Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. SS Colson Montgomery | 22 | AA | 2024
A left handed hitter with patience and power at 6’3” 205 lbs, Montgomery gives the club its best chance at a star since Jason Benetti. In 37 Double-A games, Montgomery reached base at a 40 percent clip and hit four home runs. He stole zero bases after stealing zero bases in High-A despite being on base all the time. There’s a little more dynasty risk here than you’ll find in most name brand middle infielders because if the power doesn’t play, you’ll be falling behind in multiple standard rotisserie categories.
2. LHP Noah Schultz | 20 | A | 2026
At 6’9” 220 lbs with a low-three-quarters release, Schultz brings a unique look that helped him dominate across short outings in Low-A. His 30.8 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate and 0.85 WHIP suggested he was ready for a new challenge when his season ended with a left shoulder impingement.
3. 3B Bryan Ramos | 22 | AA | 2024
A powerful right handed hitter with a good idea of the strike zone, Ramos feels like a high-probability major leaguer at 6’2” 190 lbs. He’s got the defensive chops and athleticism to stay on the dirt and the contact skills to get to his power in games, as evidenced by 14 home runs in 77 games as a 21-year-old. He slashed .271/.369/.457 with an 11.1-to-21.9 percent walk to strikeout rate and will push for the big league job by midseason if he’s replicating those outcomes in Triple-A this year.
4. C Edgar Quero | 20 | AA | 2024
Quero came over with Ky Bush for a couple months of Lucas Giolito, a major boon for Chicago even though Quero wasn’t having a great season. A switch-hitter at 5’11” 170 lbs, he maintained great plate skills but hit just six home runs in 101 games. Even so, he posted a 105 wRC+ in a full season as a 20-year-old against older players and lines up as the club’s catcher of the future and one we could see this season.
5. RHP Nick Nastrini | 24 | AAA | 2024
Came over from the Dodgers in exchange for Lance Lynn and pitched well at Triple-A, posting a 1.02 WHIP in 19.2 innings across four starts. At 6’3” 215 lbs, Nastrini features a diverse pitch-mix with two breaking balls and a changeup alongside his plus fastball. Command has not been his forte. He’s typically posted walk rates around 4.5 per nine, but even if he can’t get that to come down a point or so, he’ll be a back-end option for the Sox in spring training. If he does control the zone with more efficiency moving forward, there’s upside for a solid fantasy starter.
6. LHP Jake Eder | 25 | AA | 2024
Eder struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery, particularly after he was traded to Chicago in the Jake Burger deal, a head scratcher for sandwich fans who saw Burger hit 34 home runs with a 120 wRC+ while Eder coughed up an 11.42 ERA in 17.1 innings for Birmingham. Feels unfair to ding him too much for a few bad outings, but it’s concerning in part because the club bought high on Eder, who needs to rediscover the nasty slider that made him a dominant Double-A starter in 2021. Mountains from molehills, perhaps. In the big picture, he’s a 6’4” lefty with solid command of a solid fastball and a functional changeup. The profile and the price tag should buy him a lot of time to figure things out.
7. SS Jacob Gonzalez | 21 | A | 2026
A left handed hitter at 6’2” 200 lbs, Gonzalez was the 15th overall pick after a great career at Mississippi, where he was a three-year starter and slugged over .550 all three seasons in a tough Southeastern Conference. He hit just .207 across 30 games in Low-A but controlled the strike zone and posted a 14.6-to-16.8 percent walk-to-strikeout rate.
8. SS Jose Rodriguez | 22 | MLB | 2023
Rodriguez was rushed to the big leagues in June when the team needed a live body, but he stayed for just one game before heading back to Double-A, where he slashed .264/.297/.450 with 18 home runs and 28 stolen bases in 87 games. The athleticism and upside are as obvious as the risks here. Rodriguez will need to find a new approach if he intends to claim any kind of long-term role in the majors. His 4.5 percent walk rate at Double-A and 2.2 percent walk rate in 19 Triple-A games are disqualifying factors for the time being.
9. 2B Javier Mogollon | 18 | DSL | 2028
A right handed hitter at 5’8” 165 lbs, Mogollon has a little Jose Altuve in him. I don’t think he’s wearing buzzers that buzz for breaking balls, but he swings with his whole ass and generates surprising thump for someone smallish in stature. In 47 Dominican Summer League games, he slashed .315/.417/.582 with ten home runs and 11 stolen bases. The young Sox had a strong season in the DSL and might have something cooking with this cohort.
10. C Stiven Flores | 18 | DSL | 2028
Flores signed for $250,000 out of Venezuela and looked like a bargain in the Dominican Summer League, slashing .391/.456/.477 with 15 walks (10.2%) and just seven strikeouts (4.8%) in 37 games. He also threw out 20 of 49 potential base stealers and could jump way up public facing lists this year if he handles Low-A pitching.
Thanks for reading!
