The Chicago White Sox have undergone some big changes in the offseason, but fortunately for them their blockbuster trades have helped make their farm system one of the most robust in baseball.
According to a new ranking done by the baseball statistics website Fangraphs, the White Sox have six of the top 100 prospects in baseball, including the number one ranked prospect in Yoan Moncada.
Acquired in the Chris Sale trade with the Boston Red Sox, Moncada projects to be a powerful hitter with speed and strong defense, and while the White Sox have repeatedly said that they are going to remain patient with him, Fangraphs was effusive in their praise of his talents:
“The tools are deafening. Moncada is a plus-plus runner with plus-plus arm strength, plus raw power and an advanced idea of the strike zone.”
Moncada isn’t the only White Sox prospect to get high-marks. The team ended up with three prospects in the top 21 and four in the top 28, as Lucas Giolito (19), Michael Kopech (21), and Reynaldo Lopez (28) all made the list.
2016 draft pick Zack Collins also made the list, checking in at number 94, and Carson Fulmer rounds out the White Sox contingent in the number 98 spot.
For the Chicago Cubs, the long-term forecast is slightly less rosy for their prospects, but even after players like Albert Almora ascended to the big leagues, they still have two high-ranked players in their system. Outfielder Eloy Jimenez ranks number 15 on the list, with Fangraphs touting his powerful bat as his best asset, and infielder Ian Happ parlayed his success in the Arizona Fall League into the number 51 spot on the countdown.
Chicago Baseball
One highly-touted prospect that the Cubs traded to the New York Yankees in last year’s Aroldis Chapman swap got a high ranking as well, as shortstop Gleyber Torres is ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the game.
