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MLB Minor League System Ranks – The Elite

By Benjamin Chase

Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Chicago White Sox

Coming into this offseason, the White Sox would have been in that bottom group of systems, and they’re now being discussed in the top group, which tells you just how much talent they got in their trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton.

The team is still listening on players like Jose Quintana, Jose Abreu, and Melky Cabrera, all of whom could have value to teams out there and could bring in more prospect return to pad this system.

Elite prospects – This is where the system now shines. The White Sox had 9 guys I considered in my top 125, and they will have 4 guys who are solid top 50 guys, including 3 who should be top 25 guys. The system thins out quickly, though.

System depth in legit prospects – This is where the biggest issue in the system is. The White Sox had very little depth in the system before the trades, and the trade acquisitions have brought in a handful of elite players, but they haven’t built up quite the depth yet to truly move into that top 2-3 system in the game category.

Proximity to majors of legit prospects – Of their major acquisitions, it would not be surprising to see three of the four biggest names make the majors for opening day, and of their other prospects in the top 10, two reached the upper minors beyond those three. Outside of that, however, they’re fairly shallow in ready talent at the upper levels.

System reputation – The White Sox have struggled to produce talent from their own system recently, which has predicated this rebuild. They have taken some steps to overhaul things now in their system, but it remains to be seen how much they’ll do in their scouting and development to increase the quality of those areas, both of which have been considered subpar at times.

Top 5 Born 1991 or since (age 25 season this year)
1. Carlos Rodon
2. Yoan Moncada
3. Tim Anderson
4. Reynaldo Lopez
5. Lucas Giolito

Next: #5

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