Chicago White Sox

BA Grade: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Track Record: Thompson was a longtime standout on the showcase circuit as a high school underclassman and was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2019 even after a disappointing senior year. He signed for an above-slow $2.1 million to forgo a Texas A&M commitment. Thompson joined what was expected to be a dynamic rotation at Low-A Kannapolis with Jared Kelley and Andrew Dalquist in 2021 but, like his rotation-mates, Thompson struggled. He went 2-9, 5.99 in 20 starts between Kannapolis and the Arizona Complex League and was limited to 73.2 innings by a hip flexor strain.
Scouting Report: Thompson is regarded as the best athlete in the White Sox system, but that athleticism doesn’t always translate to his on-field performance. His fastball velocity comes and goes, sometimes sitting 94-96 mph and running as high as 98, then at other times dipping into the 88-89 mph range. His fastball doesn’t have a lot of deception, so batters pick it up easily. His curveball has depth but he struggles to land it for strikes, allowing hitters to sit on his fastball. Thompson also flashes an average changeup and is working to incorporate a slider into his repertoire to give him more of an east-west pitch. Despite his athleticism, Thompson has some stiffness in his delivery and he struggles to repeat it, leading to poor fastball command and fringy control. He is better pitching out of the stretch than the windup.
The Future: Thompson will head to High-A Winston-Salem in 2022 as a starter. His health, inconsistent velocity and command issues point to a future as a reliever.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 45.

Track Record: Gonzalez has been in the White Sox organization since being drafted out of Miami in 2018, but this is his debut as a Top 30 prospect. He struggled at Low-A Kannapolis in 2019 but was able to use the 2020 downtime for a reset and to get healthy. After a strong season spent mostly with Double-A Birmingham, as well as brief stints in Triple-A and with the big league team, Gonzalez is now one of the organization’s fastest-rising prospects. He adapted to shortstop after starting to play the position during the 2019 instructional league program.
Scouting Report: Considering his relative lack of experience at shortstop, Gonzalez already projects as an average defender, and it’s where he’s most confident on the field. His average speed and above-average arm will be enough for the position, and he demonstrates good game awareness and instincts. Above-average bat speed and good hands give him plenty of raw power, demonstrated by the 24 home runs he hit in just 93 minor league games in 2021. It’s more than just the power for Gonzalez, as he shows good zone awareness and low chase numbers and consistently plays hard on the field.
The Future: Gonzalez will carve out some kind of role in the big leagues, most likely in a super-utility role considering his experience in the outfield and at all four infield positions.

BA Grade: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Track Record: Kelley was one of the top high school pitchers in the 2020 draft class, but the depth of pitching caused him to drop to the second round. The White Sox drafted him 47th overall and signed him for an above-slot $3 million bonus. Kelley pitched at the alternate training site and instructional league after signing and earned positive reviews, but he struggled in his pro debut at Low-A Kannapolis in 2021. Kelley battled shoulder fatigue and forearm tightness during the year and finished 0-7, 7.61 with 27 strikeouts and 26 walks in 23.2 innings.
Scouting Report: Kelley still flashes premium stuff with a fastball that touches 99 mph and a slider and changeup which each flash above-average. He generates his fastball velocity with little effort and gets late run on the pitch. His 85-88 mph slider with late tilt has more cut to it at higher velocities and more sweep and depth when he slows it down. His changeup is a bit firm at 85-87 mph, but he has a feel for it and its armside life tunnels well off his fastball. Kelley’s biggest hurdle is his conditioning, as he needs to get his big body leaner and more athletic. He generates power from his physical stature but needs to transfer that power more efficiently. Improvements to shoulder and core strength could pay dividends.
The Future: Kelley will spend much of his offseason in the weight room looking to add strength. External evaluators believe his ceiling is a hard-throwing reliever, but the White Sox internally still view him as a potential starter.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 55. Changeup: 55. Control: 30

Track Record: Lambert completed his first full season in 2021 since having Tommy John surgery, starting 19 games at Triple-A Charlotte and another four in the majors. The 2016 fifth-round pick had previously made his major league debut with two short outings in the 2020 season.
Scouting Report: Lambert would get better grades on his four-pitch mix if he sharpened his command, but they all currently grade out as solid-average to a tick above-average offerings. His four-seam fastball sits 93-94 mph and gets good carry but is not an overpowering pitch. He generates swings and misses with a moderately sweeping slider, which tunnels off of his fastball as it moves away from righthanded batters as it approaches the plate. His mid-80s changeup has armside fade and tumble, and he gets heavy downward break on a mid-70s curveball. Lambert uses a simple, easy delivery that his athleticism allows him to repeat. His control and command still have a ways to go.
The Future: The most optimistic projection for Lambert is as a fourth or fifth starter, although some observers believe he’ll fit better in a swingman role.

Track Record: Stiever has gotten very brief cups of coffee with the White Sox in the last two seasons but spent most of 2021 with Triple-A Charlotte, struggling with inconsistent performance. He finished the Triple-A season with a 5.82 ERA and 13 home runs yielded in 74 innings but with an encouraging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Scouting Report: Stiever’s athleticism allows him to repeat his low-maintenance delivery as he explodes toward the plate, delivering the ball from an over-the-top slot. While his pitch mix consists of four pitches, Stiever relies heavily on his mid-90s fastball, touching 97-98, using it around 60% of the time in 2021. The pitch has easy velocity with run and average movement, and he attacks the zone and gets the heater to both sides of the plate. An improving 82-84 mph slider is his most-used secondary pitch. His 74 mph curveball has gone backward since 2019 and he needs to improve the consistency of its shape and the feel to land it. His infrequently-used changeup sits around 80-83 mph with heavy fade.
The Future: Stiever will head to spring training looking to land a spot on the Opening Day roster. His ceiling is as a fourth starter, but his heavy fastball-slider mix would work well in a relief role.

Track Record: Bilous jumped onto the White Sox’s prospect radar this year.He dealt with lingering blister issues that may have impacted his performance. He also improved his once-poor control, and his strikeout rate jumped to nearly 12 batters per nine innings.
Scouting Report: When he first joined the White Sox, Bilous was primarily using a fastball and slider, but he’s since added to his mix and has gained confidence in his improved changeup and newer curveball. The key was getting his fastball velocity more consistent, and it now sits around 93 mph and touches 97 at its peak with late life and movement. His swing-and-miss pitch is a low-80s slider flashing plus and projecting as a future above-average pitch. His 12-to-6 curveball sits at 80-83 mph but it still tends to get slurvy. The improving changeup with fade projects as an above-average pitch, but it needs consistency. Bilous uses a high three-quarters delivery that gets rotational at times, and when he doesn’t stay through his pitches his front side starts to fly open.
The Future: As he continues to improve his control and get more consistency with his delivery, Bilous should reach his ceiling as a fourth starter. The White Sox added him to the 40-man roster.

Track Record: The 2021 season was the first time that Sanchez faced age-appropriate competition since his 2017-18 season in the Cuban National Series. After signing with the White Sox in 2019 for $2.5 million, he played his first season in the Dominican Summer League, where, at 22, he was the oldest player on the circuit. He made up for lost time in 2021 with a promising season, followed by an assignment to the Arizona Fall League.
Scouting Report: Sanchez became more aggressive at the plate and was not just swinging to put balls in play, showing more pull-side power and a better contact rate in Double-A. He has a good bat path and bat-to-ball skills, with a balanced, handsy swing. While he’s a hit-over-power type and more of a gap-to-gap hitter, Sanchez has average power that could improve with experience. While not a flashy defender, he shows good instincts at shortstop, projecting as an average defender with average range and an average arm. Sanchez spent more time at second base in 2021 while swapping middle infield positions with Lenyn Sosa for the majority of the season. He’s a fringy runner but possesses baseball athleticism.
The Future: After not playing much over the preceding three years, it was beneficial for Sanchez to get a full season of minor league ball under his belt. The upcoming 2022 season will be his chance to really show his full potential.

Track Record: After signing 23-year-old Cuban outfielder Oscar Colas for $2.7 million, Hernandez was the second-biggest signing for the White Sox in their 2021-22 international class, landing him for $1 million in Jan. 2022.
Scouting Report: Scouts highest on Hernandez as an amateur felt he was one of the better pure hitters in his class. He has a simple approach and swing, with a fluid lefty stroke and the ability to whip his hands through the zone quickly to generate good bat speed and catch up to high-end velocity. While a lot of young hitters tend to overswing and get pull happy, Hernandez generally stays under control and spreads the ball around the field with a high-contact game. As he’s gotten stronger, he is starting to flash more over-the-fence power, with a hit-over-power profile now but a chance for 20-plus home runs as he physically matures. Hernandez is an average runner underway with a fringe-average arm and the defensive instincts to get time in center field, though long term he likely heads to a corner.
The Future: While the White Sox have signed a lot of power-oriented hitters from Latin America, Hernandez brings a different skill set to the organization. He should make his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League.

Track Record: Sosa has been young for each level since skipping over the Dominican Summer League and instead debuting in the Rookie-level Arizona League. He started to show his true potential at High-A Winston-Salem in 2021before being promoted to Double-A Birmingham.
Scouting Report: More of a line drive gap-to-gap hitter, Sosa has added strength to his lower half and showed more power at Winston-Salem, hitting 10 home runs while registering exit velos that were just above league average. However, Sosa needs to develop a more consistent approach, as he gets reactionary when he’s not hitting well and tries to do too much. An aggressive hitter who walked in less than 4% of his plate appearances, Sosa needs to get himself in a better position to hit and make better swing decisions. He split time between shortstop and second base. He’s not rangy but has good hands and internal clock.
The Future: Sosa struggled at the plate with Birmingham and likely will return there in 2022 for more seasoning. He profiles best as a utility infielder, able to handle all three infield positions.

Track Record: Adolfo continues to show off his plus-plus raw power on the field when he is able to stay healthy. The native of the Dominican Republic signed with the White Sox for $1.6 million during the 2013 international period. His development has been slowed by injuries, the most recent being Tommy John surgery in 2018 and arthroscopic cleanup surgery in 2019. Finally healthy in 2021, Adolfo combined for 25 home runs between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. That power comes with big strikeout totals. He fanned in 34% of his plate appearances.
Scouting Report: The time off the field has certainly slowed Adolfo’s development as a hitter, but he’ll continue to get opportunities not just because of the power but also his ability to play right field. He worked on his swing prior to the 2021 season, as his bat path gets steep at times and the bat is late getting into the zone. He needs to get behind the ball, control his center mass better and utilize his lower half. The White Sox staff believe his swing doesn’t need a major overhaul, but rather small tweaks that will help the slugger find more consistency. Adolfo is a solid defender who tracks well and possesses a plus-plus arm.
The Future: Adolfo continued making up for lost time by playing in the Dominican Winter League this offseason. His power potential gives him a shot at an MLB role in 2022 or 2023 if he can stay healthy.

Track Record: The White Sox saved bonus pool money on many of their top ten draft picks, allotting much of the savings to sign McDougal, a fifth-round selection. A projectable righthanded high school pitcher from Las Vegas, the White Sox signed McDougal for a well above-slot bonus of $850,000. The former Oregon commit appeared in six games in the Arizona Complex League. He suffered an elbow injury and had Tommy John surgery in late October.
Scouting Report: With a tall, projectable frame and a loose arm, McDougal delivers a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 96. He lands his high-spin breaking ball that resembles a slurve at mid-80s slider speed, and has the makings of a plus pitch. He doesn’t yet have a lot of feel for his 81-85 mph changeup, too often slowing down his arm during his delivery. Amateur scouts were concerned with his crossfire delivery that culminated in a violent head whack. Due to ample moving parts and violence in his delivery, many evaluators foresee an eventual move to the bullpen. Prior to the injury, White Sox staff worked with McDougal to get better direction toward the plate in hopes it would help the command and the shape of his fastball.
The Future: McDougal will spend the entire 2022 season rehabbing the elbow and will be 20 years old when he returns to the mound in 2023.

Track Record: Mena signed with the White Sox for $250,000 during the 2019 international signing period, finally making his pro debut in the 2021 Arizona Complex League. His projectable frame and mature demeanor marked him as one of more intriguing pitchers on the Rookie-level circuit.
Scouting Report: With a good feel for throwing strikes, Mena commands all three of his pitches, with his go-to offering a four-seam fastball sitting 91-93 mph, running it up to 95 mph at its peak. With plenty of room on his frame to add strength, his fastball velocity is expected to creep upward as he matures physically. His 78-81 mph curveball has 11-to-5 shape but will get slurvy at times. At its best, he adds more depth, getting closer to true 12-to-6 break. He mixes in a mid-80s changeup that performs inconsistently and is often shelved for long stretches. Mena uses an easy, athletic delivery, although he tends to get a little crossbody at times, affecting the shape of his pitches. Observers noted that the components of Mena’s game were better than the results he had in Arizona.
The Future: Mena will be just 19 next season, so more time at the White Sox complex may be in order. But with the maturity he showed in his first season stateside, there’s a good chance he gets to Low-A before the end of the summer.

Track Record: Rutherford has spent quite a few years on prospect lists since being a first-round pick of the Yankees in 2016. He was the centerpiece of the package acquired in a 2017 mid-season trade that sent three big league players to New York. The anticipated power increase hasn’t materialized, and he profiles as a left fielder defensively. Rutherford hit just 11 home runs during a full season with Triple-A Charlotte, a notorious hitters’ haven.
Scouting Report: While expectations have been lowered, the White Sox believe Rutherford can be a contributor in the big leagues. His struggles at the plate come from having inconsistent at-bats and too often trying to do too much. Mechanical flaws in Rutherford’s swing have contributed to his struggles, with holes that are easily recognizable versus lefthanders. Scouts note that there was an adjustment in his mentality at the plate over the course of 2021. He now goes to the plate looking for base hits and doesn’t hunt for home runs. The last adjustment for Rutherford will be expanding on that mentality by marrying it with a swing path more conducive for hard flyball contact. Whether he can make those adjustments remains to be seen, as Rutherford has struggled to find his best approach at the plate throughout his professional career. He’s mostly limited to left field, where he makes the routine plays but is hardly the center fielder or even above-average right fielder many envisioned.
The Future: Rutherford still occupies a spot on the White Sox 40-man roster. He’ll likely return to Triple-A in 2022. He turns 25 in May, and time is running out on Rutherford’s faded star.

Track Record: Freeman’s tantalizing stuff has often been coupled with inconsistency, even dating back to his final year at Texas Tech. He was expected to be the Red Raiders’ closer in 2019 but was plagued by significant control and command woes. While there’s still room for improvement, the results in his two pro seasons have been enough to justify their faith in his potential. Freeman reached Double-A Birmingham midway through 2021, posting a 2.70 ERA and an outstanding 22-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 16.2 innings.
Scouting Report: With three potential plus pitches, Freeman has a chance of developing into a high-leverage reliever. Due to his loud stuff, Freeman will continue to get plenty of opportunities to prove his mettle in that role over the coming years. His fastball ranges from 93-97 mph with excellent vertical break and late life, though it should be noted that he’s had velocity dips dating back to his time at Texas Tech. Freeman’s curveball, a true 12-to-6 downer in the high 70s, is another pitch with plus potential. Since joining the White Sox organization, he’s added a mid-80s slider that he uses against righthanded batters almost exclusively. Freeman delivers his pitches with a balanced, high three-quarters delivery.
The Future: Freeman ended the 2021 season in the Arizona Fall League, having been sent there to prove himself against more advanced hitters. He responded with a solid fall season. He’s on track to earn a spot in the White Sox bullpen before long if he continues to prove that he can command his impressive arsenal.

Track Record: It’s been a slow climb for the tall, lanky Mieses since signing for $428,000 in 2016. He finally reached full-season ball in 2021.
Scouting Report: Mieses broke camp with the High-A squad, but his struggles there in May had him heading down the road from Winston-Salem to Kannapolis. Mieses righted the ship in Low-A and returned to Winston-Salem a much-improved hitter, best exemplified by the .930 OPS he compiled during the month of August. Like other hitters with similar physiques, Mieses has a long swing that’s often prone to poor barrel control and bad misses. He needs to continue to stay balanced in the box yet swing with authority to best use his bat speed and raw power. Mieses has plenty of juice, posting a .227 isolated slugging in Winston-Salem, hitting 15 home runs in 2021, a new career high. He’s a fringy defender taking shorter strides in the outfield, but his above-average arm will keep him in right field.
The Future: Mieses has a bat to dream on if he continues making adjustments and refining his swing to work with his long levers. The White Sox left him unprotected for the Rule 5 draft.

Track Record: Signed out of Venezuela in 2019, Sanchez made his pro debut the same year in the Dominican Summer League. He reached the states for the 2021 season, earning an assignment to the Arizona Complex League. Sanchez started getting attention from rival scouts this summer due his tools and scrappy play on the field. After 19 games in rookie ball, he made the jump to Low-A Kannapolis.
Scouting Report: Sanchez puts balls in play but with a limited amount of impact, battling pitchers with a repeatable stroke and strong bat-to-ball skills. He struggled in his first time away from the complex fields as he battled through slumps and noticeably put pressure on himself after bad at-bats. If his hit tool continues to improve, he has a chance to be a classic speedy top-of-the-order-type capable of putting pressure on the defense with his legs. Sanchez is an above-average defender at shortstop, charging balls hard and displaying easy infield actions, but some observers see him better at second base due to a lack of a true left-side-of-the-infield arm. His plus speed resulted in 17 stolen bases in 51 games, so his legs and baserunning acumen will be a big part of his game.
The Future: Sanchez should be more comfortable in a return to Kannapolis. He needs a lot more seasoning, especially at the plate, so expect him to be a one level per year-type of player for the time being.

Track Record: Signed by the White Sox during the 2018 international period, Silven debuted in the Dominican Summer League that same year. While nothing in Silven’s profile screamed prospect upon signing, he’s shown enough potential in small samples to indicate that there may be something intriguing developing. He pitched at three levels in 2021, with the biggest improvement coming when he moved to the bullpen.
Scouting Report: Silven is a bulldog on the mound, although he can often struggle to control his emotions at times. His fastball ranges from 93-97 mph, but the pitch lacks bite or late life, making it fairly easy to barrel. The slider is a work in progress, as the organization is working to add velocity onto the pitch and was a key area of focus during instructional league. The pitch sat 80-82 mph during the regular season but was up to 86 mph during instructional league. Over the course of fall play, Silven and a pitching coach had an ongoing bet as to how hard he was going to throw the slider each day. It’s a positive sign that he came out of the fall with a few extra bucks in his pocket.
The Future: Almost 19 when he signed with the White Sox, Silven will be 23 by midseason. After finishing the year with Double-A Birmingham, he’s likely to return there to start 2022. Long-term, Silven projects to fill either a middle-inning relief role or that of a swingman, thriving primarily with his fastball-slider combo.

Track Record: Sousa was a 10th-round pick by the White Sox in 2018 after a four-year career at Virginia. He was never a highly regarded prospect until a velocity jump in 2021 coupled with solid results put him on the radar. Sousa was added to the 40-man roster just before the deadline last November. His 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings was by far the best mark of his pro career.
Scouting Report: By the time he got to Triple-A, Sousa’s fastball was sitting 93-97 mph with late life. Coming out of a high three-quarters delivery with deception, his fastball and slider combination play up. The slider is a reverse-split pitch. It’s effective against righthanded batters, but less so left-on-left. Early in the season he was sitting 83-84 mph, but as his fastball velocity increased the slider also climbed, sitting 85-88 mph at season’s end. With a strong one-two punch, Sousa looks like a potential bullpen option for the White Sox in 2022 with the ability to miss bats and provide some firepower in the later innings.
The Future: Sousa will head to big league camp looking to earn a spot in the White Sox bullpen, but more likely will be on the Charlotte-to-Chicago shuttle throughout the year.

Track Record: Gosswein was picked by the White Sox after a four-year career at Bradley. He signed for a below-slot $200,000 bonus. While his college results were mixed, the White Sox see interesting tools to work with, most notably a five-pitch mix and solid command.
Scouting Report: With both a four-seam fastball and a two-seam sinker that range from 92-96 mph, Gosswein has an interesting arsenal that gives the White Sox staff something to work with as he develops. The two-seamer gets plenty of sink, but he needs to improve the differential between the two fastballs, as they’ll often bleed together, creating suboptimal shape. Both of his breaking balls project as average pitches, with improvement coming once he gets more separation between the 79-81 mph curveball and 82-84 mph slider. Rounding out the diverse repertoire is a potentially above-average 83-85 mph changeup.
The Future: Gosswein is an arm-strength lefty who could fit as either a swingman or a versatile reliever. A solid showing in spring training could earn him an assignment to High-A Winston-Salem.

Track Record: Hackenberg comes from an athletic family. His brother Christian was a quarterback drafted by the Jets. His other brother Brandon was a recent first-round pick in the 2021 Major League Soccer draft. Adam spent two years as Clemson’s primary catcher.
Scouting Report: Already ranking as the top defensive catcher in the system, Hackenberg moves easily behind the plate and understands the game well, with a chance to be a plus defender. Blessed with a plus arm, Hackenberg threw out 44% of the basestealers during his stint with Kannapolis. He has more power in his bat than he showed in college, with good barrel-to-ball skills and ability to control the zone. He has average raw power but he shows the ability to get to it in games.
The Future: Hackenberg is advanced enough to start 2022 at High-A Winston-Salem, where the White Sox will get an indication whether his strong start is indicative of a step forward offensively.