With the 2025 MLB Draft swiftly approaching, the Chicago White Sox are looking to make a splash and infuse even more talent into an already promising farm system.
Given the high-profile pitching prospects already in the White Sox organization, my hope is that the Sox will be able to add a promising position player in the draft. The 2025 class does not have the blue chip college bats that we have seen in recent years, but a compelling group of high school shortstops should be the talk of the league on draft day.
The White Sox need bats
22-year-old outfielder Braden Montgomery has been thriving in his first taste of professional baseball with the Winston Salem-Dash (High-A). 19-year-old shortstop and 2024 second-rounder Caleb Bonemer is also off to a promising start with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, but both players are still many levels away from making a major league impact.
White Sox fans should be excited about Montgomery and Bonemer the same way that they are pleased with the early MLB returns from Edgar Quero and Chase Meidroth.
But if “Rebuild 2.0” is going to produce better results than the last go around, the White Sox are going to need to find a middle-of-the-order bat. They need a face of the franchise player. A perennial All-Star that is consistently elite year-over-year. All of the contending teams across baseball have a homegrown star in their lineup these days.
In the latest mock draft from MLB Pipeline and Jim Callis, the White Sox look to get just that with a prospect that reminds evaluators of Cleveland Guardians star José Ramírez.
Is Kayson Cunningham the next José Ramírez?
With the 10th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Callis has the White Sox selecting high school infielder Kayson Cunningham from San Antonio, Texas.
“The White Sox could start a run on the second tier of high school shortstops that also includes Steele Hall, JoJo Parker and Daniel Pierce. Cunningham was as good as any hitter on the showcase circuit last summer and gives off some José Ramírez vibes, albeit with less pop,” Callis writes.
Cunningham is the No. 15 ranked draft prospect by MLB.com and one of six high-end high school shortstops in the 2025 class.
The comps to José Ramírez are pretty easy. Cunningham is 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, but he may have the best pure hit tool of any player in the draft.
Ramírez was notably undersized, but never underestimated. Even as a borderline Top 10 prospect in the Guardians’ system back in 2013, evaluators believed he was going to hit at the next level.
Cunningham’s prospect report is similar, it says that he “has exceptional barrel control and rarely swings and misses. He has a mature approach, covers the entire strike zone and utilizes the whole field. Though he's not physical, his bat speed and ability to repeatedly barrel balls should enable him to get to 15-20 homers per season.” (via MLB.com)
One of the knocks against Cunningham is his age. He’ll be 19 when draft day rolls around. He’s only five months younger than George Wolkow, who the White Sox drafted back in 2023. This makes him far less developmental than some of his peers.
Being 19 on draft day also means that Cunningham would be eligible for the draft again in 2027 after his sophomore collegiate season should he choose to follow through on his college commitment to Texas. That may make him more difficult to sign than a typical prep talent taken in the first round.
On the bright side, an older and more developed high-schooler means Cunningham probably would not take 5+ years to get big league ready. With the White Sox - hoping - to be competitive by 2027, the faster they can call upon the next generation, the better.
How many times have the White Sox been killed by José Ramírez over the last decade? Too many to count. It’s about time they get their own. Hopefully they can find that player in the upcoming 2025 MLB Draft.