While still sitting with the worst record in the American League, the Chicago White Sox have started to turn some heads during the 2025 season.
The young core in Chicago has put together a pretty strong second half. They’ve proven that they can compete with the best teams in Major League Baseball, and more growth from these rookies should only lead to more wins in the future.
Slowly but surely, the White Sox are beginning to win back the respect of the baseball world.
Kyle Teel is widely considered one of the best young catchers in the game. Every national baseball show in existence was talking about Colson Montgomery‘s home run barrage last month. People no longer look at the White Sox as a complete laughing stock. There is respect for what Ghris Getz and Chicago’s front office is building, and some of the top prospects in the farm system could join the current core before much longer.
More help is on the way for the White Sox
Braden Montgomery, who came over from the Boston Red Sox and the Garrett Crochet trade, is an uber talented outfielder that’s currently the No. 32 prospect in all of baseball. He’s a former first-round pick that should make his MLB debut at some point in 2026. There’s a chance Montgomery has a higher ceiling than all of the young players currently on the White Sox.
Baseball fans are probably familiar with left-handed starting pitchers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, as well. Schultz and Smith were both first-round draft picks by the White Sox in recent years. They each had up and down seasons in 2025, but have been dominant at their ceilings and could project as front line left-handed starters.
The future is coming, and as assistant GM Josh Barfield was quick to point out in a recent interview with Foul Territory, the White Sox have a few electric prospects in their farm system that remain unheralded.
Josh Barfield praises Sam Antonacci and Caleb Bonemer
When asked by White Sox legend A.J. Pierzynski for a few minor leaguers that “people might not know about," Barfield gave some credit to two infielders who deserve more media attention than they get.
Barfield couldn’t narrow it down to just one player. He had to give love to both Caleb Bonemer and Sam Antonacci.
"[We're] really excited about him. Tremendous athlete. Really physical. Played a strong shortstop and offensively, he really held his own," said Barfield of Caleb Bonemer, the No. 4 prospect in the organization. "The consistency for a guy that young in his first full season. As you guys know, there’s an adjustment that comes with your first full season. Especially as a highschooler. It was really, really impressive what he was able to do this year."
Josh Barfield highlights Caleb Bonemer and Sam Antonacci as key White Sox prospects to watch. pic.twitter.com/4FGAnVY4q6
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 16, 2025
Barfield then transitioned into Antonacci, mentioning how the 22-year-old infielder could be up in the big leagues at some point in 2026.
"[Sam] Antonacci, he’s another guy that we took last year. Not as heralded as some of these other guys, but the year that he’s been able to put together has been nothing short of amazing. He finished in Double-A. He had over an .800 OPS this year. He’s going to go to the [Arizona] Fall League," said Barfield.
"He’s another guy that’s not very far off and is going to continue to get more and more press as he continues to rise up the ranks. He’s another guy that you could possibly see at some point next year as well."
Caleb Bonemer will be more well known next year
I’ve written pretty extensively about Caleb Bonemer at this point. He was recently named the MVP of the Carolina League and he played his way onto MLB.com’s top 100 prospects list.
Bonemer is a really well-rounded prospect that flashed every tool in his first professional season. If he continues to produce like he did in 2025, he will only continue to rise up the prospect ranks. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Bonemer as a Top 25 prospect in baseball by this time next year.
Bonemer, along with Billy Carlson and Colson Montgomery, will be an interesting shortstop battle at some point in the future. Sam Antonacci is another prospect that complicates things on the infield.
Antonacci is fighting for a spot in a loaded infield
A fifth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina in the 2024 MLB Draft, Antonacci truly came out out of nowhere this season. He stole 48 bases with an .842 OPS and looked just as comfortable in Double-A Birmingham as he did in Winston-Salem.
This is a 22-year-old infielder that has hit at every level he’s been at. As Barfield said, it’s realistic to think we could see Antonacci in Chicago at some point in 2026. He may even start next season in Triple, and is well deserving of a fair shot to make the team.
What that means for Montgomery and Chase Meidroth on the middle infield, I’m not sure . What I do know is that this is a good problem to have. These are the types of problems that the best organizations in baseball have every year.
Organizational depth and an embarrassment of riches is never something to complain about or avoid. That’s a mistake Rick Hahn made during his tenure as GM. Hahn and the White Sox were constantly trying to pave the way for the next top prospect, but they never nurtured competition, signed complementary pieces, or bought themselves insurance policies.
With players like Montgomery, Meidroth, Bonemer, Antonacci, and Carlson, it seems like a guarantee that the Chicago White Sox are going to have a lethal middle infield for many years to come. That’s all that should matter to the front office and the fanbase.