Actions often speak louder than words, and the Chicago White Sox front office has a way of admitting that they're not as high on some prospects as their fans or prospect publications.
White Sox fans were demanding earlier this season that first baseman Tim Elko be called up to make his MLB debut. Despite the cries, the front office kept resisting a promotion for Elko, even though he was raking at Triple-A Charlotte.
Maybe, in hindsight, that was because the front office was skeptical about Elko's minor league production carrying over to the big leagues. They were ultimately proven right, with Elko posting a .564 OPS in 20 MLB games.
Elko did hit four home runs during his time with the White Sox, but it often felt like he was either going to hit a home run or strike out, as evidenced by his .145 average and 27 strikeouts.
It is still too early to write off Elko's MLB career, but at present, it seems unlikely he;s ever going to produce in the big leagues like he has been in Triple-A. The White Sox seem to have known that all along.
Right now, I feel like there are three prospects in the organization getting the same treatment Elko once got.
Bryan Ramos
Bryan Ramos had an impressive big-league debut last year with a .389 batting average and a .900 OPS over his first six games. Pitchers quickly made adjustments, however, and an injury killed Ramos' early momentum.
While Ramos finished 2024 with a .586 OPS, he still showed enough potential that he was supposed to compete with Miguel Vargas for the starting third base job in Spring Training.
The competition never happened after an injury wiped out Ramos' spring. By the time Ramos recovered, Vargas had solidified third base. That meant a trip to Triple-A Charlotte for Ramos to start the season.
Unfortunately, Ramos has struggled all season for the Knights. He had a .171/.293/.229 slash line in April and hit .206 in June.
Over his last 64 games, Ramos has an OPS of .764, which is respectable, but nothing to write home about.
Despite the rough season, Ramos is still considered the White Sox's No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
I am just not sure the White Sox think as highly of him as MLB.com does.
For starters, the White Sox never gave Ramos an "Arizona Reset" like they did with Top 10 prospects Colson Montgomery, Jairo Iriarte, and Hagen Smith. All three were struggling at some point in the minors, so they were sent to the Spring Training facility in Glendale to work on mechanical adjustments.
The White Sox also recently acquired Curtis Mead as the headlining return for Adrian Houser. Mead is a former Top 100 prospect who can play first base, second base, and third base.
It feels like Mead has passed Ramos in the organizational hierarchy based on his positional versatility and higher pedigree. It was evident when Mead got promoted once Vargas landed on the 10-day IL with an oblique injury.
While Ramos' batting average for the season is .218, he does have 13 home runs and a .410 slugging percentage. He could have provided a power boost to a lineup that needs to add home runs.
At this point, the only path back to the majors I can see for Ramos is a move to the outfield. The organization has yet to commit to that despite asking him to do pregame work in the outfield last season. He has played two games in left field this year for Charlotte.
In case you need more evidence that the White Sox might be out on Bryan Ramos, Josh Rojas is still getting MLB at-bats after the trade deadline. The organization thinks it is worth giving an older Rojas, hitting well under .200, a shot over a Bryan Ramos.
If Ramos had been hitting better and won the White Sox over, I firmly believe Rojas would have been DFA'd on August 1.
Peyton Pallette
Peyton Pallette was trending toward being an outright bust after flaming out as a starter in A-ball. About halfway through the 2024 season, the organization decided to move the former second-round pick to the bullpen, where started to shine with a 1.80 ERA at Double-A Birmingham.
Pallette had eight saves and 13.7 K/9 for the Barons this season. He has also shot up to 15th in the White Sox Top 30 prospects rankings from MLB Pipeline.
Early dominance earned Pallette a promotion to Triple-A. I was hoping, along with many Sox fans, that Pallette would get moved up to the big league roster. The bullpen desperately needed a closer with a power arm and he felt like a lock to get MLB innings at some point this season.
Unfortunately, Pallette has struggled in Charlotte with a 4.73 ERA in 26.2 innings. I get the sense that the front office is nervous about how Pallette's stuff would play in the majors. Instead of using a lost season like this year to find out, they sent him to pitch in Charlotte's hitter-friendly ballpark.
He has been better over his past 12 outings, allowing just two earned runs over 15 innings of work, but that still hasn't been good enough for Pallette to earn a promotion.
It feels like the White Sox would rather see if Bryan Hudson can bounce back after getting cut by the Milwaukee Brewers or give Owen White a brief look than give Pallette his shot. That says a lot.
Adisyn Coffey
Adisyn Coffey has never been considered a Top 30 prospect. That's mostly due to his age as he was an effective closer at Double-A Birmingham last season with 13 saves.
Coffey is already 26 years old. He's as MLB ready as it gets. When the club really needed a ninth-inning arm in April and May, many were hoping Coffey would get a look in the big leagues.
Not having a legit closer has killed this White Sox team. I would give Adisyn Coffey a shot sooner rather than later.
— Courtney Finnicum (@courtney883) May 26, 2025
Coffey had a 1.55 ERA in 50 appearances last season, but he hasn't had the same success in 2025. The front office may have been right in resisting the cries to add Coffey to the MLB bullpen after all. He had a 5.22 ERA at Triple-A Charlotte this season.
Recently, Coffey was demoted back to Double-A. He's moving in the wrong direction and doesn't appear to be on the cusp of getting promoted.
When an older pitching prospect starts moving down in the minors, it is only a matter of time before he is released.