White Sox place five prospects in The Athletic’s Top 100 and snag six spots on MLB Pipeline’s list

A combination of skillful trades and astute drafting has propelled the farm to new heights

According to experts, the White Sox farm system is healthy again and boasts several top prospects. Over the past several weeks, various lists have consistently ranked five to seven Chicago players in the top 100.

Here at South Side Sox, we've been tracking these rankings closely. On January 14, Baseball Prospectus released its Top 101 list (summarized here by Year of the Hamster). Then, last Wednesday, I shared details from Baseball America's Top 100. Finally, this past Friday brought MLB Pipeline's rankings, followed by Keith Law's analysis for The Athletic on Monday. So, if you're looking for information on the White Sox's future stars, you've certainly come to the right place.

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MLB Pipeline's Top 100 — Chicago White Sox

Noah Schultz (LHSP) 16
Kyle Teel (C) 32
Hagen Smith (LHSP) 34
Colson Montgomery (IF) 39
Braden Montgomery (OF) 55
Edgar Quero (C) 66

The table below compares the MLB Pipeline rankings from October 2024 to January 2025.

Notice that no player demonstrated positive movement in this assessment. Schultz maintained his position, while the differences in Braden and Colson's rankings were nearly imperceptible. Notably, Quero and Teel, both of whom enjoyed strong 2024 seasons, experienced the most significant declines.

Per Pipeline, Schultz and Smith are also the two best lefties in the minors. Only twice in the past 15 years has a single organization produced the top two prospects at a single position.

Here’s a picture of the dynamic duo at SoxFest this past weekend. Schultz has reportedly grown another inch in the offseason and is now 6’10.” He makes the 6’3” Smith look almost short.

Melissa Sage-Bollenbach/South Side Sox

OK. So, how good, though really, is Chicago's farm overall, according to Pipeline?

MLB evaluators encourage fans to consider Prospect Points in addition to raw player position to assess the current strength of their team's prospect class. Prospect Points assign 100 points to the first overall prospect, 99 to the second, and so on, providing a numerical measure of a team's prospect haul.

When examining Chicago's Prospect Points, the Sox came out on top by a significant margin, earning 364 points. The Pale Hose are followed by the Detroit Tigers at 337 and the Los Angeles Dodgers with 317 points. Who truly knows if this means anything, but at this point, I'll take all the positivity that I can get my hands on.

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The Athletic's Top 100 — Chicago White Sox

Keith Law has been compiling his list at The Athletic for 18 years. In 2025, he found spots for five South Siders.

Noah Schultz 20
Kyle Teel 37
Braden Montgomery 38
Hagen Smith 49
Edgar Quero 53

Here's the year-to-year comparison for The Athletic.

Colson Montgomery is notably absent from Law's 2025 list. Colson did struggle throughout 2024 while with the Charlotte Knights. He slashed only .214/.329/.381 over 130 games. Despite having an entire, healthy season, the 22-year-old had difficulty making effective contact as his chase rate jumped to 30% from 17% in 2023. Despite the low batting average, he did manage to drive 18 out of the park. The lefty ended the year on a positive note, rebounding in the Arizona Fall League by hitting .313/.511/.656.

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I'll wrap things up here with a final table that compares all the rankings side-by-side. At the end, I threw in a column with the average. I saved you the math. You're welcome.

We're still rolling out our Top 100 list here at South Side Sox. Be sure to keep following throughout the spring to see how our staff ranks Chicago's best prospects.