The White Sox have vastly improved their farm system over the last year and a lot of that talent is showcased at their AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons. While they are currently known for their insane pitching staff, they are getting a lot of help from the bats, as there are some hitting prospects that will find their way in Chicago soon with the way they are playing. Let’s take a look at some of their top performers:
Tim Elko
Tim Elko seems to be a fan favorite of a lot of White Sox fans. After being considered the Captain of his Ole Miss baseball team, the White Sox selected him in the 10th round of the 2022 draft. Since being drafted, all he’s done is mash the ball, and this year is no exception.
Last year in his first full minor league season, he hit .295 with 28 homeruns and 106 RBIs. Now that is a fantastic season and he has continued that into this season.
This season he is hitting .300 with six homeruns and 24 RBIs. This is a great start to the first two months of the season and he is on pace for the same stats as last season, but this year at a much more competitive level.
With all the trades likely to affect the White Sox team, he is a candidate to come up and grab some at-bats at DH in August, as the White Sox need to see if his elite production with the bat can translate to the Major League level sooner rather than later.
Brooks Baldwin
The next player, Brooks Baldwin, started off the season extremely hot and has stayed hot through the first two months of the season. While he may not have been a well known prospect before the season started, he should be now, as he currently ranks as the 24th prospect on the MLB Pipeline White Sox top-30 list.
Baldwin was a 12th round pick in the 2022 MLB draft out of UNC Wilmington and has outperformed his draft position ever since. Currently, he is a career .285 hitters in the minor leagues, with a very solid .365 OBP. However, this year he is crushing both of those numbers.
This year, Baldwin is hitting .363 with a .442 OBP. A fantastic start to the season and he has shown no signs of slowing down. While not much of a power hitter, he has added two homeruns, 25 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. A very nice all around showing from him this season.
His positional versatility will certainly help his case for a promotion, as he has played every position except catcher and pitcher in his minor league career. He has mainly stuck to 3B, SS, and 2B as of late, so he his floor can be a utility infielder. If he continues to hit like he has this year, his ceiling could be much higher.
I would much rather see what Baldwin can do at the major league level instead of giving at-bats to Zach Remillard or Lenyn Sosa. If he does come up, he should get consistent at-bats, as that is key when adapting to MLB pitching.
While these two players aren’t the only ones hitting, there are too many top performers to cover them all. Wilfred Veras, Edgar Quero, Terrell Tatum, and Duke Ellis are all having very nice seasons so far. The Barons are a fun team to cover, as they have loads of talent.
