March and April came and went to the tune of a 6-24 record. If that is a precursor to what’s left to come, Tuesday was a good day to hear from White Sox director of player development Paul Janish and have a peek at the future.
Here’s what the Sox have going for them in a farm system that was ranked near the bottom of the industry before the 2023 deadline trades of Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Jake Burger and Kendall Graveman and the trade of ace right-hander Dylan Cease before the end of spring training: They’re now ranked 18th by Baseball America and 20th by MLB Pipeline, and their Double-A team at Birmingham was 15-6 entering Tuesday, comfortably the best record in the Southern League.
The Sox’ boost in prospect rankings was one of the biggest upward movements this year, propelled by the aforementioned trades and the high upside of their first-round picks, Colson Montgomery (2021) and left-hander Noah Schultz (2022).
The downside is Montgomery’s sluggish start at Triple-A Charlotte, where he was batting .217/.327/.370 with three homers in 23 games. His 36 strikeouts against 13 walks have drifted away from his profile.
“He got off to a relatively slow start,” Janish said.
Montgomery is MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 prospect, Schultz is No. 50 and right-hander Drew Thorpe is No. 85. Third baseman Bryan Ramos is the Sox’ No. 4 prospect, catcher Edgar Quero is No. 5, right-hander Jairo Iriarte is No. 9 and lefty Jake Eder No. 10.
Janish maintained Montgomery “is in a good place” despite his struggles in April.
“We’ve got to remember he’s really young, Janish said of Montgomery. He’s obviously very talented.” “Very little concern at this point for Colson. I think he’s going to be just fine, and he’s doing what he needs to do.”
The upside and tall side is the 6-9 Schultz, who because of his size, electric stuff and good command draws comparisons to Randy Johnson. This is not to say he will become anything like the Hall of Fame left-hander, but Schultz’s 27 strikeouts against five walks in 16 innings (he has a 4.50 ERA) in four starts for High-A Winston-Salem, explains the intrigue.
“As funny as it sounds, he’s still kind of growing into his body,” Janish said. “It’s a really, really unique skill set. The makeup, the character, obviously he’s a very cordial, quiet kid, but he’s starting to come into some personality as well. It’s really encouraging to see.”
Schultz, 20, an Oswego High School grad, is farther away than Montgomery, who seemed certain to join the majors this season. He still should, but that target date isn’t imminent.
Thorpe, who came from the Padres in the Cease trade, is 4-0 with a 0.75 ERA in four starts for Birmingham. He is 18-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 27 career minor-league starts.
Iriarte is also excelling at Charlotte with a 0.51 ERA in four starts. Over 17⅔ innings, he has allowed nine hits and struck out 21.
Quero, 21, acquired from the Angels in the Giolito and Lopez trade, is trending with Korey Lee toward landing two capable catchers on the Sox’ rosters of the near future. Quero is batting .281/.368/.547 with five homers in 19 games for Birmingham.
“He’s just really good,” Janish said. “For a 21-year-old catcher in Double-A, he’s got a lot on his plate and he’s doing about as much as we could ask him to do.”
Quero’s bilingual skill is also a plus.
“Edgar’s of Latin descent but he speaks English well — that’s been what I’ve been most impressed with,” Janish said. “I’m glad that he’s doing well offensively, but the intangible piece that is imperative to the catching position is what to me has really stuck out this year.”
Janish, in his first year, said the Sox’ record won’t cause players to be pushed to the big leagues.
“No,” he said. “Not letting some of those ulterior variables influence us with regards to certain guys in the development process.”
Patience, like it or not, is the word.
