The White Sox rebuild has been universally praised by the baseball universe.
In trading Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, Chicago was able to get a number of prospects including Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Those four players are currently the team’s four best prospects, and all sit within the top 100 prospects in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Coupled with Carson Fulmer and Zack Collins, the White Sox currently have six top 100 prospects.
The White Sox future seems bright on the South Side. The team has rebuffed their farm system and could be true World Series contenders in a few years.
While most feel that Rick Hahn has been doing an excellent job, one analyst feels that more needs to be done.
ESPN’s Keith Law recently released his top ten farm system rankings. Most would assume that the White Sox would be ranked first or second. But on Law’s list, the South Siders slip all the way to tenth.
The Braves, Yankees, Padres, Pirates, Dodgers, Brewers, Mets, Reds and Rockies are all ranked higher the White Sox. Law writes:
The White Sox went from a probable bottom-five system to the border of the top 10 thanks to a great draft and two enormous hauls in trades of major leaguers, giving them the strongest farm system they’ve had in the 10 years I’ve been doing these rankings. Eight of their top 10 prospects weren’t in the organization on June 1, 2016. They may have landed a second first-round talent with Alec Hansen, their third pick of last year’s draft, and they’re going to be all over my top 25. So why aren’t they ranked higher?
Well, once you get past those eight guys, it falls off fast. Of their top 10 from last year, No. 1 graduated, and the next nine guys all had poor to lousy seasons. Some of the younger guys on the list still have promise but just haven’t performed. There’s no sugarcoating the lack of progress — which I think made Rick Hahn’s decision to rebuild all the smarter, given what was on the way. And perhaps the infusion of older prospects will let the White Sox give some of their youngest prospects more time in low- or high-A to develop physically and mentally.
To paraphrase, Law feels that beyond the White Sox top prospects, Chicago’s farm system is pretty weak. While Moncada, Kopech, Giolito, Lopez and even Alex Hansen are impressive, the depth in the system is weak.
For the most part, Law is correct. The White Sox have a ton of uncertainty in their farm system. The team has a ton of prospects who have not lived up to their potential. Courtney Hawkins, Adam Engel and Micker Adolfo to name a few.
While those prospects could pan out, it is far from certain they ever reach their ceiling. That uncertainty is what led to the Sox being ranked so low on Law’s list.
The White Sox system may not be the deepest, but it is still shocking to see them ranked so low. Among the nine teams ahead of the White Sox, only the Braves and Brewers have more top 100 prospects.
Of course, a lot could change between now and the start of the season. The team is still expected to move Jose Quintana and potentially Todd Frazier, David Robertson and others. Assuming the Sox make those moves, Chicago should see their farm system rise up Law’s ranks.
Interesting to note is that both the Yankees and Pirates have shown interest in Quintana, and are both higher than the White Sox on this list.
Overall, Keith Law’s rankings are just another baseball analysts opinion. Other analysts have named the Sox farm system the best in the MLB. But Law is right in pointing out that Chicago needs more depth to truly be considered World Series contenders in a few years.
If Rick Hahn starts moving players like he did at the Winter Meetings, the Chicago White Sox should have no problem doing just that.
Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14
