The White Sox improved from 41 wins in 2024 to 60 last season while graduating Top 100 prospects Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero to their big league club. Sean Burke, Brandon Eisert, Wikelman González, Chase Meidroth, Shane Smith, Grant Taylor and Mike Vasil also played key roles as rookies.
Chicago could make a similar jump this year with more premium talent on the way to Rate Field. Three additional Top 100 prospects -- outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 1), left-handers Noah Schultz (No. 2) and Hagen Smith (No. 4) -- are scheduled to arrive sometime this summer. So could Tanner McDougal (No. 6), the system's top right-hander, and middle infielders Sam Antonacci (No. 9) and William Bergolla Jr. (No. 11)
After homering 21 times in 71 games in the Majors, Colson Montgomery would seem to have locked down the White Sox shortstop job, but the club could face a logjam at the position in the near future. Caleb Bonemer (No. 3) won Single-A Carolina League MVP honors in his pro debut and several evaluators say that 2025 first-rounder Billy Carlson (No. 5) is the best defensive prep shortstop they've ever seen. Chicago owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 Draft and the clear frontrunner is UCLA's Roch Cholowsky, the best all-around college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki.
Here's a look at the White Sox's top prospects:
1. Braden Montgomery, OF (MLB No. 36)
2. Noah Schultz, LHP (MLB No. 49)
3. Caleb Bonemer, SS/3B (MLB No. 61)
4. Hagen Smith, LHP (MLB No. 72)
5. Billy Carlson, SS (MLB No. 73)
Complete Top 30 list »
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2025 preseason list to the 2026 preseason list.
Jump: Tanner McDougal, RHP (2025: NR | 2026: 6)
After command woes led to a demotion to Single-A in July 2024, he dedicated himself to improving his conditioning and did a much better job locating his premium stuff last season.
Fall: Jairo Iriarte, RHP (2025: 9 | 2026: NR)
Part of the Dylan Cease trade with the Padres two years ago, he got rocked for a 7.24 ERA in Triple-A last year after his fastball and slider regressed.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is plus and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 60 -- William Bergolla Jr.
Power: 60 -- Braden Montgomery (George Wolkow)
Run: 60 -- Javier Mogollon (William Bergolla Jr.)
Arm: 70 -- Billy Carlson (Braden Montgomery)
Defense: 70 -- Billy Carlson
Fastball: 70 -- Alexander Alberto
Curveball: 60 -- Mason Adams
Slider: 70 -- Noah Schultz
Changeup: 55 -- Christian Oppor (Aldrin Batista, Jedixson Paez)
Control: 70 -- Jedixson Paez
How they were built
Draft: 18 | International: 3 | Trade: 7 | Rule 5: 2
Breakdown by ETA
2026: 12 | 2027: 4 | 2028: 7 | 2029: 5 | 2031: 2
Breakdown by position
C: 2 | 2B: 4 | 3B: 1 | SS: 4 | OF: 4 | RHP: 8 | LHP: 7