Better days are ahead for Chicago White Sox fans, who have suffered through a 41-121 season in 2024 and an uninspiring 10-25 record to kick off 2025.
While the Sox do not look improved on paper, the eye test says otherwise. This year’s team plays a much more watchable brand of baseball than the 2024 White Sox. That’s evidenced by Chicago’s run differential, which is only -27 despite being 15 games under .500.
For those playing close attention, 2025 represents progress. It is also a year to test and develop a farm system that will control the future of the organization. We have already seen the White Sox bring some of their top young talent to the major league level while some of their more underrated prospects climb the ranks of the minor leagues.
But after looking through Chicago’s minor league system, there are still a handful of prospects that I believe are being undervalued. The following four White Sox prospects all deserve a promotion and a chance to prove themselves as legitimate assets for the future.
RP Jack Young
Right-handed pitcher Jack Young was Chicago’s ninth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Hailing from the University of Iowa, Young had a team-best 2.76 ERA in 28 appearances out of the bullpen for the Hawkeyes.
A 35.1% K-rate is really what stood out after he was selected, but many were also optimistic about Young’s ability to move through the minor leagues quickly. A college senior that is profiled as a relief pitcher from Day 1 is always a candidate to have an instant impact.
But even with a 0.79 ERA in 10 appearances this season, the White Sox still have Young in Kannapolis.
“Young” is actually a bit old for the level he is playing at. He’s 23 and having success. It’s time to see what he has in Winston-Salem or even Birmingham.
OF Braden Montgomery
Outfielder Braden Montgomery is the No. 49 prospect in baseball and proving why every day. In his first 24 games of professional baseball, Montgomery is hitting .311 with an on-base percentage over .400 and an OPS over .900 at two levels of the minor leagues.
While the White Sox promoted Montgomery recently, I’m going to be impatient and ask for Montgomery to get elevated once more.
Montgomery has had even more success in Winston-Salem than he had in Kannapolis. I’d like to see him prove it in Birmingham before I get really excited about his future with the White Sox.
With Montgomery being a 22-year-old that got over 700 college at-bats, I don’t think that’s as crazy as it may sound.
SP Lucas Gordon
Left-handed pitcher Lucas Gordon is one of the most underrated prospects in the White Sox organization and a promotion is long overdue.
Gordon was selected in the sixth-round of the 2023 MLB Draft after a big year for the Texas Longhorns. In 2023, Gordon made 17 starts and appeared in 19 games for Texas, posting a 7-2 record and 2.63 ERA over 102.2 innings.
While Gordon is somewhat undersized and does not have overwhelming stuff, his minor league production is undeniable.
The White Sox have bounced him back and forth between Kannapolis and Winston-Salem over the last few years. In 36 appearances and 31 professional starts, Gordon has a 2.52 ERA and 8.5 K/9.
He has been successful at every stop of his baseball career. The stuff plays, even though his fastball will overpower nobody. I want to see the 23-year-old southpaw get his chance at Double-A Birmingham so that the Sox can really start to figure out what they have with him.
RP Andrew Dalquist
In 2021, Andrew Dalquist was the No. 9 prospect in the White Sox organization. He was Chicago’s third-round draft pick in 2019 and the high-schooler signed a pro contract after receiving more than double his slot value with a $2 million signing bonus.
Dalquist quickly flamed out as a starting pitcher. His ERA ballooned every year, from 4.99 in 2021, to 6.49 in 2022, to 7.69 in 2023. That was the end of Dalquist’s career as a starter and was more than enough for the White Sox to make a change.
Since moving to the bullpen, however, Dalquist has showed some real promise and once again has big league potential. He threw 47 innings out of the bullpen for Birmingham (AA) in 2024 with a 3.06 ERA and has opened 2025 by allowing just one earned run in 15.1 innings at the same level.
Dalquist is 24 now and has proven all he needs to prove in Double-A. I’d like to see him in Charlotte before long and have him knocking on the door of a major league debut. The White Sox bullpen could certainly use the help.