2025 South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 42: Prelander Berroa

The majors treated this righty well in 2024, but time will tell how he transitions into a full year in the big leagues

Prelander Berroa

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
5´11´´
215 pounds
Age: 24
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 23
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.0 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relievers in the system 3
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 3-5 ⚾️ 43 games (7 finishes) ⚾️ 0 SV ⚾️ 46 1⁄3 IP ⚾️ 6.41 ERA ⚾️ 1.835 WHIP ⚾️ 49 K ⚾️ 35 BB

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Minnesota Twins at just 16 years old, Prelander Berroa made some pit stops along the West Coast, in both San Francisco and Seattle, before landing back in the Midwest. Berroa came to the White Sox as a part of the trade that sent Gregory Santos to the Mariners prior to the 2024 season. Prelander had played Double-A ball for Seattle in 2023, but got called up to the majors for two appearances (1 2⁄3 innings) with the Mariners. In those two outings, he faced eight batters, walked three, and struck out three — though he didn’t allow any other baserunners. Of course, it was the smallest of sample sizes, as his 2025 MLB appearances were much more encouraging.

Upon joining the White Sox organization last year, Prelander was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, and floated up and down from the major leagues throughout the season. Berroa ultimately spent the majority of the 2024 season in Charlotte, where he pitched 46 1⁄3 innings and accumulated a 6.41 ERA, 1.835 WHIP, and a pretty rough 5.75 FIP; he also gave up seven homers across 218 batters faced. The righty first joined the South Siders April 28 and stayed for a few days, then went back to the Knights four days later, and popped back-and-forth from Charlotte in early August before landing in Chi-Town for the final month of the season. It wasn’t quite the Danny Mendick treatment, but Berroa was starting to give him a run for his money!

The good news, in a sense, is that Berroa’s stats were weaker in the minors; Berroa’s 19 MLB innings were much more consistent, and his 3.32 big-league ERA was nearly 50% more efficient than his performance in Charlotte. Berroa’s fastball seemed to transition well to the big leagues, averaging almost 98 mph — topping out over 100 mph — and ranking in the 96th percentile for fastball velocity in his Statcast rankings. His fastball is one thing, but he throws his slider the most, and it has shown to be much more effective, racking up a 43.4% Whiff% and just a .173 BA from opponents in 2024. To prove this point further, Berroa also struck out 24 batters with the slider compared to just two with the fastball.

Berroa’s WHIP was still a bit high in the majors (1.474) as he continued to struggle with walks. He gave away free bases at a 15.7% BB%, but his K% improved to 31.3% in MLB — 8.8% higher than in Charlotte.

There’s still some work to do for Berroa to get his pitch control in check, especially to limit walks and free bases. His 2025 projections look almost flat year over year, but time will tell once he’s able to get in a consistent rhythm rather than bouncing around from team to team. With Prelander being signed at such a young age, he’s had solid experience at all levels so far and certainly has the tools to become a weapon out of the bullpen.

Berroa’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Strikeouts 80 (-3 from last season)
K/BB 42 (-10)
Walks 23 (-7)
vs. Power 67 (-9)
Hittable 67 (-9)
Durability 77 (-6)
Average 59.33 (-7.34)

Although Berroa has shown some regressions across his player ratings, he is still young with time to improve, and should look to spend the majority (if not all) of the 2025 season with the White Sox.

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2025 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
42. Prelander Berroa, RHRP
43. Sam Antonacci, 2B
44. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
45. Jarold Rosado, RHRP
46. Ryan Galanie, 1B
47. Trey McGough, LHRP
48. Ricardo Brizuela, RHSP
49. Lucas Gordon, LHSP
50. Aaron Combs, RHRP (traded to Phillies on January 1)
51. DJ Gladney, RF
52. Abraham Núñez, CF
53. Andre Lipcius, 1B
54. Shawn Goosenberg, 1B
55. Caden Connor, 1B
56. Mario Camilletti, 2B
57. Jake Peppers, RHSP
58. Ryan Burrowes, SS
59. Garrett Schoenle, LHRP
60. Jackson Appel, C
61. Tommy Vail, LHSP
62. Bryce Collins, RHRP
63. Tanner McDougal, RHSP
64. Stiven Flores, C
65. T.J. McCants, CF
66. Gil Luna, LHRP
67. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
68. Zach Franklin, RHRP
69. Drew Dalquist, RHRP
70. Nick Altermatt, RHRP
71. Carson Jacobs, RHRP
72. Alec Makarewicz, 1B
73. Jacob Burke, CF
74. Calvin Harris, C
75. Terrell Tatum, CF
76. Phil Fox, RHRP
77. Reudis Diaz, RHSP
78. Jurdrick Profar, SS
79. Drew McDaniel, RHSP
80. Michael Turner, C
81. Caleb Freeman, RHRP
82. Braden Shewmake, SS (designated for assignment on January 1, claimed by Royals)
83. Connor McCullough, RHSP
84. Shane Murphy, LHSP
85. Mikey Kane, 1B
86. Daniel González, LHRP
87. Wes Kath, 3B
88. Pierce George, RHRP
89. Tristan Stivors, RHRP
90. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHRP
91. Chase Plymell, RHRP
92. Eddie Park, CF
93. Loidel Chapelli, 2B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
99. Drake Logan, LF
100. Cole McConnell, CF