2025 South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 8
Expanded to a 13-player ballot, to accommodate the Garrett Crochet deal
The trade of Garrett Crochet to Boston, bringing in four top prospects from a system at least as good as ours, is a good enough time as any to signal a transition in the voting and to get rid of the expended Prospect Vote history that has topped each of the first seven votes.
Given that our ballot now extends to the (estimated) 16th overall prospect for the White Sox and four players in Boston’s Top 14 are now in the system, we’re temporarily enlarging the ballot for these next few rounds by adding all four Red Sox players in to Round 9, making the total ballot 13 players. Round 9 will be 12 players, Round 10 features 11, and by Round 11 we will be back to 10.
It’s an imperfect system, voting as the White Sox fire sale-acquire prime prospects each offseason (last year, we couldn’t wedge any of the three-player haul from the San Diego Padres for Dylan Cease into our Vote), and invariably one or two of the Boston prospects are going to be rated lower than they “should be.” But hey, we do our best with the hand we’re dealt.
After the surprise of Aldrin Batista as our No. 6-voted prospect, things settled down in Round 7, as Mason Adams earned the win and nearly everyone shuffled up one spot. Adams took 38 of 186 votes (20%):
Adams was our No. 29-voted prospect last year, his first on the ballot.
Adams’ triumph also makes for back-to-back righty wins:
Here are the past No. 7s in our Votes:
- 2024 Jake Eder (20%)
- 2023 Norge Vera (28%)
- 2022 Yolbert Sánchez (34%)
- 2021 Jonathan Stiever (40%)
- 2020 Jonathan Stiever (51%)
- 2019 Micker Adolfo (35%)
- 2018 Zack Burdi (39%)
Ky Bush dropped a couple of spots, but otherwise things proceeded as expected. First-timer Blake Larson made his debut at No. 9, with 11 votes.
As alluded above, all four Red Sox prospects just acquired make their debut on this ballot: catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and right-handed starting pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2025
- Brooks Baldwin — 37% (Schultz 26%, Quero 13%, Smith 4.5%, Montgomery 4.1%, Adams 3.8%, Wolkow 3.5%, Taylor 3.1%, Iriarte 2.8%, Ramos 2.4%)
- Noah Schultz — 21% (Quero 19%, Smith 11.4%, Montgomery 10.7%, Adams 9%, Wolkow 8%, Taylor 7%, Bush 6%, Ramos 5%, Iriarte 4%)
- Edgar Quero — 25% (Smith 15%, Montgomery 12%, Adams 9%, Wolkow 8%, Taylor 7.4%, Bush 6.9%, Ramos 6.3%, Iriarte 5.7%, Perez 5.1%)
- Hagen Smith — 23% (Montgomery 18%, Adams 11%, Perez 9%, Taylor 8.0%, Wolkow 7.5%, Ramos 7.0%, Gonzalez 6.5%, Bush 6.0%, Iriarte 5.5%)
- Colson Montgomery — 29% (Adams 13%, Taylor 10%, Perez/Wolkow 9.5%, Ramos 8.6%, Gonzalez 6%, Bush 5.4%, Iriarte 5.0%, Bonemer 4.5%)
- Aldrin Batista — 22% (Adams 13%, Perez 12%, Taylor 11%, Wolkow 10%, Ramos 9%, Bush 7%, Gonzalez 6.3%, Iriarte 5.9%, Bonemer 5.4%)
- Mason Adams — 20% (Perez 13%, Taylor 12%, Wolkow 10%, Ramos 9.1%, Gonzalez 8.6%, Iriarte 8.1%, Bush 7.5%, Larson 6%, Bonemer 5%)
Caleb Bonemer
Shortstop
Age 19
2024 High Level Okemos (Mich.) H.S.
Age relative to high level N/A
2024 prep stats 8 HR ▪️ 35 RBI ▪️ .541 BA ▪️ 15 SB
There’s scant stat evidence available for Bonemer, but the White Sox dipped back into the plans of prior drafts by picking a prep high up in the draft, and a shortstop at that (Jacob Gonzalez was 2023’s first-rounder, Colson Montgomery 2021’s). Bonemer was Michigan’s player of the year as a prep, but at just 19 should see a lot more developmental (Camelback Ranch) play than game action in 2025.
Ky Bush
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 19
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.0 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 7-4▪️ 20 games (18 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 3.30 ERA ▪️ 100 K▪️ 49 BB ▪️ 1.166 WHIP
Bush made big and unexpected strides in 2024, improving greatly on a career that to date had been more promise, less delivery. He was a stalwart in the crushing Birmingham Barons rotation for most of the summer, then made his MLB debut in August, after spending a short stopover in Triple-A.
Jacob Gonzalez
Shortstop
Age 22
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 9
2024 High Level Birmingham (Double-A)
Age relative to high level -1.7 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 130 games ▪️ 8 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .238/.307/.343 ▪️ 47 BB ▪️ 74 K ▪️ 17-of-23 (73.9%) SB ▪️ .975 FLD%
Gonzalez got off to a strong start at High-A Winston-Salem (particularly in slugging .399, flexing far harder than he had in his 2023 debut) but tailed off pretty badly as the season wore on. A shortstop who for a second seemed like he might keep pace with the ascendance of Brooks Baldwin and catch Colson Montgomery at Charlotte ended up running out of gas completely.
Wikelman Gonzalez
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2024 High Level Portland (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.5 years
Overall 2024 stats 4-3 ▪️ 24 games (19 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 83 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.73 ERA ▪️ 92 K ▪️ 46 BB ▪️ 1.255 WHIP
The fourth and least-regarded piece of the Crochet trade, Gonzalez nonetheless sat at No. 14 on Boston’s MLB Pipeline prospect list on the strength of mostly solid stints as a pro, underage at every stop so far. His arresting numbers in 2024 at Double-A indicate a step-back season, particularly with command faltering, and a bullpen transition may loom if he cannot sharpen back up.
Jairo Iriarte
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -7.0 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 5-7 ▪️ 23 games (22 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 126 IP ▪️ 3.71 ERA ▪️ 122 K ▪️ 57 BB ▪️ 1.278 WHIP
As the co-headliner (or darn close) of the Dylan Cease trade last spring, it was no surprise when GM Chris Getz touted Iriarte as sure to get a call-up to the majors by season’s end. Almost every moment of his 2024 pointed in that direction, as he dominated at Double-A. Following a trend that also included Drew Thorpe and Bryan Ramos, Iriarte was one of the two September call-ups to begin September and worked out of the bullpen for six innings to end the season. He’s on the short list to break camp with the big club this spring.
Blake Larson
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 19
2024 High Level IMG Academy (Prep)
Age relative to high level N/A
Overall 2024 stats N/A
Larson was a TCU commit out of IMG Academy (via Des Moines, Iowa high school). He was rated a lower pick in the draft (108ish) than the spot the White Sox selected him (second round, 68th overall), but the club took a shot on a $1 million-plus bonus getting a young arm to eschew the Horned Frogs, and succeeded. Larson will likely be on the slow boat coming out of spring, with extended instruction at Camelback Ranch and some token starts in the short ACL season. In 2026, we might get a chance to see him getting rotation work in Kannapolis.
Chase Meidroth
Shortstop
Age 23
2024 High Level Worcester (AAA)
Age relative to high level -4.3 years
Overall 2024 stats 122 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .293/.437/.401 ▪️ 13-of-19 (68.4%) SB ▪️ 105 BB ▪️ 71 K
Meidroth was Boston’s No. 11 overall prospect prior to the trade to Chicago, and presumably is the closest of the four players acquired to the majors after playing all of 2024 in Triple-A; GM Chris Getz seemed to imply as much, giving his new grinder-infielder a shot to break camp with the club in spring. All of the “grindy” superlatives apply to this shortstop-third baseman-second baseman, but the number that pops out is his 105 walks in 122 games last season.
Braden Montgomery
Right Fielder
Age 21
2024 High Level Texas A&M (NCAA)
Age relative to high level -0.3 years
Overall 2024 NCAA stats 61 games ▪️ 27 HR ▪️ 85 RBI ▪️ .322/.454/.733 ▪️ 5-of-7 (71.4%) SB ▪️ 53 BB ▪️ 59 K
Montgomery was Boston’s No. 5 overall prospect prior to the trade to Chicago, and was selected in the first round in the 2024 draft. He’s a switch-hitter with prodigious power, and might possibly have the skill to shift to center field. Expect a slow start to his pro career, however, as the blue chip is still rehabbing a bad ankle injury suffered in last year’s College World Series.
Jeral Perez
Shortstop
Age 20
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.5 years
Overall 2024 stats 105 games ▪️ 12 HR ▪️ 52 RBI ▪️ .262/.370/.423 ▪️ 62 BB ▪️ 110 K ▪️ 4-of-7 (57.1%) SB ▪️ .939 FLD%
Despite seeming to be the secondary, or at best equal, prospect in the controversial trade deadline giveaway of Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech and Tommy Pham, Perez proved a sheer masher with the Cannon Ballers. The White Sox have been smart to collect solid middle infielder prospects over the years, and Perez could prove to be the best of the bunch.
Bryan Ramos
Third Baseman
Age 23
2020 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 38
2021 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 22
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 3
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 4
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -4.3 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 88 games ▪️ 10 HR ▪️ 44 RBI ▪️ .242/.320/.387 ▪️ 98 wRC+ (AAA) ▪️ 31 BB ▪️ 86 K ▪️ 8-of-11 (72.7%) SB ▪️ .952 FLD%
Once again slowed by injury, Ramos slumped all season in spite of making the jump from Double-A to the majors. Third base should be his to lose in spring training, however.
Grant Taylor
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 15
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.3 years
Overall 2024 stats 0-0 ▪️ 5 starts ▪️ 19 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 2.33 ERA ▪️ 32 K ▪️ 2 BB ▪️ 0.724 WHIP
The White Sox have made such a commitment to bolstering arms over the past few years, they even use plum selections for injured players like Taylor. The LSU righty finally made his pro debut (post-TJS that robbed him of 2023) and acquitted himself well. Pay particular plaudits to Taylor’s vastly-improved (and a typo, right?) K-BB ratio ... yeah, that’s a 16.0, people.
Kyle Teel
Catcher
Age 23
2024 High Level Worcester (AAA)
Age relative to high level -4.3 years
Overall 2024 stats 112 games ▪️ 13 HR ▪️ 78 RBI ▪️ .288/.386/.433 ▪️ 12-of-17 (70.6%) SB ▪️ 68 BB ▪️ 116 K ▪️ 23-of-116 (19.8%) CS
In the stat lines almost a Xerox copy of ballyhooed incumbent top White Sox catching prospect Edgar Quero, Teel even matriculated to Triple-A in 2024 just a few weeks after Edgar. Teel is a lefty bat unlike Quero’s switch-hitting ways, but gets even better marks for game-calling and is more than a year older. It’s anyone’s guess which player makes the majors first, but Teel has the additional advantage of corner outfield play, so a Quero-Teel catching tandem for the next decade or so is not out of the question. Teel comes to the White Sox as Boston’s No. 4 overall prospect and would likely have been a Top 5 voting winner in our Poll as well, right before or after Quero.
George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 19
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 14
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -2.5 years
Overall 2024 stats 91 games ▪️ 13 HR ▪️ 56 RBI ▪️ .257/.357/.451 ▪️ 9-of-11 (81.8%) SB ▪️ 47 BB ▪️ 158 K
Just 19, you can forgive some of the holes in Wolkow’s swing and just dream on his speed-power combination moving through the system. He suffered the teenage extremes, from dominance to helplessness, but should be ready to explore High-A in 2025.