHRP
52. Jacob Burke, CF
53. Moisés Castillo, SS
54. Victor Quezada, 3B
55. Edgar Navarro, RHRP
56. Craig Dedelow, RF
57. Darío Borrero, 1B
58. Michael Turner, C
59. Tyler Osik, 1B
60. Haylen Green, LHRP
61. Mark McLaughlin, RHRP
62. Terrell Tatum, LF
63. Shawn Goosenberg, 2B
64. Randel Mondesí, LF
65. Emerson Talavera, RHRP
66. Declan Cronin, RHRP
67. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
68. Colby Smelley, C
69. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
70. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
71. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
72. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
73. James Beard, CF
74. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
75. Ronny Hernandez, C
76. Troy Claunch, C
77. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
78. Tim Elko, 1B
79. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
80. Trey Jeans, LHRP
81. Jerry Burke, RHSP
82. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
83. Mason Adams, RHSP
84. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
85. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
86. Laz Rivera, 3B
87. Xavier Fernández, C
88. Álvaro Agüero, CF
89. Ben Norman, RF
90. Erick Bello, RHRP
91. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
92. Arnold Prado, RF
93. Alsander Womack, 2B
94. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
95. Evan Skoug, C
96. Noah Owen, RHSP
97. Javier Mora, 2B
98. Will Kincanon, RHRP
99. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
100. Billy Seidl, RHRP
101. José Rodulfo, RHRP