2025 South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 12
Jeral Perez tops our Round 11 ballot. So, who is the 12th-best prospect in the White Sox system?
For such an “improved” White Sox system, we’ve hit a stretch where none of our winners are coming out of this organization’s drafts or signings. This round, Jeral Perez ascended, taking 41 of 207 votes (20%). That’s just four fewer tallies in the same number of votes (207) than previous Vote winner, Chase Meidroth:
Acquired from Los Angeles at the 2024 trade deadline, this is Perez’s first time on our ballot. He’s the fourth shortstop among 11 prospects to advance, in case you’re wondering whether shortstop is the richest and deepest position in the White Sox org:
Here are the past No. 11s in our Votes:
- 2024 José Rodríguez (24%)
- 2023 Peyton Pallette (20%)
- 2022 Jared Kelley (33%)
- 2021 Yermín Mercedes (18%)
- 2020 Micker Adolfo (50%)
- 2019 Luis Basabe (51%)
- 2018 Luis Basabe (47%)
Ky Bush leapfrogged Jairo Iriarte this round, but everyone otherwise shuffled one spot north. This round, late-season starter hero and earmarked rotation arm in 2025 Sean Burke moves onto the ballot.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2025
- Brooks Baldwin — 37% (Schultz 26%, Quero 13%, Smith 4.5%, C. Montgomery 4.1%, Adams 3.8%, Wolkow 3.5%, Taylor 3.1%, Iriarte 2.8%, Ramos 2.4%)
- Noah Schultz — 21% (Quero 19%, Smith 11.4%, C. Montgomery 10.7%, Adams 9%, Wolkow 8%, Taylor 7%, Bush 6%, Ramos 5%, Iriarte 4%)
- Edgar Quero — 25% (Smith 15%, C. Montgomery 12%, Adams 9%, Wolkow 8%, Taylor 7.4%, Bush 6.9%, Ramos 6.3%, Iriarte 5.7%, Perez 5.1%)
- Hagen Smith — 23% (C. Montgomery 18%, Adams 11%, Perez 9%, Taylor 8.0%, Wolkow 7.5%, Ramos 7.0%, J. Gonzalez 6.5%, Bush 6.0%, Iriarte 5.5%)
- Colson Montgomery — 29% (Adams 13%, Taylor 10%, Perez/Wolkow 9.5%, Ramos 8.6%, J. Gonzalez 6%, Bush 5.4%, Iriarte 5.0%, Bonemer 4.5%)
- Aldrin Batista — 22% (Adams 13%, Perez 12%, Taylor 11%, Wolkow 10%, Ramos 9%, Bush 7%, J. Gonzalez 6.3%, Iriarte 5.9%, Bonemer 5.4%)
- Mason Adams — 20% (Perez 13%, Taylor 12%, Wolkow 10%, Ramos 9.1%, J. Gonzalez 8.6%, Iriarte 8.1%, Bush 7.5%, Larson 6%, Bonemer 5%)
- Kyle Teel — 30% (B. Montgomery 9.4%, Meidroth 8.7%, Perez 8.1%, W. Gonzalez/Taylor 7.4%, Wolkow 6.7%, Ramos 5.4%, J. Gonzalez 4.7%, Bush 4.0%, Iriarte 3.4%, Larson 2.7%, Bonemer 2.0%)
- Braden Montgomery — 26% (Meidroth 11%, Perez 10%, Taylor 9%, W. Gonzalez 8%, Ramos 6.7%, Wolkow 6.4%, J. Gonzalez 5.8%, Bush 5.5%, Iriarte 5.1%, Bonemer 4%, Larson 3%)
- Chase Meidroth — 22% (Perez 12%, Taylor 11%, W. Gonzalez 10%, Wolkow 9%, Ramos 8%, J. Gonzalez 7%, Iriarte 6.3%, Bush 5.8%, Bonemer 5.3%, Larson 4.8%)
- Jeral Perez — 20% (Taylor 14%, W. Gonzalez 12%, Wolkow 11%, Ramos 10%, J. Gonzalez 9%, Bush 8%, Iriarte 7%, Bonemer 6%, Larson 5%)
Caleb Bonemer
Shortstop
Age 19
2024 High Level Okemos (Mich.) H.S.
Age relative to high level N/A
2024 prep stats 8 HR ▪️ 35 RBI ▪️ .541 BA ▪️ 15 SB
There’s scant stat evidence available for Bonemer, but the White Sox dipped back into the plans of prior drafts by picking a prep high up in the draft, and a shortstop at that (Jacob Gonzalez was 2023’s first-rounder, Colson Montgomery 2021’s). Bonemer was Michigan’s player of the year as a prep, but at just 19 should see a lot more developmental (Camelback Ranch) play than game action in 2025.
Sean Burke
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 13
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 22
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.0 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 2-7▪️ 19 starts ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.77 ERA ▪️ 103 K▪️ 41 BB ▪️ 1.340 WHIP
Burke was on the cusp of the majors in 2023 before an early injury cashed out his season. After a long road back, the hoss of a righty climbed quickly back to Triple-A and made his White Sox debut in September. In four games (three starts, one finish), Burke went 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA over 19 innings. He is a solid bet to break camp in the big-league rotation.
Ky Bush
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 25
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 19
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.0 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 7-4▪️ 20 games (18 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 71 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 3.30 ERA ▪️ 100 K▪️ 49 BB ▪️ 1.166 WHIP
Bush made big and unexpected strides in 2024, improving greatly on a career that to date had been more promise, less delivery. He was a stalwart in the crushing Birmingham Barons rotation for most of the summer, then made his MLB debut in August, after spending a short stopover in Triple-A.
Jacob Gonzalez
Shortstop
Age 22
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 9
2024 High Level Birmingham (Double-A)
Age relative to high level -1.7 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 130 games ▪️ 8 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .238/.307/.343 ▪️ 47 BB ▪️ 74 K ▪️ 17-of-23 (73.9%) SB ▪️ .975 FLD%
Gonzalez got off to a strong start at High-A Winston-Salem (particularly in slugging .399, flexing far harder than he had in his 2023 debut) but tailed off pretty badly as the season wore on. A shortstop who for a second seemed like he might keep pace with the ascendance of Brooks Baldwin and catch Colson Montgomery at Charlotte ended up running out of gas completely.
Wikelman Gonzalez
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2024 High Level Portland (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.5 years
Overall 2024 stats 4-3 ▪️ 24 games (19 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 83 2⁄3 IP ▪️ 4.73 ERA ▪️ 92 K ▪️ 46 BB ▪️ 1.255 WHIP
The fourth and least-regarded piece of the Crochet trade, Gonzalez nonetheless sat at No. 14 on Boston’s MLB Pipeline prospect list on the strength of mostly solid stints as a pro, underage at every stop so far. His arresting numbers in 2024 at Double-A indicate a step-back season, particularly with command faltering, and a bullpen transition may loom if he cannot sharpen back up.
Jairo Iriarte
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -7.0 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 5-7 ▪️ 23 games (22 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 126 IP ▪️ 3.71 ERA ▪️ 122 K ▪️ 57 BB ▪️ 1.278 WHIP
As the co-headliner (or darn close) of the Dylan Cease trade last spring, it was no surprise when GM Chris Getz touted Iriarte as sure to get a call-up to the majors by season’s end. Almost every moment of his 2024 pointed in that direction, as he dominated at Double-A. Following a trend that also included Drew Thorpe and Bryan Ramos, Iriarte was one of the two September call-ups to begin September and worked out of the bullpen for six innings to end the season. He’s on the short list to break camp with the big club this spring.
Blake Larson
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 19
2024 High Level IMG Academy (Prep)
Age relative to high level N/A
Overall 2024 stats N/A
Larson was a TCU commit out of IMG Academy (via Des Moines, Iowa high school). He was rated a lower pick in the draft (108ish) than the spot the White Sox selected him (second round, 68th overall), but the club took a shot on a $1 million-plus bonus getting a young arm to eschew the Horned Frogs, and succeeded. Larson will likely be on the slow boat coming out of spring, with extended instruction at Camelback Ranch and some token starts in the short ACL season. In 2026, we might get a chance to see him getting rotation work in Kannapolis.
Bryan Ramos
Third Baseman
Age 23
2020 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 38
2021 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 22
2022 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 12
2023 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 3
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 4
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -4.3 years
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 88 games ▪️ 10 HR ▪️ 44 RBI ▪️ .242/.320/.387 ▪️ 98 wRC+ (AAA) ▪️ 31 BB ▪️ 86 K ▪️ 8-of-11 (72.7%) SB ▪️ .952 FLD%
Once again slowed by injury, Ramos slumped all season in spite of making the jump from Double-A to the majors. Third base should be his to lose in spring training, however.
Grant Taylor
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 15
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.3 years
Overall 2024 stats 0-0 ▪️ 5 starts ▪️ 19 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 2.33 ERA ▪️ 32 K ▪️ 2 BB ▪️ 0.724 WHIP
The White Sox have made such a commitment to bolstering arms over the past few years, they even use plum selections for injured players like Taylor. The LSU righty finally made his pro debut (post-TJS that robbed him of 2023) and acquitted himself well. Pay particular plaudits to Taylor’s vastly-improved (and a typo, right?) K-BB ratio ... yeah, that’s a 16.0, people.
George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 19
2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 14
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -2.5 years
Overall 2024 stats 91 games ▪️ 13 HR ▪️ 56 RBI ▪️ .257/.357/.451 ▪️ 9-of-11 (81.8%) SB ▪️ 47 BB ▪️ 158 K
Just 19, you can forgive some of the holes in Wolkow’s swing and just dream on his speed-power combination moving through the system. He suffered the teenage extremes, from dominance to helplessness, but should be ready to explore High-A in 2025.