2024 South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 12
José Rodríguez finally moves onto our list. Who is the 12th-best prospect in the White Sox system?
It is the seventh year of Top Prospect voting at South Side Sox!
Here’s how 2018 wrangled out — all 42 picks. Also, here’s an archive of every article in the 2018 series. Here’s how 2019 came together, all 50 picks, and the archive as well. Here’s 2020, with the archive. Here’s the 2021 wrap-up of just 35 picks due to flagging participation, along with the full archive. And here’s the 2022 link to the 27-pick wrap, along with the full archive. And Round 24 of voting was 2023’s last (we didn’t do an actual wrap for last year’s voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick!), with the full archive.
Our Top 100 is now underway, as well. We’ll try for a daily Top 100 entry on site, and the Prospect Vote will turn over as soon as the top vote-getter seems to have an insurmountable lead — but we’ll take no longer than a week to vote each round.
We have six of 10 players from last year’s initial prospect vote poll on our first ballot this year, with two players matriculating out of rookie status (Oscar Colás and Lenyn Sosa) and two pitchers falling out of Top 10 consideration (Norge Vera and Sean Burke). And though “we’re not rebuilding,” four of the Top 10 on the ballot to begin were acquired were not even in the system in 2023; put another way, not a single player from our farm system has moved up onto the first ballot in 2024. Oof.
Last year, Sosa was spending his sixth year among our Top 100 Prospects, and this year we have three players in their fifth years on the list: Bryan Ramos, Cristian Mena and José Rodríguez.
All right, let’s have some fun. And get voting!
After José Rodríguez was just minutes away from winning our No. 10 spot, his consolation prize was taken rather handily; Popeye earned No. 11 with 52 of 218 (23.8%) votes. In a strange coincidence of alphabetical order, the bottom four of this past ballot finished in the Top 4 in voting; it seems an outfielder will advance as our No. 12.
Rodríguez finished fifth in our 2023 balloting, third in 2022, 21st in 2021 and 32nd in 2020.
The No. 11-voted prospect in 2023 was Peyton Pallette, in 2022 it was Jared Kelley, in 2021 it was Yermín Mercedes, and 2020’s No. 11 went to Micker Adolfo.
George Wolkow leapfrogged Terrell Tatum to become this ballot’s runner-up. Rule 5 pick Shane Drohan made the most impressive ballot debut to date, finishing fifth overall, with 16 votes. This round, another starting pitcher is added, 2023 second-rounder Grant Taylor.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2024
- Colson Montgomery — 65% (Rodríguez 16%, Schultz 13%, Nastrini/Quero/Ramos 1.6%, Eder/Mena 0.8%, González/Pallette 0%)
- Noah Schultz — 64% (Quero 11%, Ramos 10%, Nastrini 5%, Rodríguez 4%, Mena 2.4%, Bush 1.6%, Eder/González/Pallette 0.8%)
- Bryan Ramos — 29% (Quero 25%, Nastrini 13%, Eder 8%, Rodríguez 6%, González 5%, Bush 4.3%, Mena 3.7%, Cannon 3.2%, Pallette 2.7%)
- Edgar Quero — 36% (Nastrini 18%, Eder/Rodríguez 8%, Mena 7%, Leasure 6%, González 5.1%, Bush 4.6%, Cannon 4%, Pallette 3%)
- Nick Nastrini — 27% (Mena 13%, Eder 11.2%, Leasure 10.6%, Rodríguez 10.1%, J. Burke 9.5%, González 8.9%, Bush 4%, Cannon 3.4%, Pallette 2.8%)
- Cristian Mena — 17% (Eder 14%, Leasure 13.0%, González/Rodríguez 12.6%, J. Burke 11.8%, Cannon 6%, Bush 5%, Pallette 4.3%, Tatum 3.9%)
- Jake Eder — 20% (Leasure 14%, González 13.0%, Rodríguez 12.5%, J. Burke 12.0%, Cannon/Wolkow 7%, Bush 6%, Pallette 5.2%, Tatum 4.7%)
- Jordan Leasure — 23% (González 12%, Rodríguez 11.3%, J. Burke 10.8%, Tatum 9.3%, Wolkow 8.8%, Bush 7.2%, Cannon 6.7%, Pallette 5.7%, S. Burke 5.2%)
- Jacob González — 20% (Rodríguez 13%, J. Burke 12%, Tatum 11%, Wolkow 10%, Veras 9%, Cannon 7%, Bush 6.4%, Pallette 6.0%, S. Burke 5%)
- Jacob Burke — 29% (Rodríguez 22%, Tatum 10%, Wolkow 9%, Veras 8%, Bush 5.3%, Cannon 4.9%, Pallette 4.6%, Keener 3.9%, S. Burke 3.5%)
- José Rodríguez — 24% (Wolkow 14%, Tatum 13%, Veras 12%, Drohan 7.3%, Bush/Cannon 6.9%, Keener 5.5%, S. Burke/Pallette 5.1%)
Sean Burke
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 13
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-4 ▪️ 9 starts ▪️ 36 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 7.61 ERA ▪️ 34 K▪️ 27 BB ▪️ 1.718 WHIP
Burke was almost assuredly the first starter up, in the mold of Davis Martin in 2022, as the White Sox found a need in 2023. However, Burke carried spring training shoulder soreness into the season and never got right; he was shut down for the season in June.
Ky Bush
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R, acquired from the Angels in July
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -1.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 4-8 ▪️ 17 starts ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 6.91 ERA ▪️ 78 K▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.647 WHIP
Bush’s broad stats profile resembles closely fellow lefty starter Jake Eder below, but without the return from major injury for context. He’s a second-rounder who, over two full professional seasons-plus, has yet to flash much of his potential.
Jonathan Cannon
Right-handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 19
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-4 ▪️ 25 starts ▪️ 121 IP ▪️ 4.46 ERA ▪️ 106 K ▪️ 39 BB ▪️ 1.364 WHIP
Cannon ate up High-A in 2023 but hit some speed bumps in Birmingham. He likely starts with the Barons and moves up to Charlotte by midseason, ranking as one of the Top 5 starters in the system.
Shane Drohan
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R, acquired from the Red Sox in December
2023 High Level Worcester (AAA)
Age relative to high level -2.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 10-7 ▪️ 27 games (25 starts) ▪️ 123 IP ▪️ 5.05 ERA ▪️ 129 K▪️ 72 BB ▪️ 1.577 WHIP
Drohan was a Rule 5 pick from Boston, which means he’ll have to impress enough in spring training — and frankly, throughout the season, as he must remain on the active roster in the majors for all of 2024 — or get sent back to the Red Sox. He was otherworldly in Double-A but terrible at Triple-A in 2023; if the White Sox gave up on Nick Avila last spring, it seems a stretch that Drohan sticks with our Sox.
Seth Keener
Right-handed Starting Pitcher
Age 22
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -0.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-1 ▪️ 7 games (5 starts) ▪️ 12 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.38 ERA ▪️ 1.216 WHIP ▪️ 14 K ▪️ 4 BB
Keener was a tweener as a third-rounder coming out of the draft, but the White Sox will do what they can to stretch him out in his first full professional season, likely starting in Winston-Salem in 2024.
Peyton Pallette
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 11
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.4 years
Overall 2023 stats 0-4 ▪️ 22 starts ▪️ 72 IP ▪️ 4.13 ERA ▪️ 78 K ▪️ 41 BB ▪️ 1.361 WHIP
The 2023 season was Pallette’s first after missing all of 2022 with injury, and the early returns were promising. He’ll start at Winston-Salem this year, with an expectation of Birmingham in the second half.
Terrell Tatum
Center Fielder
Age 24
2023 High Level Birmingham (MLB)
Age relative to high level -0.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 125 games ▪️ 6 HR ▪️ 24 RBI ▪️ .248/.397/.367 ▪️ 47-of-56 (83.9%) SB ▪️ 100 BB ▪️ 149 K
Yes, it’s possible to be a three true outcomes hitter with one of the outcomes not being a home run; in Tatum’s case, perhaps it’s a stolen base. There is almost zero gap power in Tatum’s game for someone with so much swing-and-miss, but those 100 walks/.397 OBP sure are tantalizing.
Grant Taylor
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 21
2022 High Level LSU (NCAA)
Age relative to high level -0.7 years
Overall 2022 stats 4-1 ▪️ 17 games (2 starts) ▪️ 31 IP ▪️ 5.81 ERA ▪️ 39 K ▪️ 21 BB ▪️ 1.710 WHIP
No matter how great the LSU Tigers pedigree, taking Taylor in the second round in this past draft was a bold move (MLB Pipeline had him at 102 on its board). The righthander sat out all of 2023 after Tommy John surgery but should be ready, however babied, for some ACL and A-ball work in 2024.
Wilfred Veras
Right Fielder
Age 21
2023 High Level Birmingham (MLB)
Age relative to high level -3.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 130 games ▪️ 17 HR ▪️ 93 RBI ▪️ .286/.325/.466 ▪️ 24-of-31 (77.4%) SB ▪️ 28 BB ▪️ 145 K
Veras has been routinely overlooked in our past polling, but there may be no more dangerous weapon in the organization with the bat; ignore him at your peril.
George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 18
2023 High Level Arizona (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -2.8 years
Overall 2023 pro stats 13 games ▪️ 1 HR ▪️ 3 RBI ▪️ .225/.392/.325 ▪️ 2-of-2 (100%) SB ▪️ 9 BB ▪️ 17 K
In this past 2023 draft, the White Sox took a flier on this high-round (second, third?) prep talent (and lifetime Sox fan!) and it paid off, dangling $1 million to ink him. It’s not a stretch to list Wolkow among the steals of the draft — and as the top talent picked by the White Sox.