Just last year, the White Sox farm system was one of the worst in all of baseball. They had two top prospects, Colson Montgomery and Noah Schultz, but beyond that, there weren’t many players to get excited about. Fast forward about a year and a half, now there are plenty of names in the White Sox system to get excited about.
The trades of Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, and Lance Lynn, paired with a very solid 2023 MLB draft bolstered the White Sox farm system in such a short period of time. Now, come August 1st, the White Sox could have an uncontested top-3 farm system in all of baseball.
As of right now, MLB Pipeline ranks four White Sox prospects in the top-100. That is around the middle of the pack for the rest of the league, but the White Sox have a lot of guys that just missed the cut. When they update the list, guys like Jacob Gonzalez or Jairo Iriarte could sneak onto the list, giving the White Sox more top-100 players. After the draft and the deadline, the White Sox could easily have 7-8 top 100 prospects, which would put them as one of the best farm systems in the league.
The White Sox are slotted into the 5th pick in the draft. The top three players in the draft are ranked by MLB Pipeline to have a 65 overall grade, which is better than Colson Montgomery’s grade. If one of those three falls to the White Sox, they will add another top 15 prospect to their system. If none of the top players fall, if they pick one the players ranked around the five range, those players are still ranked 60 overall, which would slot them as the second or third best player in the White Sox system, giving them a top 50 prospect in the league. Regardless of who they pick, it is likely the White Sox will get a highly regarded player in the draft.
Now, that should bring the White Sox top-100 prospect total to five. That doesn’t take into consideration the trade deadline. Erick Fedde is likely to get at least one top-100 prospect, maybe two if you package another player in the deal. Half a season of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez got the White Sox a top-100 player, so there is no reason that 1.5 years of Erick Fedde can’t.
Tommy Pham should get the White Sox a very solid prospect, as he has played very well for the White Sox. Michael Kopech should also fetch a good prospect in return. They will likely trade a good portion of their bullpen and potentially a bat or two if a team is interested. This should get some solid players back, but if they package the players together, they could potentially get another top-100 prospect.
So, trading the players they are expected to move could get them two, maybe three top-100 prospects by the end of the deadline. This would bring the total to seven or eight, without trading their most valuable players, Luis Robert Jr. or Garrett Crochet. If they trade them, it should bring the top-100 prospect total to double digits.
Now, top-100 prospects aren’t everything, but as a fan it is nice to know that a player received in a trade is regarded highly by multiple prospect ranking outlets. Jairo Irirate was not a top-100 player at the time of the Dylan Cease trade, but he certainly is pitching like one. If Chris Getz can acquire 3-4 talented top-100 players, or rising minor leaguers, this deadline will be a success and the White Sox will have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball, as they already have a deep farm system, they just need to add more top end talent.
