3 White Sox players who must prove in September they deserve a crack at 2026 roster

The Chicago White Sox are headed toward their third-straight 100-loss season, but this season has a different feel from the previous two.

A young core has emerged on the South Side, providing hope for the franchise to escape this dark abyss the team entered during the 2023 season before cratering to a historic 121 losses in 2024.

Rookie Colson Montgomery has already hit 16 home runs, and he has yet to play in 50 big league games. His power exploits have been so impressive that he is emerging as the face of the franchise.

Rookie catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero are developing into one of the best offensive catching duos in the league.

Shane Smith was named an All-Star in his rookie season. He is on track to be the best Rule 5 Draft pick the franchise has ever made.

Those are just the players with the potential to be superstars. Rookies Chase Meidroth, Mike Vasil, and Grant Taylor are also players who can be mainstays for the White Sox moving forward. The same thing can be said about young veterans such as Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, and Davis Martin, who should also help raise the team's talent floor.

I also think there's a group of players on the roster who are competing for a spot on the 2026 team during the month of September. Three players specifically come to mind that fall into this category.

Bryan Ramos

Bryan Ramos was considered the White Sox No. 3 prospect at the start of the 2024 season, according to MLB Pipeline. His stock has plummeted since then as he has dealt with injuries and struggles at the plate with Triple-A Charlotte.

His .218/.317/.391 slash line for the Knights this year dropped him down to being ranked 18th in the White Sox organization for the latest top 30 prospect rankings by MLB Pipeline.

Ramos could be on the upswing after he made a swing adjustment recently and posted a .778 OPS in August. Perhaps that means he's ready for the big leagues, but he'll need to prove it.

That hot August earned Ramos another shot to prove he can stick in the Major Leagues, as he was called up on Monday when rosters expanded to 28 in September. Hopefully, things go better for him than they did last season.

Ramos played in 32 games for the Sox in 2024, where he had a .202/.252/.333 slash line. He did show some potential at the start of his Major League career with a hit in seven of his first 10 games, but he struggled after that once pitchers adjusted to him.

Ramos is still 23, and supremely talented. If he can stay healthy and show that this swing adjustment translates to hitting in the big leagues, I still believe he can be a player that helps the White Sox win in the future.

The White Sox need guys who can hit the ball hard and put it in the air. Ramos showed in 99 at-bats last year that he is capable of hitting the ball hard with a 46.2% hard-hit percentage that Baseball Savant would consider close to elite.

He is already showing that he can be a run producer with a two-run double earlier this week against the Twins.

Although manager Will Venable will have to figure out a spot to play him, andVargas and Mead have arguably passed him as players the team would consider to be a long-term third baseman, Ramos is on the right track.

Ramos has played some second base and outfield in Triple-A. It is not a lot of experience, but he has the athleticism to be tried out at other spots. I think with the team lacking prospects with high ceilings in the outfield (outside of Braden Montgomery), the Sox should see if Ramos is capable of being a viable corner outfielder.

It would be a huge boost to the rebuild if he could replace Andrew Benintendi in left field (provided the team can dump his salary in an offseason trade).

Fraser Ellard

Fraser Ellard joined Ramos as one of those September call-ups. Ellard was on the Opening Day roster for the White Sox, but ineffectiveness and an injury led to him getting demoted to Triple-A Charlotte.

He now has an opportunity to prove he can be a reliable lefty in the bullpen after Tyler Gilbert was demoted recently. Will Venable has shown that he prefers to carry three lefties in the bullpen, so there's an opening for Ellard to climb higher in the ranks.

Ellard can make his case that he deserves consideration to be a part of his second Opening Day roster with a strong September. That starts with throwing strikes. He has had trouble with his control in Triple-A, but it's possible he just needs to pitch away from Charlotte to prove it, where he had a 1.76 WHIP this season and a 1.34 last year.

Ellard has a 4.05 career ERA in 34 appearances for the White Sox.

Wikelman González

I would love to see the White Sox add a couple of power veteran bullpen arms in the offseason. It's arguably the organization's biggest need right now, although they do have some young internal options who could be future high-leverage arms. Wikelman González is one of those guys.

While González is currently averaging 95mph on his fastball per FanGraphs, his fastball had an above-average 60-grade on the scout's 20-80 scale. González can top out hitting 97 on the gun, according to his scouting report.

His big stuff generates a lot of swings-and-misses, and when González is controlling his arsenal, he's a lockdown reliever. In 10 career MLB appearances, he has a 2.03 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

If González can keep the ball dancing around the strike zone and consistently get outs this month, it would go a long way toward helping make a case to be a potential high-leverage reliever next season.