The Chicago White Sox are trending towards having another 100-loss season, but this 2025 campaign definitely has a different vibe. There is finally hope of the team eventually getting back to being competitive someday.
The 2023 season was terrible because it was a collapsing ball club that signaled the contention window abruptly being slammed shut. The 2024 season was historically awful, with 121 losses that Sox fans can't forget about soon enough.
2025 has been fun, despite a lot of losing, because a young core has emerged this season that the team can move forward with.
While each of these young players brings something different to the table, they all have ceilings.
Based on what I have seen so far, along with 2025 production, some of the players in this core will do nothing more than raise the team's floor. Others have the chance to be a solid everyday players, and a select few could even reach MLB superstar status.
"Raise the floor" players
Davis Martin
Mike Vasil
Chase Meidroth
Miguel Vargas
Lenyn Sosa
Brooks Baldwin
Davis Martin's circle change pitch has been tough on opposing hitters. When his stuff is working, he can induce weak contact as evidenced by his above-average 48.1% groundball rate, per Baseball Savant.
Martin, however, does not have overpowering stuff that will miss many bats. He has just a 16.5% strikeout rate to show for it. Martin's 46.0% hard-hit percentage also proves he can get knocked around at times.
The lack of dominating pitches, outside of his changeup, makes Martin a solid back of the rotation pitcher. His 3.94 ERA this season is good, but it's unlikely Martin will ever be great.
Mike Vasil's ERA (2.55) is two runs lower than his FIP (4.61). That means he is getting by with some good luck. However, I still think Vasil has the stuff to be a solid long reliever for the duration of his contract.
Chase Meidroth is not going to slug the ball, but he will get on base. That was his calling card in the minor leagues. He was showing off that promise to be an on-base machine to start his big-league career, with his on-base percentage reaching .401 on June 5, but it has now declined down to .335.
Meidroth is a 1.4 fWAR player in 2025, but given the lack of slug in his bat, it's hard to see him being more than a 2-3 fWAR player in a given season.
Miguel Vargas made a swing adjustment in April and went on a tear that got national recognition, but he has since cooled off. Vargas has enough power in his bat to have a slugging percentage around .400 every year, but if he doesn't walk more (9.1% walk rate) or hit better than .230, he'll likely be nothing more than a .700 OPS, replacement level hitter.
Lenyn Sosa is doing a good job slugging the ball and getting hits. He has been on a tear recently and leads the White Sox with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs. That said, Sosa never walks and is terrible defensively. His 1.6 fWAR this season might be as good as it gets.
I feel like the organization views Brooks Baldwin as a super utility player with how many positions they have asked him to play. Baldwin has value, but I don't see him being a starter on the next contending White Sox team.
Solid everyday starters
Kyle Teel
Edgar Quero
Kyle Teel has the potential to hit for both average and power while playing good defense behind the plate. The scouting report on Teel before he made his big league debut viewed his power potential at 20-25 home runs.
Teel has the talent to be one of the better catchers in the league. He'll help the White Sox win a ton of game, but unless a catcher hits home runs like Cal Raleigh or wins a batting title like Joe Mauer, they are rarely viewed as a league-wide superstar.
Edgar Quero also has the same potential as Teel behind the plate. He has to start hitting for power to reach All-Star level, but I am starting to think Quero could be the better hitter of the two.
Quero, however, must improve at hitting with runners in scoring position. He has a .647 OPS with runners in scoring position this season.
Could be MLB superstars
Shane Smith
Grant Taylor
Colson Montgomery
Shane Smith has already made his first All-Star game. Granted, he got in with an ERA over 4.00 and earned his spot by being dominant in April and May. I might be higher on Smith than some, but when his stuff is going right, he is downright unhittable.
The key for him Shane Smith will be consistently commanding all his pitches and avoiding fatigue as the season wears on. With a full season almost under his belt, we could see Smith put together a full season of All-Star caliber play in 2026.
Grant Taylor's wicked fastball running up to 100 mph on the radar gun gives him unlimited potential. He is already showing he has the stuff to be a lockdown high-leverage reliever. If his arm allows it, he could be an ace starting pitcher as well.
Colson Montgomery has already hit 10 home runs to start his career. He is showing he can meet the Corey Seager comparisons that were being made when he was drafted. Montgomery has a couple of hurdles to clear to reach superstar status, and his swing definitely has some flaws, but the upside is definitely there.
Since he plays every day at a premium position, that gives Montgomery the distinction of having the highest ceiling of all the White Sox young core players in my eyes.