One of the most underrated prospects on this list, Jonathan Cannon could be in the White Sox rotation as soon as next year. The White Sox third-round pick out of Georgia in the 2022 draft, Cannon has impressed and moved quickly through the organization.
After three years at Georiga, Cannon impressed enough to be a third-round pick. It was well deserved, as he had a very solid college career. After not pitching much during his freshman year, he made 12 starts in 2021. He would pitch 63.1 innings en route to a 3.98 ERA as a sophomore. He would strike out 57 batters in that stretch, giving up 56 hits and walking just 13. In 2022, he pitched just as well, starting 13 games, pitching 78 innings, while striking out 68. He gave up 67 hits while only walking 12 batters. That was good enough for a 4.02 ERA. He showed in college that while he may not have elite strikeout numbers, he doesn’t walk many batters and can get outs. That’s all you can ask for.
After being drafted by the White Sox, Cannon would pitch just one inning for the White Sox in rookie ball before being promoted to Kannapolis. Once in Kannapolis, he would “start” three games, pitching 6 innings while striking out three and walking two. He would give up just 4 hits. This was a very nice start for Cannon, regardless of the small sample size.
In 2023, Cannon really blossomed. He was one of the White Sox representatives at the Futures Game, which showcases the best prospects in the minors in a game during All-Star Weekend. This was due to an outstanding performance at Winston-Salem. He would start 14 games for the Dash, pitching 72 innings. In those 72 innings, Cannon would give up 65 hits, while walking 24. He would strike out 67 batters while holding opponents to a .246 average. He also had a very solid 1.22 WHIP. Again, while he may give up some hits, he still can get outs, as he had a very good 3.59 ERA.
He would then earn a promotion to AA Birmingham in his first full professional season. There he struggled a bit, as he started 11 games, tossing 48 innings. He got hit around as he gave up 61 hits and walked 15 batters. He had a 5.77 ERA, a .298 opponent’s average, and a 1.57 WHIP. This wasn’t ideal, but he was advancing quickly through the minors, so he was bound to hit a snag in the road somewhere.
Cannon will likely start the season in AA, this time knowing exactly what to expect. If he fares better, you could see him get an early promotion to Charlotte. The White Sox really like Cannon, so they aren’t afraid to promote him when he deserves it.
I would grade out Cannon’s season as an A- He was tremendous at A+ ball but struggled in AA. Overall, his body of work was very good, and could be a solid back end of the rotation guy in the pros. He has some very good stuff but he will need to miss more bats to truly be elite. He will be a fun guy to follow and one of the more promising arms in the White Sox system.
