Which Top Prospects Could the Chicago White Sox Call Up Next?

The Chicago White Sox are in a position right now where the focal point is already set on 2025, even with a more enthusiastic past handful of games after the departure of Manager Pedro Grifol and arrival of Grady Sizemore.

Despite their game of the season against the Yankees this week, the White Sox will undoubtably finish the year as the worst team in MLB and possibly the worst ever.

That should logically prompt the organization to lean into the youth as they have begun to do with recent promotions of prospects such as Brooks Baldwin and Ky Bush.

I’m spending my week in Charlotte where the Triple-A affiliate resides watching a number of players who are expected to factor into the future in Chicago. This leads to the question of who the White Sox could ultimately give a shot down the stretch to earn some keeps heading into 2025.

Which Top White Sox Prospects Could Get the Call?

While some of the top prospects could get their first (or second) taste of the league, other less heralded players could also be an option in the near future as well. At this point, it’s worth trying some of the young players and seeing who could prove to be a useful piece.

Here are some of the players who could become a big league option with notes from chatting with many of them in Charlotte.

Bryan Ramos

After a brief taste of MLB with the White Sox earlier this year due to a 40-man lack of options, Bryan Ramos hit the injured list and struggled to settle back in upon return. He made his way back to Triple-A, where he has been thriving over the past month and change.

Ramos told me in Charlotte that he got out of rhythm following the brief IL stint and it took him some time to get back into his groove. He explained that baseball is an everyday game and that it took him a bit to find that flow again back in Charlotte.

One the keys for Ramos has been improved plate discipline, which he has steadily improved upon throughout the past two years.

Since July 9th, Ramos has a strikeout rate of just 17% which is much lower than his career average while his walk rate in that time span is up to 12% as well. He indicated that he’s been better at taking close pitches and not chasing as much, which he helped his overall at-bats improve recently.

In that time span, Ramos has a .840 OPS with an ISO of .220 as he has tapped into more of his natural power as well. That’s the type of hitter that we saw much of last season and especially in his breakout 2022 season.

With third base clearly open for the taking as Yoan Moncada remains on the IL and the team will likely let him go in this offseason, Ramos deserves a second go at the big leagues with at least a month worth of at-bats to develop.

Sean Burke

Expected to be a MLB contributor heading into 2023, Sean Burke dealt with a persisting shoulder issue that derailed his season last year and delayed his progression through the system.

Since then, the White Sox pitching system has been entirely overhauled, while Burke has been recovering from surgery throughout the year.

After a number of rehab starts, he made his return to Triple-A at the end of May and he’s been slowly progressing over the past few months.

While still dealing with some command issues, Burke has shown promise with his stuff that he did through all of 2022. He has struck out 64 batters across just 50 innings of work on the season at the Triple-A level.

Command is still come and go for Burke but the stuff can get outs at the highest level.

His 4.86 ERA may not be that encouraging but Burke has had stretches of looking sharp and definitely induces his fair share of whiffs especially with his plus curveball.

His changeup could be a key for him as he feels like it’s been the biggest development he has made in recent starts. He threw just 10, but generated three whiffs on four swings against the change this week.

Burke may end up in a relief role eventually, but his stuff will make him at least a MLB pitcher in the near future. He deserves a shot to make his debut this year even if it’s as a relief piggyback guy.

Edgar Quero

One of the biggest risers in the our Updated Top 100 is looking like a true star catcher in the making. Edgar Quero jumped from 66th to 33rd on the Top 100 as he has unlocked his offensive profile while developing into a solid catcher behind the dish.

Quero emerged as a very exciting prospect in his age-19 season in 2022 with the Angels organization, but took somewhat of a step back last year and was traded midseason to Chicago.

This season, Quero has become the best version of himself at the dish, earning a promotion to Triple-A about a month ago.

He has made some key adjustments in his swing mechanics and particularly his setup which you can learn all about in this thread from Aram Leighton.

Quero has been excellent since being promoted to the next level and appears offensively ready for MLB despite being just 21 years old. He has posted a .914 OPS with a walk rate of 13.3% and strikeout rate at just 17.3% in his 23 games at the level. Quero’s adjustments have helped him tap into more power while maintaining his already advanced approach at the plate.

Defensively, pitchers have consistently spoken very highly of Quero’s ability to gameplan and receive behind the dish. Beyond his abilities, Quero has worked with the majority of White Sox pitching prospects throughout the past year which bodes well for him to be the catcher of the future in Chicago.

Unfortunately, Quero has been dealing with a slight back injury this week, which has held him out of three straight games. Beyond that he is just 21 years old playing the hardest defense position in baseball which could delay his debut until 2025. He’s less likely than many others listed here due to that but could be the best overall player on this Triple-A roster.

Tim Elko

Drafted in the 10th round in 2022 after winning a National Championship at Ole Miss, Tim Elko took Minor League Baseball absolutely by storm last year and made his way all the way to Double-A in his first full season.

His profile is fairly simply at first sight as a big first baseman who hits the ball hard and far, but strikes out a lot. However, he keeps proving many wrong (including myself) as he keeps performing at every level. Elko put up a 123 wRC+ through 91 games in Double-A Birmingham and has only been better since reaching the hitter-friendly park in Triple-A.

While his strikeout rate on the year has been high, he has actually reduced it to 23.9% in Triple-A while increasing his walk rate by a bit too. While it’s a small sample in a hitter friendly park, Elko has been excellent recently and is already 25 years old, given he was drafted as a fifth year senior.

The issue with Elko being promoted is that Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets account for most first base and DH at-bats in Chicago right now. The White Sox will likely move on from one of them (or both) this winter, but it’s unlikely the DFA either at this stage in the season especially with Sheets being the best bat on the team of late.

Colson Montgomery

Chicago’s top prospect over the past few years until just this summer has struggled in Triple-A this year but is still a top 50 prospect in baseball with ample upside. Colson Montgomery has posted excellent exit velocities this season and has the ability to really impact a game, but has seen his swing-and-miss jump a lot at the highest level of MiLB.

Montgomery is maintaining a positive outlook as he embraces some of the growing pains he’s experiencing this year. It’s important to note that he entered this season with less than 150 affiliated games under his belt due to injuries partly and is still just 22 years old.

Montgomery’s ability to drive the ball is still clear and he has put together a solid stretch of games over the past two weeks. In that stretch, he has an OPS of .761 and has reduced the strikeout rate to below 20% as well.

He feels destined to finish the year in Charlotte due to some of these struggles, but it’s not out of question that he could have a nice stretch and make his MLB debut in September. It would certainly sell some seats for the White Sox, but his development is probably best served by finishing out the year in Charlotte.