We had a little trouble with poll production recently, with Brett and I both shut out of our polling program, but we are back in action thanks to colleague Melissa Sage-Bollenbach — apparently now the
SSS Mistress of Polls. Thanks, Melissa!
Ironically, this round was over fairly quick, with Jeral Perez storming out early and coasting to an easy win, with 43 of 219 (20%) votes:
This is Perez’s second year on our ballot, this year slipping down one spot from last year’s 11th.
Past No. 12s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote
2025 Grant Taylor (25%)
2024 Wilfred Veras (28%)
2023 Sean Burke (26%)
2022 Bryan Ramos (33%)
2021 Jake Burger (28%)
2020 Matt Thompson (35%)
2019 Zack Collins (37%)
2018 Zack Collins (46%)
Perez is the third shortstop to advance, leading all player positions so far:
With William Bergolla struggling to find footing with the voters and this round dropping to sixth, even with a win next round he will break a tie with Jaden Fauske for player longest on ballot before advancing.
Newcomer Grant Umberger made the job harder for everyone this round, debuting as the runner-up, scoring 32 votes. New to the ballot this round is TJS-thwarted southpaw Blake Larson.
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%)
- Hagen Smith — 40% (Bonemer 28%, Schultz 18%, McDougal 5%, Antonacci 4%, Carlson 3%, Bergolla/Oppor 1%, Adams/Fauske 0%)
- Caleb Bonemer — 47% (Schultz 34%, Antonacci 10%, Carlson/McDougal 4%, Bergolla 2%, Adams/Fauske/Oppor/Perez 0%)
- Noah Schultz — 49% (Antonacci 25%, Carlson 11%, McDougal 7%, Adams/Bergolla/Oppor 2%, Perez 1%, Fauske/Lodise 0%)
- Sam Antonacci — 41% (Carlson 25%, McDougal 20%, Bergolla/Perez 4%, Oppor 3%, Adams 2%, Fauske 1%, Diaz/Lodise 0%)
- Tanner McDougal — 39% (Carlson 36%, Bergolla 7%, Adams 6%, Pallette 5%, Fauske 3%, Oppor 2%, Lodise 1%, Diaz/Perez 0%)
- Billy Carlson — 52% (Adams 18%, Oppor 12%, Bergolla 9%, Fauske 5%, Lodise/Pallette/Wolkow 2%, Diaz/Perez 0%)
- Christian Oppor — 24% (Murphy 20%, Adams/Fauske 16%, Wolkow 10%, Bergolla 9%, Lodise/Pallette/Perez 1%, Diaz 0%)
- Shane Murphy — 34% (Adams 20%, Wolkow 13%, Fauske 16%, Bergolla 9%, Palisch 4%, Lodise/Pallette/Perez 1%, Diaz 0%)
- Mason Adams — 43% (Wolkow 22%, Bergolla 11%, Fauske/Pallette 10%, Lodise/Palisch/Perez 2%, Diaz/Hodge 0%)
- Jaden Fauske — 24.0% (Perez 23.5%, Hodge 13.4%, Bergolla 12.9%, Wolkow 8%, Pallette 5%, Diaz/Gonzalez/Lodise/Palisch 3%)
- Jeral Perez — 20% (Umberger 15%, Wolkow 13%, Hodge 12.3%, Palisch 11.9%, Bergolla 11.4%, Lodise 7.3%, Pallette 6.9%, Diaz 2%, Gonzalez 1%)
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).
Reudis Diaz
Right-handed relief pitcher
Age 20
2025 high level ACL (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -2.1 years
Overall 2025 stats 1-1 ▪️ 1 SV▪️ 21 games (4 finishes) ▪️ 27 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.28.ERA ▪️ 18 K ▪️ 8 BB ▪️ 1.084 WHIP ▪️1.2 WAR
Who? You’re forgiven for being unfamiliar with an extremely young arm who hasn’t yet gotten out of rookie ball, but our No. 77 prospect a year ago (then a starter, repeating the DSL and killing it) made a successful adjustment Stateside. He’ll return to starting in 2026, likely getting his feet wet in Arizona and getting a promotion to Low-A in the second half of the season.
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.
Jacob Gonzalez
Second Baseman
Age 21
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 9
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 24
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 134 games ▪️ 8 HR ▪️ 61 RBI ▪️ .232/.307/.345 ▪️ 17-of-20 (85.0%) SB ▪️ 48 BB ▪️ 86 K ▪️ .990 FLD%▪️ 3.1 WAR
After the incredible first half/awful second of 2024, Gonzalez rebounded for a solid campaign, the final third of which came in Charlotte. However, his time in Charlotte, a hitter’s playground, was a significant step back on offense. He’s on the cusp of the bigs but has created questions whether he’ll produce at all with the stick on the South Side.
Landon Hodge
Catcher
Age 19
2025 high level Crespi Carmelite H.S. (Encino, Calif.)
Scouting grades (40-80 scale) Hit 45 ▪️ Power 40 ▪️ Run 50 ▪️ Arm 55 ▪️ Field 50 ▪️ Overall 40
This teammate of White Sox first-rounder (and SSS Top Prospect Vote No. 7 player) Billy Carlson made history simply by being drafted (fourth round, No. 107 overall). The very first pick of Day 2 of the draft was a somewhat curious one, given MLB’s ranking as the 164th-best talent available in the draft and the presence of much more enticing talents (as high as MLB’s No. 35 prospect) passed over on Day 1. Hodge has a killer arm (another characteristic he shares with Carlson) and has a solid hit tool that’s more average than power.
Blake Larson
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 20
2025 High Level N/A (injured), played in 2024 at IMG Academy
Age relative to high level N/A
Overall 2025 stats N/A
Larson was a TCU commit out of IMG Academy (after early high school play in Des Moines, Iowa). He was rated a lower pick in the draft (108ish) than the spot the White Sox selected him (second round, 68th overall), but the club took a shot on a $1 million-plus bonus getting a young arm to eschew the Horned Frogs, and succeeded. Larson was already going to be brought along slowly — a path made slower by TJS last offseason. Optimistically, he will see limited innings in the ACL this summer.
Kyle Lodise
Shortstop
Age 22
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -1.0 years
Overall 2025 stats 28 games ▪️ 4 HR ▪️ 10 RBI ▪️ .185/.319/.370 ▪️ 7-of-8 (87.5%) SB ▪️ 15 BB ▪️ 21 K ▪️ .954 FLD%▪️ 0.4 WAR
Last summer’s third-rounder got right to work after the draft, reporting to High-A and adding another third to what was already the longest (55 games) season of his career. While that slash is rough, at least nearly a fourth (four of 17) of the shortstop’s hits left the yard. Perhaps against easier competition (or, maybe not), Lodise ran out a .329/.429/.667 slash in his last college season for Georgia Tech, with similar power, baserunning and bat discipline numbers.
Jake Palsich
Left-Handed Relief Pitcher
Age 27
2025 high level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -3.2 years
Overall 2025 stats (AA only) 8-3 ▪️ 11 SV ▪️ 29 games (13 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 105 IP ▪️ 2.14.ERA ▪️ 67 K ▪️ 26 BB ▪️ 1.067 WHIP ▪️ 3.0 WAR
Palisch was a fluke call-up during Adrian Houser’s paternity leave last summer, but his stellar Double-A season certainly merited consideration. While a pretty old player for his level and a guy bringing pedestrian peripherals, the bottom line is that an arm able to start or relieve and generate outs without overpowering stuff has a place in the White Sox system — and perhaps with the White Sox themselves.
Peyton Pallette
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 11
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 18
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 2-3 ▪️ 11 SV ▪️ 52 games (27 finishes) ▪️ 64 1/3 IP ▪️ 4.06 ERA ▪️ 86 K ▪️ 28 BB ▪️ 1.119 WHIP ▪️ 1.1 WAR
Pallette has spent two or three seasons now as the likely “next closer up” among White Sox farmhands, and his heavy time spent in Charlotte last summer might mean the big club is ready to see him break north with them next spring. While the former starter hasn’t quite mastered Charlotte, what pitcher truly can in such a robust hitting environment. There’s no product of the system ready to advance to the bigs more than Pallette.
Grant Umberger
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 24
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -0.2 years
Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 9-2▪️ 25 games (18 starts, 1 finish) ▪️ 105 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.56.ERA ▪️ 116 K ▪️ 34 BB ▪️ 1.136 WHIP ▪️ 3.2 WAR
Out of nowhere (OK, actually the University of Toledo, but undrafted and unheralded), Umberger had perhaps the best starting season of any pitcher in the White Sox system — certainly in the lower minors. Yet another southpaw (yes, the White Sox have a type), 2026 will be Umberger’s chance to serve notice to 29 other teams (oh yeah, the Sox too) that they were foolish not to draft him.
George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 20
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 14
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 13
2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.4 years
Overall 2025 stats 116 games ▪️ 13 HR ▪️ 69 RBI ▪️ .223/.317/.362 ▪️ 33-of-39 (84.6%) SB ▪️ 54 BB ▪️ 147 K ▪️ .969 FLD%▪️ 1.4 WAR
Wolkow flashed a bagload of skills in repeating Low-A in 2025, including a stellar steals volume and rate that had only been hinted at previously as a pro. He also continues to man a challenging outfield spot, flashing an arm strong enough for right but dexterity that can be a fit in center. That said, his improved K-rate (29.6%!) still leaves a lot to be desired. For a fella whose power has evaporated (just 13 homers and 31 XBHs all season), 2026 looms as a crucial development year. Gulp: Wolkow will be forced up to High-A without really proving he’s mastered Kannapolis.
Past South Side Sox Prospect votes
- 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.
