Inbox: Where will young shortstops fit in White Sox infield?
All of MLB Pipeline's organizational Top 30 Prospects lists are updated, and our new farm system ratings are complete as well. Now we turn our attention to Spring Training and Spring Breakout.
There's plenty of baseball and plenty of questions, so let's get to them ...
It will be interesting to see how the White Sox infield plays out in the next few years. Montgomery hit 21 homers in 71 games last season, and no rookie shortstop who played as much ever has posted a higher rate of homers per game (.30) or home run percentage (8.2 percent).
Bonemer won Single-A Carolina League MVP honors in his pro debut last summer after slashing .281/.400/.458 and surprising scouts with how well he played shortstop. Chicago selected Billy Carlson with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 Draft, with some evaluators saying he's the best defensive prep shortstop they've ever seen -- and he also comes with 20-homer pop.
The White Sox own the No. 1 overall selection in this year's Draft, with UCLA's Cholowsky the strong favorite. The best all-around college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki, he has homered seven times in 12 games after earning consensus national college player of the year accolades in 2025.
All of these guys are capable shortstops, but Carlson is the most gifted defender, so the position will be his if he can make some adjustments to become more consistent at the plate. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Montgomery shifts to third base, Cholowsky moves to second base and Bonemer winds up on an outfield corner.
If Josuar Gonzalez were in last year's Draft, where would he have been picked? Similarly, if Luis Hernández was in this upcoming Draft, where would you project him? Trying to get a feel of how excited to be over the Giants pipeline. Thanks!
-- Brian S., San Francisco
The Giants grabbed the best international amateur on the market in each of the past two years, signing Gonzalez for $2,997,500 in 2025 and Hernández for $4,997,500 (the largest bonus in the 2026 class) this January. Comparing the two shortstops, Gonzalez has the potential for plus tools across the board and played well in his pro debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, while Hernández has more polish and a higher floor -- not to mention a considerable ceiling of his own.
Gonzalez has comparable tools to last year's No. 1 overall pick, shortstop Eli Willits, with more projected power and perhaps a little less hitting ability. There was more comfort with Willits, who had fared well against better competition on the high school showcase circuit, than Gonzalez, who didn't have the opportunity to put together that kind of résumé in the Dominican Republic. Gonzalez could have gone as high as No. 1 to the Nationals and he wouldn't have gotten past the Marlins, Blue Jays, Reds and White Sox at Nos. 7-10, all of whom took shortstops who rank behind him on our Top 100 Prospects list.
Cholowsky is the clear top talent in the 2026 Draft, and the second-rated prospect on MLB Pipeline's Draft Top 100 is Texas prep shortstop Grady Emerson. Like Willits and Gonzalez, Emerson and Hernández have very similar tools. While Emerson has had the chance to prove himself on the showcase circuit, Hernández batted .346 in 104 at-bats against much older and more experienced competition in the Venezuelan Major League as a 15-year-old in 2024, including going 16-for-49 (.327) against pitchers who had reached the Majors or Triple-A.
Hernández could go as high as No. 2 or 3 in this year's Draft, and I believe most teams would take him over the next prospects on the Draft Top 100, Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron and Florida high school shortstop Jacob Lombard. Some clubs might prefer collegians over a 17-year-old, but as with Gonzalez, Hernández at worst would fit into the back half of the top 10.
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The nice thing for the Mariners is that they don't have to choose. The best pitcher in the 2025 Draft, Anderson went third overall after showing four quality offering and polish to match while leading Louisiana State to the College World Series championship. Sloan was one of the best high school arms in the 2024 class, commanding an over-slot $3 million bonus in the second round thanks to his own deep arsenal and feel for pitching.
They're two of my favorite pitching prospects, even beyond their rankings on the Top 100, where Anderson slots in at No. 21 overall and Sloan at No. 33. Anderson is left-handed and has two distinct breaking balls to Sloan's one, while the latter is more physical, 18 months younger and doesn't have Tommy John surgery in his medical history. I'll give the edge to the southpaw, but it pains me to pass on a guy who has drawn comparisons to Gerrit Cole.
It would be fun to revisit this question later in the season after Anderson has made his pro debut and we can compare how their individual pitches fare against comparable competition.
When I made that comment on this week's Pipeline Podcast, I was thinking about all of the young and intriguing international talent the Giants have signed in the last couple of years. I didn't consider that most of San Francisco's top picks in recent Drafts have come from the college ranks, so my speculation was way off. The Giants have just the 19th-youngest Top 30 list, with an average birthdate of Jan. 18, 2004.
The five youngest Top 30s, with average birthdates:
Angels: Feb. 23, 2005
Marlins: Feb. 10, 2005
Braves: Nov. 22, 2004
Padres: Oct. 4, 2004
Red Sox: Sept. 15, 2004
The five oldest:
Yankees: Feb. 1, 2003
Astros: Aug. 8, 2003
Blue Jays: Aug. 20, 2003
Cardinals: Sept. 13, 2003
Mariners: Oct. 4, 2003