Jake Peppers
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´3´´
160 pounds
Age: 24
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 54
2025 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 57
2025 High Level
Age relative to high level -0.2
SSS rank among all right-handed relievers in the system 19
Overall 2025 stats 6-4 ⚾️ 41 games (5 finishes) ⚾️ 62 2/3 IP ⚾️ 4.88 ERA ⚾️ 1.819 WHIP ⚾️ 60 K ⚾️ 39 BB ⚾️ -0.2 WAR
With the 269th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft the White Sox selected Jake Peppers. He is another tweener
of a pitcher, but the White Sox seem determined to give him a full shot in the rotation. He struggled with command in college at Jacksonville State; in 140 innings, he walked 81 batters. On the flip side, Peppers showed a little bit in terms of a wipeout pitch (slider), so he worked in 143 strikeouts. Last season was Peppers’ best in terms of control, but not a big enough improvement to warrant a top pick.
The hope here is that he fills into his 6´3´´ frame and gains some bulk from his current listed weight of 160 pounds (which, to be fair, already seems WAAAAY low). That, hopefully, puts his mid-90s fastball up to the high 90s. The slider is Peppers’ go-to, with a 56% swing-and-miss rate. That is why he is a tweener.
If Peppers cannot get a third pitch (changeup) more developed, he doesn’t look like a bad two-pitch reliever. He ranks 187th per MLB Pipeline in this draft, purely on projections and the glimpses he showed in college and the Cape Cod League, where he corralled a 2.60 ERA in 17 1⁄3 innings at the high-level college summer league.
Post-draft, the Sox assigned Peppers to the ACL, where he saw action in four games and held hitters to an impressive .227 batting average over 5 2⁄3 innings.
The 22-year-old started 2024 with Single-A Kannapolis and spent the entire year with the Cannon Ballers. In his first full season of professional ball, Peppers was an essential part of a successful Ballers rotation. All of his 22 appearances came as a starter, and he earned himself a respectable 7-6 record with a 4.27 ERA and above-average 8.0 K/9 over 97 frames. In his last start of the season, Peppers struck out seven batters and secured the victory in the CBs 14-2 stomping of the Salem Red Sox. At Sox Populi, we named him a White Sox Minor-League All-Star.
The righty proved to be a durable and dependable arm in a memorable year for both Peppers and Kannapolis, helping to lead them to a playoff spot in the Carolina League South Division Championship. One of Peppers’ most notable starts of the season came in Game 2 of the Division Series, when he tossed five innings, surrendered no runs, and gave up only four hits with one walk and five Ks.
What momentum Peppers put together dissipated in 2025, as the righty could not handle a promotion to Winston-Salem. An ERA pushing 5.00 as a swingman for the Dash resulted in an August demotion back to Kanny, where Peppers remained lost.
No matter where Peppers lands in A-ball in 2025, he’ll be pitching older than his level. He may not be in last-chance territory yet, but the righty’s career is clearly in the crossroads.
Full 2026 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects Storystream
