It is the ninth year of Top Prospect voting at South Side Sox!
First, let us review past years:
- Here is how 2018 wrangled out — all 42 picks. Also, here is an archive of every article in the 2018 series.
- Here is how 2019 came together, all 50 picks, and the archive as well.
- Now 2020, with the archive.
- Here is the 2021 wrap-up of just 35 picks due to flagging participation, along with the full archive.
- Here is the 2022 link to the 27-pick wrap, along with the full archive.
- Round 24 of voting was the last of 2023 (we did not do an actual wrap for the voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick), and the full archive.
- In 2024 Abraham Núñez was our 34th pick to end the series, and here is the wrap-up post and full archive of each profile.
- And last year, we did 31 picks, ending with Eric Adler. Here is the wrap and full stream, of every article.
To make sure we give the SSS readership a strong vote in our South Side Sox Top 100, we’re going to run five
or 10 polls before kicking off our Top 100 Prospect countdown. Ideally, we get 50 votes in, and then somewhere around the end of January the Prospect Vote and Top 100 will meet. From there, we will stop the polling and run through the Top 50, finishing during Spring Training.
As of now our countdown will start with Zach DeLoach at No. 100, but that name changed once already as this was being written. As is custom, the Prospect Vote will turn over to the next round as soon as the top vote-getter seems to have an insurmountable lead — but we’ll take no longer than a week to vote even in the closest battles.
Unlike most years, our staff ballots feature a variety of players as our No. 1 prospect. Who will you choose, in this wide-open race?
Four players from last year’s Top 10 Prospects have lost their prospect status due to MLB service (Edgar Quero, Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery, Grant Taylor). Both as a consequence of these graduations AND poor performance from formerly plum prospects, just two players on last year’s initial ballot appear in this year’s as well.
Eight of the 10 players on this first 2026 ballot played in the White Sox system in 2025, with the exception of two 2025 draft choices.
This year, three players (Drew Dalquist, Jared Kelley and DJ Gladney) mark in their seventh year in our Top 100, which is pretty amazing. On the other hand, in each case the players have seen their prospect status sink, or at best, stall.
All right, let’s have some fun. And get voting!
What seemed like it would be a close battle among several worthy No. 1s was almost immediately dispatched by Braden Montgomery. The center fielder, who ascended to the No. 1 spot in the last MLB Pipeline list, routed his competition, earning 88 of 150 votes (59%):
Montgomery was our No. 9-voted prospect in 2025, his first year on the ballot. Full disclosure, the Garrett Crochet trade came right after we started our poll last year, and as a result Montgomery likely finished artificially low due to getting into the poll late.
Hagen Smith seems to have an edge as our overall No. 2, but maybe that fierce battle forecast for this round is still to come.
A year ago, our top-voted prospect was Brooks Baldwin in a massive upset, drawing 37% of the vote. In 2024, Colson Montgomery took the crown. In 2023, Oscar Colás was the winner. In the 2022 vote, it was Norge Vera in the top spot. In 2021, Andrew Vaughn was our top pick. Luis Robert Jr. took the honors in our initial 2020 vote.
Speedy infielder William Bergolla is the first player to join the ballot after this initial vote.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2026
- Braden Mongomery — 59% (Smith 17%, Bonemer 9%, Schultz 7%, Antonacci 3%, Adams/Carlson/McDougal 2%, Fauske/Oppor 0%)
Mason Adams
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 26
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 29
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 8
2024 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.0 years
Overall 2024 stats (AA/AAA) 7-5 ▪️ 23 games (22 starts, one finish) ▪️ 1 CG ▪️ 120 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 2.92 ERA ▪️ 110 K ▪️ 28 BB ▪️ 1.146 WHIP ▪️3.0 WAR
This 13th-rounder was rising in the system despite being counted out at every turn — until an arm injury during a Cactus League game last spring saw Adams tumble into Tommy John surgery. Obviously there are questions surrounding his recovery, but it may be easier to rely on a bounce-back from an overachiever like Adams than most hurlers.
Sam Antonacci
Second Baseman
Age 23
2025 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -1.7 years
Overall 2025 stats (Rookie/High-A/AA) 116 games ▪️ 5 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .291/.433/.409 ▪️ 48-of-58 (82.8%) SB ▪️ 69 BB ▪️ 73 K ▪️ .988 FLD%▪️ 4.9 WAR
This 2024 fifth-rounder has done a little bit of everything in his one-plus years in the White Sox system and has excelled with the glove, on the basepaths and in getting on base. He’s one of just a handful of batters to push his OPS past a standout .800 level and might have had a case for 2025 Player of the Year if not for the next guy on this list.
William Bergolla
Shortstop
Age 21
2025 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -3.7 years
Overall 2025 stats 125 games ▪️ 0 HR ▪️ 36 RBI ▪️ .286/.342/.333 ▪️ 40-of-51 (78.4%) SB ▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 26 K ▪️ .981 FLD%▪️ 4.4 WAR
The epitome of a “Chris Getz player,” Bergolla offsets his Punch-and-Judy bat with deft baserunning, a killer glove and incredible plate discipline. Well young for his level, this legacy player (dad, also William Bergolla) has cut through the White Sox system like butter since his acquisition at the 2024 trade deadline (from Philly, for Tanner Banks).
Caleb Bonemer
Shortstop
Age 20
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 26
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -3.0 years
Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 107 games ▪️ 12 HR ▪️ 64 RBI ▪️ .281/.401/.473 ▪️ 29-of-37 (78.4%) SB ▪️ 75 BB ▪️ 101 K ▪️ .938 FLD%▪️ 4.3 WAR
In his first professional season, Bonemer was stunningly good. And even as the season wore on and this Michigander prep played past 100 games, with every reason to tire, the slugger got stronger — his 11 games to end the season with the Dash were stellar! For a player whose assignment out of camp to full-season Low-A ball seemed aggressive, Bonemer met every challenge and forced himself into MLB Top 100 consideration.
Billy Carlson
Shortstop
Age 19
2025 high level Corona, Calif. (Prep)
Scouting grades (40-80 scale) Hit 45 ▪️ Power 50 ▪️ Run 55 ▪️ Arm 70 ▪️ Field 70 ▪️ Overall 55
The White Sox just can’t stay away from shortstops, which is the smartest draft strategy they have taken in many years. This latest blue-chipper is a defensive whiz (maybe not Ozzie Smith or even Ozzie Guillén, but the best that could be found in the 2025 draft) with a lot of room to grow into his bat.
Jaden Fauske
Outfielder
Age 18
2025 high level Nazareth Academy (Ill.) (Prep)
Scouting grades (40-80 scale) Hit 55 ▪️ Power 50 ▪️ Run 55 ▪️ Arm 50 ▪️ Field 50 ▪️ Overall 50
Another thing the White Sox just can’t stay away from are products of their Area Codes team. Following in Bonemer’s (and George Wolkow, as well as pitchers Noah Schultz and Blake Larson) footsteps is the Jim Thome-approved Fauske, who was a catcher-outfielder but now seems set on giving it a bigger run in the field than behind the plate. It will be interesting to see whether the White Sox give Fauske any catching reps (he grades out well as a catcher); for what it is worth, he was announced at the draft as an outfielder-only.
Tanner McDougal
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 22
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 33
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R
2025 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.7 years
Overall 2024 stats (High-A/AA) 3-5 ▪️ 28 starts ▪️ 113 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 3.26 ERA ▪️ 136 K ▪️ 49 BB ▪️ 1.332 WHIP ▪️2.0 WAR
It was an extraordinary comeback season for McDougal, who has fought through all sorts of adversity in the White Sox system, from the trivial (a 20-game losing streak) to serious (TJS). At long last, the 2021 fifth-rounder was everything the White Sox hoped he could be, and now sits as the consensus top righty in the system.
Christian Oppor
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 21
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -3.2 years
Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 4-8 ▪️ 22 starts ▪️ 87 2/3 IP ▪️ 3.08 ERA ▪️ 116 K ▪️ 42 BB ▪️ 1.186 WHIP ▪️ 1.8 WAR
It has been a slow and steady process for this southpaw slinger, with two full years in the ACL before getting the call to full-season play in 2025. After a dismal 2024, Oppor broke out in a big way, dominating A-ball at both levels. Though he has been around a while, the lefty is still very young for his level. He’s become another arm to dream on.
Noah Schultz
Left-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 6
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 2
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 2
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -6.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 4-5 ▪️ 17 starts ▪️ 73 IP ▪️ 4.68 ERA ▪️ 76 K ▪️ 45 BB ▪️ 1.671 WHIP ▪️ 0.3 WAR
A seeming rush toward the majors derailed Schultz in what was largely a lost third professional season. He started 2025 repeating Birmingham, with less success save for longer outings, then curiously was promoted to Triple-A and the pinball machine that is Charlotte’s home ballpark. The former consensus No. 1 Sox prospect got just five rough starts in while battling a knee injury throughout the second half. The White Sox still may foresee Schultz as part of the mix in the majors in 2026, but that is no longer a foregone conclusion.
Hagen Smith
Left-handed starting pitcher
Age 22
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 4
2025 level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -3.7 years
Overall 2025 stats 3-3 ▪️ 20 starts ▪️ 75 2/3 IP ▪️ 3.57 ERA ▪️ 108 K ▪️ 56 BB ▪️ 1.295 WHIP ▪️ 1.1 WAR
Like Schultz, Smith took a step back in 2025 — but unlike his fellow high-ranked lefty, Smith recovered. After some combination of physical and mental injury saw the southpaw shipped to Glendale for some Development List work at midseason, Smith returned to the Barons still a bit wild, but renewed. In his final five games of the season (including two incredibly clutch starts during Birmingham’s Southern League title repeat), Smith threw 22 innings to a 2.05 ERA. It is not inconceivable that Smith carries his renewal (he is mowing through the Arizona Fall League as we vote) in a sweep to the majors in 2026.
