White Sox in Top 100: The 5 Players to Crack FanGraph's Latest Rankings
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As if the White Sox' offseason was not encouraging enough, their farm system looks destined to move up the MLB ranks.
FanGraphs released its latest Top 100 prospects list ahead of the highly anticipated 2026 season. While you may have to scroll past the Top 30 before finding someone in the Sox' system, a handful of names start to show up from there.
A total of five players made the cut, including three different arms. Another pitcher, Tanner McDougal, is on the verge of bumping that number to four. The righty is currently on the outside looking in at 104 on FanGraph's current rankings.
Below you will find the five Sox youngsters who appear on the list, as well as a little information on when the organization could hope to see them in the big leagues.
I encourage you to check out FangGraph's full Top 100 list and breakdown here.
No. 33 – Caleb Bonemer (A+)
Drafted in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Caleb Bonemer is a tall and stocky infielder who could turn into quite the exciting slugger. In his first season in a pro system, Bonemer slashed a solid .281/.401/.473 between both single and high-A. The bat is undoubtedly the reason for Bonemer leading the way among Sox prospects, as there are certainly questions about where he best lines up defensively.
Speaking of which, this could be why the Sox struggle to find a spot for him in the bigs, even if he does continue to climb the ranks fast. The team is seemingly set for the foreseeable future at shortstop with Colson Montgomery. Let's also not forget that the Sox currently hold the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, and UCLA's Roch Cholowsky looks prime to join their system in the near future. With that being the case, the Sox will want to keep a close eye on how comfortable Bonemer can become at third base this upcoming season.
No. 36 – Noah Schultz (AAA)
Manager Will Venable made clear that Noah Schultz will not start this upcoming season in the majors. But how much longer can the Sox really keep him in Charlotte?
The southpaw is already turning heads in Spring Training after a rocky past two seasons. He has been one of the most fascinating prospects in the league for years, carrying a tantalizing six-foot-ten frame with a fastball that flies in the high 90s. Nevertheless, after struggling to look healthy in 2025 and recording a scary 9.37 ERA in his five AAA starts with a walk-rate that nearly doubled from the prior season, it's not necessarily surprising that the Sox plan to take things slow.
If Schultz is able to stay on the mound and settle in, however, he could very well climb these Top 100 ranks as the season gets underway. Likewise, he could be on the South Side sooner than later. Fans surely want to see it.
No. 65 – Hagen Smith (AA)
Speaking of potential high-powered starters, Hagen Smith is the White Sox' next man up. Coming in outside the Top 50, the Sox got their hands on Smith in the first round of the 2024 draft. The Arkansas standout combines a fastball that sits in the mid 90s with a deadline slider.
Smith's versatility and command, however, remain the question marks. He has struggled to keep the ball in the zone during his time as a pro, and a third reliable pitch has been hard to come by. For instance, FanGraphs currently has his future change-up grade listed at a mere 40. Smith's walk rate also jumped from 6.1 percent in 2024 to a lofty 17.6 percent in 2025.
With that in mind, while the plan certainly remains for Smith to take a starting job in the future, he may end up better suited out of the bullpen. Keep an eye out for him later this season.
No. 95 – Christian Oppor (A+)
The idea of Christian Oppor is exciting. Moving up to high-A in 2025, the 21-year-old started 17 games and recorded a very solid 3.31 ERA over 65.1 innings pitched. He was able to reach a max speed of 100 mph with his fastball and recorded an exciting 50.0 percent ground ball rate. If we include his 2025 stint in single-A, Oppor threw an impressive 116 strikeouts last year during his 22 appearances.
The hope is surely that Oppor can make another jump sooner rather than later, and FanGraphs is apparently buying into his ability to do just that: "There’s a threadbare history of strike-throwing here, especially with any spin, but the emergence of above-average left-handed velocity, his dynamic on-mound athleticism, and Oppor’s changeup performance has us buying this as an arrow-up profile."
No. 100 – Braden Montgomery (AA)
Easily one of FanGraph's most shocking rankings, former Texas A&M star Braden Montgomery barely cracks the Top 100.
The outfielder came over as a key piece of the Garrett Crochet deal with the Red Sox, and his 2025 saw him move up three levels in the White Sox system. The organization even invited him to this year's Spring Training, and GM Chris Getz has previously stated that he can see a world where Montgomery is part of the team's outfield in 2026.
So, why the heck does he rank so low, especially after MLB's Top 100 put him as high as No. 36? FanGraphs seems to believe that Montgomery could become a boom-or-bust guy at the plate rather than the dependable switch-hitter many expect: "Overall, he’s vulnerable to velocity up and away from him as a right-handed hitter, and he struggles with changeups from both sides; his barrel looking like it was fired out of a cannon often results in swings that move in and out of the strike zone fairly quickly, and a lot of Montgomery’s work in pro ball has been focused on direction."
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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