2025 South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 69: Drew Dalquist
The free-fall has finished, as this righty slid right into his new role in 2024
Drew Dalquist
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´1´´
195 pounds
Age: 24
2020 South Side Hit Pen Top Prospect Ranking 13
2021 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 10
2022 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 12
2023 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 33
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 96
2024 High Level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -1.5 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relievers in the system 9
Overall 2024 stats 2-3 ⚾️ 38 games (20 finishes) ⚾️ 1 SV ⚾️ 47 IP ⚾️ 3.45 ERA ⚾️ 1.340 WHIP ⚾️ 52 K ⚾️ 27 BB
What a refreshing turnaround.
Drew Dalquist, flailing as a starter and just one season removed from getting knocked out of the Winston-Salem Dash rotation while sporting an ERA north of 7.00, has transformed himself. Adding 20 pounds somewhere between skinny high-school draftee in 2019 to immovable bullpen force in 2024, Dalquist flipped his SSS ranking from an honorary No. 96 in 2024 to 69 this year. Nice.
There’s really not a better poster child for how badly the pandemic affected development than Dalquist, who already was overwhelmed and maybe a bit overmatched as a teenage draftee. Getting just three scoreless innings of pro play in his first cup of coffee in 2019 and then punting all of 2020 at the Schaumburg alternate site turned out to be a fatal blow for Drew’s shot as a starter. While the 2021 season at Kannapolis was by no means catastrophic for Dalquist (4.99 ERA), his aggressive promotion to High-A in 2022 and end-of-summer inclusion in the Project Birmingham weirdness set the righty back: 3-11, 6.49 ERA, 1.740 WHIP all told.
If 2022 was a red flag, however, 2023 was an unmitigated disaster. Dalquist returned to Winston-Salem (where, to be fair, he was still more than a year younger than his competition) and failed badly over 15 starts, racking up a 7.98 ERA with shaky control. He was demoted to the pen in mid-July, but did not respond to the shake-up or shift of mindset. In fact, his game broke down so completely he threw in just six games of relief in the last two months of the season.
Clearly, though, Dalquist was showing signs of grasping what was needed for him, as the White Sox were confident (or desperate) enough to send him to Double-A in a statistically-unmerited promotion, right out of camp in 2024. And to Drew’s credit, he killed it, starting strong, lagging in the season’s midsection, and ending on a good note over his final two months; through Dalquist didn’t pitch in Birmingham’s successful postseason run to the Southern League title, he clocked in a big-boy ERA of 3.06 and a 1.340 WHIP, both career bests. Capping it all, Drew got an invitation to the Arizona Fall League, which certainly reflects the organization having high hopes for his future.
Dalquist’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Durability 72 (+1 from last season)
Hittable 40 (+12)
vs. Power 40 (+12)
Strikeouts 34 (+8)
Walks 23 (+4)
K/BB 20 (+7)
Average 38.17 (+7.34)
As you can see, while Dalquist’s overall ratings were terribly in the tank heading into 2024 and largely remain there, he’s made a positive move in every category, an indication that he is catching up to his (still-older) peers.
It may be a stretch to push Dalquist so hard that he breaks camp in Charlotte, but for once, his work has merited the promotion. If he’s not a Knight in April, he should be in Charlotte soon thereafter.
2025 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
100. Cole McConnell, CF
99. Drake Logan, LF
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
93. Loidel Chapelli, 2B
92. Eddie Park, CF
91. Chase Plymell, RHRP
90. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHRP
89. Tristan Stivors, RHRP
88. Pierce George, RHRP
87. Wes Kath, 3B
86. Daniel González, LHRP
85. Mikey Kane, 1B
84. Shane Murphy, LHSP
83. Connor McCullough, RHSP
82. Braden Shewmake, SS
81. Caleb Freeman, RHRP
80. Michael Turner, C
79. Drew McDaniel, RHSP
78. Jurdrick Profar, SS
77. Reudis Diaz, RHSP
76. Phil Fox, RHRP
75. Terrell Tatum, CF
74. Calvin Harris, C
73. Jacob Burke, CF
72. Alec Makarewicz, 1B
71. Carson Jacobs, RHRP
70. Nick Altermatt, RHRP
69. Drew Dalquist, RHRP