Chicago White Sox Prospect Preview: #22-24

Continuing our series of previewing the Chicago White Sox Top-30 prospects, we look at three past draft picks who’ve become high-ranking prospects with major upside.

At this point of the Chicago White Sox prospect list is when we start to hit the “sure things”.

The bottom-six ranked prospects were all players with major upside, coming off of a big season last season or the season before.

While it remains to be seen whether this will translate to the major league level, the Chicago White Sox’s 22nd, 23rd and 24th-ranked prospects have established themselves so far as solid producers who can be counted on to make an impact on a daily basis.

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#24: Evan Skoug

Evan Skoug is a perfect example of the mastery of Rick Hahn.

A consensus Top-100 draft prospect in 2017 out of Texas Christian University, Evan Skoug was viewed at by some as a potential first-round pick and the best catcher in the draft.

Skoug fell to the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round over concerns about his plate discipline and durability behind the plate.

Skoug had a solid professional debut, hitting .232 with three home runs and ten RBIs in 25 games between the Arizona League and Class-A.

Skoug’s bat and leadership are major league quality, but his plate discipline will need to improve greatly if he wants to compete to be the Chicago White Sox catcher of the future.

One thing that can help speed up Skoug’s development is his play behind the plate. If Skoug can stay at catcher at least until he gets to the big leagues, he’ll have no problem finding a job on the White Sox, especially with his power at the plate.

Skoug likely needs another year and a half at least before he’s considered a candidate to be called up. But for now, he needs to improve at the plate, stick behind the plate defensively and continue to exert the leadership skills that gave him so much praise throughout high school and college.

#23: Seby Zavala

Another thing that has been a staple of the era of Rick Hahn’s success has been his ability to draft talent in the later rounds.

Seby Zavala, a 2015 12th-round pick out of San Diego State, had a huge 2017, leading all of White Sox minor leaguers with 21 combined home runs across both A-level affiliates.

Like Skoug, Zavala is an offense-first catcher. However, Zavala is viewed at as a more complete prospect because of his consistency at the plate, as Zavala hit .282 in 107 games in 2017.

In order for Zavala to make it to the major leagues, he’s going to need to do one of two things: improve defensively or give up catching and continue to produce offensively. The latter would be easier in terms of getting to the major leagues, but Zavala has a better chance of carving out an everyday role as a backstop than a designated hitter.

At the age of 24, Zavala very much could make his major league debut as a September call-up this season. Given the fact that he hasn’t played a game above A-level, Zavala almost definitely won’t have the chance to make an impact in the big leagues until at least 2019.

The continued production put out by Zavala has been a great sign for the Chicago White Sox, as any continued success out of a former 12th-rounder is a gift that keeps on giving.

#22: Jordan Stephens

Another 2015 draft pick, Jordan Stephens was one of the biggest breakout players in the Chicago White Sox system last season.

The former standout at Rice University went 3-7 but registered a 3.14 ERA in 16 starts for Double-A Birmingham in 2017.

Stephens lacks an above-average pitch repertoire, but his ability to get outs has been what has made him a successful pitcher to this point in his career.

One of the most major league-ready guys on this list, Stephens will likely start 2018 in Triple-A Charlotte, making him a potential rotation candidate post-trade deadline.

He will need to follow up his big 2017 with a solid 2018 before getting the call. But unless he blows up, Jordan Stephens will almost certainly see time in the big leagues this season.

A big 2018 in the minors and majors could almost definitely make Stephens a candidate for the future rotation. He’s got some big guys to beat out, but it would be hard for the White Sox to deny a guy with the ability to get outs like Stephens of a roster spot.

Next: Chicago White Sox Prospect Previews: Assessing Numbers 25-27

As we move along with the Chicago White Sox Top-30 prospects list, the deeper we get, the more sure talent we will find.

However, any production from mid-round drafts picks is big, especially when they’ve developed into the consistent producers that these three have.

All three aren’t too far away, so take watch now, as Jordan Stephens, Seby Zavala and Evan Skoug all can be big producers on the South Side.