The Chicago White Sox haven't gotten a lot of respect from anybody this off-season. Outside of some love for a few of their prospects and Dylan Cease, why should anyone respect them? All they have done this off-season is act like a small market team that doesn't care much about winning.
That lack of love continued this week from the very popular outlet "The Athletic". They revealed grades for every team in the league based on how their off-season has gone up to this point. Of course, the White Sox got an F and was the only team to receive such a grade.
Just a few days later, The Athletic torched the White Sox again but this time it came in the form of their prospect farm rankings. They weren't as brutal to the White Sox as the other list because this time they aren't in dead last. However, they ranked the White Sox farm system 28th out of 30.
That is pretty low. The only teams below them are the Atlanta Braves and the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox don't have to feel as bad as the Tigers who are lower than them at the prospect and MLB levels. It is better to see a division rival down there.
However, the Atlanta Braves may be lower but they won the World Series in 2021 with a lot of the prospects that helped make their farm great just a few years ago. The White Sox depleted their farm and won two playoff games in three years.
.@keithlaw ranked all 30 MLB farm systems.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 2, 2023
Once again, the Dodgers rise to the top.
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The Chicago White Sox are still working to improve their prospect pool.
Why is the White Sox farm ranked so low? Well, a lot of the guys that had it in the top-three have graduated to the big league level. Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn, and Luis Robert amongst others are all in the majors and there wasn't as much depth below the top guys.
How does the White Sox overcome this? Well, bouncing back at the MLB level will certainly make people feel less worried about the farm system for the time being. They also need to just keep drafting, signing, and developing in order for it to rise above again.
The prospect farm is also probably better than it gets credit for at this state. Colson Montgomery is a very good prospect that a lot of people are very excited about. He has helped the ranking stay out of dead last for a little bit now.
Oscar Colas and Bryan Ramos each get a fair amount of love as well. In the case of Colas, there is a chance that he plays a lot with the MLB squad in 2023 which should be fun. All in all, the ranking isn't good but there will be more leeway if the team gets better again.