2024 South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 19

Peyton Pallette wins our 18th round. Who is the 19th-best prospect in the White Sox system?

It is the seventh year of Top Prospect voting at South Side Sox!

Here’s how 2018 wrangled out — all 42 picks. Also, here’s an archive of every article in the 2018 series. Here’s how 2019 came together, all 50 picks, and the archive as well. Here’s 2020, with the archive. Here’s the 2021 wrap-up of just 35 picks due to flagging participation, along with the full archive. And here’s the 2022 link to the 27-pick wrap, along with the full archive. And Round 24 of voting was 2023’s last (we didn’t do an actual wrap for last year’s voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick!), with the full archive.

Our Top 100 is now underway, as well. We’ll try for a daily Top 100 entry on site, and the Prospect Vote will turn over as soon as the top vote-getter seems to have an insurmountable lead — but we’ll take no longer than a week to vote each round.

We have six of 10 players from last year’s initial prospect vote poll on our first ballot this year, with two players matriculating out of rookie status (Oscar Colás and Lenyn Sosa) and two pitchers falling out of Top 10 consideration (Norge Vera and Sean Burke). And though “we’re not rebuilding,” four of the Top 10 on the ballot to begin were acquired were not even in the system in 2023; put another way, not a single player from our farm system has moved up onto the first ballot in 2024. Oof.

Last year, Sosa was spending his sixth year among our Top 100 Prospects, and this year we have three players in their fifth years on the list: Bryan Ramos, Cristian Mena and José Rodríguez.

All right, let’s have some fun. And get voting!

Better late than never for the final player on our initial ballot to advance, Peyton Pallette. Hey, at least the righthander won decisively, nearly doubling the total of this round’s runner-up by earning 40 of 184 (21.7%) votes:

Pallette is the fifth right-handed starter among our Top 18 picks:

Pallette was our No. 11-voted prospect one year ago.

The No. 18 winner in 2023 was Tyler Schweitzer. Our 2022 vote lasted only 17 rounds. The No. 18-voted prospect in both 2021 and 2020 was Jimmy Lambert.

Adam Hackenberg made a fabulous debut on the ballot, earning 19 votes and finishing fourth. This round sees the debut of a somewhat mysterious pitching prospect, Máximo Martinez.

South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2024

1. Colson Montgomery — 65% (Rodríguez 16%, Schultz 13%, Nastrini/Quero/Ramos 1.6%, Eder/Mena 0.8%, González/Pallette 0%)
2. Noah Schultz — 64% (Quero 11%, Ramos 10%, Nastrini 5%, Rodríguez 4%, Mena 2.4%, Bush 1.6%, Eder/González/Pallette 0.8%)
3. Bryan Ramos — 29% (Quero 25%, Nastrini 13%, Eder 8%, Rodríguez 6%, González 5%, Bush 4.3%, Mena 3.7%, Cannon 3.2%, Pallette 2.7%)
4. Edgar Quero — 36% (Nastrini 18%, Eder/Rodríguez 8%, Mena 7%, Leasure 6%, González 5.1%, Bush 4.6%, Cannon 4%, Pallette 3%)
5. Nick Nastrini — 27% (Mena 13%, Eder 11.2%, Leasure 10.6%, Rodríguez 10.1%, J. Burke 9.5%, González 8.9%, Bush 4%, Cannon 3.4%, Pallette 2.8%)
6. Cristian Mena — 17% (Eder 14%, Leasure 13.0%, González/Rodríguez 12.6%, J. Burke 11.8%, Cannon 6%, Bush 5%, Pallette 4.3%, Tatum 3.9%)
7. Jake Eder — 20% (Leasure 14%, González 13.0%, Rodríguez 12.5%, J. Burke 12.0%, Cannon/Wolkow 7%, Bush 6%, Pallette 5.2%, Tatum 4.7%)
8. Jordan Leasure — 23% (González 12%, Rodríguez 11.3%, J. Burke 10.8%, Tatum 9.3%, Wolkow 8.8%, Bush 7.2%, Cannon 6.7%, Pallette 5.7%, S. Burke 5.2%)
9. Jacob González — 20% (Rodríguez 13%, J. Burke 12%, Tatum 11%, Wolkow 10%, Veras 9%, Cannon 7%, Bush 6.4%, Pallette 6.0%, S. Burke 5%)
10. Jacob Burke — 29% (Rodríguez 22%, Tatum 10%, Wolkow 9%, Veras 8%, Bush 5.3%, Cannon 4.9%, Pallette 4.6%, Keener 3.9%, S. Burke 3.5%)
11. José Rodríguez — 24% (Wolkow 14%, Tatum 13%, Veras 12%, Drohan 7.3%, Bush/Cannon 6.9%, Keener 5.5%, S. Burke/Pallette 5.1%)
12. Wilfred Veras — 28% (Tatum 14%, Wolkow 12%, Taylor 10%, Drohan 8.1%, Bush 7.7%, Cannon 6.5%, Pallette 6.1%, Keener 4.6%, S. Burke 4.2%)
13. Terrell Tatum — 22% (Wolkow 13%, Taylor 11.0%, Drohan 10.9%, Bush/Cannon 10.1%, Keener 6.7%, Pallette 6.2%, S. Burke 5.7%, Burrowes 4.8%)
14. George Wolkow — 21% (Taylor 13%, Cannon 12%, Drohan 11%, Bush 10%, McDougal 9%, S. Burke 8%, Pallette 7%, Keener 6.1%, Burrowes 5.5%)
15. Grant Taylor — 18% (Cannon 12.8%, Shuster [ineligible] 11.9%, Drohan 10.9%, Bush 10.4%, McDougal 9%, Pallette 8%, S. Burke 7%, Keener 6%, Burrowes 5%)
16. Jonathan Cannon — 23% (Chapelli 12%, Drohan 11%, Bush 10%, McDougal 9%, S. Burke/Pallette 8%, Keener 7%, Burrowes 6%, Baldwin 5%)
17. Loidel Chapelli Jr. — 21% (Pallette 14%, Drohan 13%, Bush 11%, McDougal 10%, S. Burke 9%, Baldwin 7%, Burrowes 6%, Keener 5%, Thompson 4%)
18. Peyton Pallette — 22% (Drohan 11.4%, Bush 10.9%, Hackenberg 10.3%, McDougal 9.2%, Baldwin 8.7%, S. Burke 8.2%, Burrowes 7.1%, Keener 6.5%, Thompson 6.0%)

Brooks Baldwin

Third Baseman
Age 23
2023 High Level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -0.2 years
Overall 2023 stats 93 games ▪️ 15 HR ▪️ 58 RBI ▪️ .269/.349/.460 ▪️ 22-of-27 (81.4%) SB ▪️ 42 BB ▪️ 86 K

“Just” a 12th-rounder, Baldwin opened eyes in 2023 and even saw substantial time at shortstop. He’s a bit of a Swiss Army knife player who seems destined to follow in Danny Mendick/Romy González footsteps to the majors.

Sean Burke

Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 13
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-4 ▪️ 9 starts ▪️ 36 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 7.61 ERA ▪️ 34 K▪️ 27 BB ▪️ 1.718 WHIP

Burke was almost assuredly the first starter up, in the mold of Davis Martin in 2022, as the White Sox found a need in 2023. However, Burke carried spring training shoulder soreness into the season and never got right; he was shut down for the season in June.

Ryan Burrowes

Shortstop
Age 19
2023 High Level Arizona (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -1.8 years
Overall 2023 stats 43 games ▪️ 2 HR ▪️ 15 RBI ▪️ .260/.330/.386 ▪️ 12-of-17 (70.6%) SB ▪️ 12 BB ▪️ 51 K

Burrowes’ first Stateside season disappointed, but at almost two years younger than level, there’s ample room for a re-set and fast-tracking back up the system.

Ky Bush

Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R, acquired from the Angels in July
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -1.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 4-8 ▪️ 17 starts ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 6.91 ERA ▪️ 78 K▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.647 WHIP

Bush’s broad stats profile resembles closely fellow lefty starter Jake Eder below, but without the return from major injury for context. He’s a second-rounder who, over two full professional seasons-plus, has yet to flash much of his potential.

Shane Drohan

Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R, acquired from the Red Sox in December
2023 High Level Worcester (AAA)
Age relative to high level -2.9 years
Overall 2023 stats 10-7 ▪️ 27 games (25 starts) ▪️ 123 IP ▪️ 5.05 ERA ▪️ 129 K▪️ 72 BB ▪️ 1.577 WHIP

Drohan was a Rule 5 pick from Boston, which means he’ll have to impress enough in spring training — and frankly, throughout the season, as he must remain on the active roster in the majors for all of 2024 — or get sent back to the Red Sox. He was otherworldly in Double-A but terrible at Triple-A in 2023; if the White Sox gave up on Nick Avila last spring, it seems a stretch that Drohan sticks with our Sox.

Adam Hackenberg

Catcher
Age 24
2023 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 101 games ▪️ 8 HR ▪️ 38 RBI ▪️ .276/.384/.386 ▪️ 42 BB ▪️ 89 K ▪️ 28-of-124 (22.6%) CS

On-base machine Adam Hackenberg managed a swift jump up to Triple-A in spite of the White Sox importing two blue-chip catchers into the system at the trade deadline last summer. While the bat won’t necessarily play at first base or DH, the organization seemingly has made on-base and bat discipline a big priority under Chris Getz, which bodes well for Adam.

Seth Keener

Right-handed Starting Pitcher
Age 22
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -0.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 1-1 ▪️ 7 games (5 starts) ▪️ 12 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.38 ERA ▪️ 1.216 WHIP ▪️ 14 K ▪️ 4 BB

Keener was a tweener as a third-rounder coming out of the draft, but the White Sox will do what they can to stretch him out in his first full professional season, likely starting in Winston-Salem in 2024.

Máximo Martinez

Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 19
2023 High Level ACL (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -2.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 0-0 ▪️ 9 games (5 starts) ▪️ 26 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.73 ERA ▪️ 28 K ▪️ 17 BB ▪️ 1.425 WHIP

Martinez was the younger addition last year along with Aldrin Batista, after the White Sox dealt international money to the Dodgers. Very young, very raw, very powerful (95-98 mph fastball), and very destined for a third ACL season, it would seem.

Tanner McDougal

Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 20
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.6 years
Overall 2023 stats 0-3 ▪️ 21 starts ▪️ 69 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.15 ERA ▪️ 80 K ▪️ 43 BB ▪️ 1.399 WHIP

Poor Tanner fell off the map a bit, getting surgery pretty much right after starting his pro career.

Matt Thompson

Right-handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2020 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2021 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 10
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 15
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 21
2023 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.3 years
Overall 2023 stats 6-15 ▪️ 27 starts ▪️ 124 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.85 ERA ▪️ 136 K ▪️ 85 BB ▪️ 1.568 WHIP

Thompson showed his best signs yet of turning a corner in, with a solid, upper-3.00s ERA from June through August. There’s still considerable wildness in his approach, but he is still significantly young for Double-A. Things could finally be looking up.