Top Chicago White Sox prospects before they decided to rebuild

Matt Davison 2013 – #1 prospect

As mentioned before, Matt Davidson was acquired by the White Sox in 2013 from the Diamondbacks for Addison Reed. That acquisition put Davidson right in that number one spot of top prospect held by Reed just a year before.

Drafted 35th overall straight out of high school by Arizona, Davidson was valued for his power, hitting, and fielding ability. He won a Triple-A Home Run Derby and was the MVP of the 2013 Futures Game. Immediately, Davidson was seen as the cornerstone piece and the future of the infield. Another good skill young Davidson had was patience. He was not afraid to take pitches and walked quite a bit. Despite this, his long swing made him strikeout prone. He was also had above-average speed, but it didn’t seem like it when he got to the big leagues.

Just like other White Sox prospects, Davidson had made his debut already. He had 76 at-bats in 2013 as a Diamondback. Those 76 at-bats were nothing to write home about though. As expected, his slugging percentage was high at .434 with three home runs and six doubles, but his .237 average and 24 strikeouts revealed he was not finished developing. He would spend the next three seasons at Triple-A Charlotte

Unfortunately, the power started to fade away. Once projected to record 35-40 dingers in a full season was down to 20-25. His batting average dipped, even more, playing jump rope with the Mendoza line at .200. The doubles went down and the strikeouts rose.

White Sox fans probably remember Davidson most as being a Royal killer. In the opening series of 2018, Matt Davidson demolished the Royals hitting a slash of .533/.611/1.933 in the four-game set. He finished that series with 7 home runs, breaking the record for most home runs versus a single opponent, and it was just the first series of the year.

Of course, we know Davidson did not pan out and build off of that monstrous series. After getting non-tendered at the end of ‘18, he signed with Texas and spent his season in Triple-A. Davidson played 20 games in Cincinnati last season but hit .163 with a .629 OPS, his worst numbers in the majors yet. At 29 years old, he is currently a free agent.