As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
The Chicago White Sox 2024 was an unmitigated disaster. Everything that could go wrong did, and we are now with the 2025 White Sox. Their farm system, however, is in a good spot. They have targeted pitchers early and often in both trades and the daft, resulting in a system loaded with quality arms. They have the best left-handed pitching prospect in Noah Schultz, who they took towards the back half of the first round in 2022 and is now a top-12 prospect in the entire game. They traded Garrett Crochet, and while the return is lighter than many White Sox would have wanted, they got back four prospects in this list and three of their top 10 prospects. The rebuild will take a while in Chicago, but this current snapshot in time should be encouraging for White Sox fans to provide some hope that a large portion of their top 10 prospects should get the chance to graduate in 2025.
About Our Top 20 Lists
Prospects Live, led by its evaluating team & Director of Scouting Rhys White, is proud to begin rolling out its annual offseason system reports. The team combines industry feedback, our live looks, film, and available data to compile each org. We believe this effort has enabled us to present you, the reader, with our best possible view of the prospects in the organization.
We have constructed this list using the Overall Future Potential (OFP) scale. There is no perfect equation for ranking prospects or assigning value to them, but we believe this method is the best possible approach. Every prospect on this list has been graded based on the tried and true 20-80 scouting scale. An 80 is the highest tool and OFP grade on the scale, reserved for MVP-caliber players or tools. Conversely, a 20 is reserved for non-prospects (NPs). A 50 OFP falls in the middle, indicating our evaluators deem this player a future average major league player. Below the 50 OFP tier are the 45s and 40s, comprising a large majority of players on each list. These are specific-role players, such as platoon hitters, utility players, or low-leverage relievers. Above the 50 OFP tier are the 55s and 60s. A 55 represents a future above-average player, and a 60 OFP designation is reserved for future All-Star caliber players.
In addition to the tool grades and OFP, we will also include a 'Risk' associated with each prospect. We use this to better communicate to you, the reader, whether a grade is more aggressive or conservative in nature. The evaluation team has worked hard to apply both the grades and risk components to better illustrate how each individual prospect stacks up in their respective system and in the baseball ecosystem.
Evaluators: Rhys White, Matt Thompson, Tyler Jennings, Alex Kempton, Trevor Hooth, Brandon Williams, Grant Carver
The White Sox used the 26th overall pick on Noah Schultz as an Illinois prep, forgoing a commitment to Vanderbilt. The tall lefty utilizes a uniquely tall 6-foot-9 frame, throwing from a low three-quarters arm slot. He works exclusively from the stretch and is able to repeat his mechanics well. Schultz generally sits in the mid-90s with his fastball, which also has a two-seam variant. When he utilizes it in two-strike counts, he likes to climb the ladder. His slider is the crown jewel of his arsenal. It has a ton of movement across two planes. It’s a pitch he uses early and often against either-handed hitters, but he uses it almost exclusively against lefties. He’s not afraid to repeat the pitch several times in a row, if necessary, and it works. Against righties, he generally likes to backdoor the pitch but also will throw it to the backfoot. There is a changeup present also that can have an inconsistent release. When it’s located down in the zone, it flashes average with arm side fade. While Shultz can have a tendency to miss the arm side, he generally works around the edges of the strike zone. Even the pitches called balls usually don’t look too far off. He doesn’t walk many hitters and gets plenty of whiffs. Durability is a question, but talent is undoubtedly present. His slider is a signature offering that can generate lots of whiffs, but he sometimes tends to fall in love with the pitch. Between two plus or better pitches and above-average command, Schultz looks every bit the part of a front-end rotation arm. -Trevor Hooth
FANTASY SPIN
The sky's the limit for Schultz, not just because of his height. With two-plus or better pitches in his high-end fastball/slider combo and a serviceable changeup, he's set up for a ton of success in one role or another. Two factors ultimately decide that role: his command and ability to handle a starter's workload. To this point, the command has been fantastic as he's kept his BB% below 7% at every step of the minors. The durability has been more of a question as he has yet to pitch more than four innings at any point in his minor league career. How much of that comes from his own limitations and how much is the doing of a cautious approach from the White Sox could be in question. After dominating Double-A across 16 starts last year, look for Schultz to start the year in Triple-A, and if the White Sox ease off the reins a bit and let him throw five or more innings, we could quickly see him in the big league rotation. Worst case scenario, if he can't handle a starter's workload, he could be a truly dominant closer with his big fastball and electric slider, but he should get plenty of runway in a White Sox rotation that needs plenty of help. - Kyle Sonntag
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
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As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
