Our Sox Populi staff combines their prospect lists each offseason, coming up with the Top 100 players in the system. We’ll be summarizing and counting them up here, five at a time, leading up to the regular season.

30
Jake Eder
Left-Handed Starter
Chicago White Sox
Baseball Cube Rating 58.67
Simple WAR -1.8
It seemed impossible to outright lose a trade of Jake Burger, given the obvious limitations to the third baseman’s game, but wow does it seem the White Sox blew this one. Eder has been awful since arriving in the White Sox organization, and a cup of coffee last year in his major league debut does nothing to indicate that the southpaw is far, far from being a major league contributor.

29
Peyton Pallette
Right-Handed Reliever
Birmingham Barons
Baseball Cube Rating 63.33
Simple WAR 0.3
Now here is a happy story, turning failure (as a starting pitcher) and struggle (getting over arm surgery) into success — resounding success. Pallette is a new pitcher, working out of the pen, and might be the fastest to the majors given his revelatory turnaround in 2024 (7.21 ERA/1.855 WHIP in the rotation, 1.16 ERA/0.724 WHIP out of the pen).

28
Samuel Zavala
Center Fielder
Winston-Salem Dash
Baseball Cube Rating 67.50
Simple WAR 1.4
Acquired as part of a three-gilded-prospects deal with San Diego for Dylan Cease just about a year ago, last year was a rough start for Zavala in his new organization. He’s not afraid to take a walk, but in order to use his wheels he’s got to put the ball in play. No, he’s not a wunderkind, but he was still more than three years young for High-A, so let’s cut the kid some slack.

27
William Bergolla
Second Baseman
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Baseball Cube Rating 50.13
Simple WAR 2.3
Yet another lottery ticket deal with no downside, Bergolla (son of a major-leaguer) came over from Philadelphia in the Tanner Banks swap and paid immediate dividends in Winston-Salem. Taking his full season (Bergolla was also a High-A player in the Philly system earlier in 2024), he’s got tricky quicks and little power — but getting on base is the current Sox system aim. That, he does (.359 OBP).

26
Seth Keener
Right-Handed Starter
Winston-Salem Dash
Baseball Cube Rating 75.33
Simple WAR 0.7
Keener remains a very intriguing arm, dominant at age-appropriate Kannapolis (3.36 ERA, 1.212 WHIP in 14 starts) but eaten alive in his year-end cup of coffee in High-A. Re-set, and return, hopefully to master High-A in 2025.

Peyton Pallette photo courtesy of Peyton Pallette/Instagram.

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