White Sox top prospects: What makes Edgar Quero ‘a special talent’ and more from down on the farm

In a depressing year at the major league level, and with the organization undergoing its latest long-term rebuilding project, fans have had to look toward the Chicago White Sox top prospects for something to be excited about.

And while there are plenty of questions down there, too, one undoubted bright spot has been Edgar Quero. The 21-year-old catcher has flown through the minor leagues, currently playing at Triple-A Charlotte, where he’s putting up numbers as good as he has at any time as a pro. In his first 23 Triple-A games, he’s got a .313/.408/.506 slash line to go along with four homers, four doubles and 13 walks compared to 17 strikeouts.

Quero found himself firmly secure in his top-100 prospect status when MLB.com released its midseason re-rank this week. Quero is one of four White Sox in the top 100 – more on that in a bit – at No. 63 in the game.

Turns out, it’s for good reason, so explained Justin Jirschele, the Charlotte skipper who was brought up to the major league staff after personnel changes last week. He’s now working as the White Sox’ third-base coach.

Jirschele was only with Quero for a short while, as the young catcher didn’t move up from Double-A to Triple-A until early last month. But he got to see what the evaluators have seen and has his own level of excitement about what Quero can be for future White Sox teams.

“That’s a special talent, on both sides of the ball,” Jirschele said in an interview with CHGO. “I haven’t seen him a ton. But while I did see him and had the pleasure of putting him in the lineup every single day, he stands out.

“Obviously, he can hit from both sides of the plate, has a hit tool from both sides from both sides of the plate and also a power tool from both sides of the plate. He’s a guy that uses the entire field from both sides. He takes his walks, has a really good approach. And it’s a professional approach in everything that he does, really, but especially from the offensive side. He’s got a really good plan and a really good idea of what he wants to do. It’s very mature.”

Quero being advanced for his age has been the story on the young Cuban since White Sox fans found out who he was following last summer’s trade that brought him over from the Angels’ organization. He’s spent the year since raking in the minor leagues and providing one name to pencil into future White Sox rosters on the position-player side of things.

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Of course, just because Quero has flown through the minors doesn’t mean he’ll be reaching 35th and Shields before the end of the 2024 campaign. Certainly he could get a late-season tryout, but considering his age and the need to master the catching position – a full plate for a young player – it’s no certainty. Unsurprisingly, a continued focus on getting things perfect behind the plate is still among Quero’s homework assignments.

“Just continuing to separate his offense from his defense,” Jirschele said of what Quero needs to keep doing before reaching the majors. “Understanding that he’s at an extremely vital position back there and that needs to be first and foremost, the game-calling and handling the pitching staff and understanding how we’re going to attack hitters on a nightly basis and sticking with our plans, regardless of what he does at the plate.

“There’s going to be good nights and bad nights, as we well know, in this game offensively. So continuing to stay consistent with his defense is going to be very, very vital for him.”

White Sox top prospects: Colson Montgomery experiencing ‘true failure’

Colson Montgomery is no longer the White Sox’ top prospect.

Despite starting the season as one of the top-10 prospects in baseball, as ranked by MLB.com, the site pushed him down to No. 28 overall in their midseason re-rank, with pitching prospect Noah Schultz jumping him into the No. 15 spot on the list.

Montgomery, of course, is nowhere close to falling out of the White Sox’ big picture. But spending the year at Triple-A, he’s undoubtedly struggled to replicate the sort of offensive numbers he put up in shorter bursts at the organization’s lower levels. Across 54 games split between Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham last season, Montgomery slashed .275/.445/.466. Through 97 games at Charlotte this season, he’s slashing .207/.329/.377.

Those numbers have a lot of fans worried, but of course the White Sox are evaluating things beyond just the stat sheet. But even they are seeing Montgomery struggle in a way he’s yet to as a pro. Hitting that tough stretch in the minors, as opposed to finding things easy before getting to the major league level, could come with its own silver lining in terms of his development.

“He’s going through a little bit of failure,” Jirschele said. “But he’s been extremely consistent playing every single day. He’s battled some injuries in years past, and this is really his first full year where he’s been able to show up every single day and grind through a full minor league season. That’s been exciting to watch, to sit back and see him prepare and know that he’s not where he wants to be offensively but continuing to separate his offense from his defense and really just be the same guy every single day, regardless of what happened the night before.

“He’s got a short-term memory, and he’ll learn from things and grow from things each and every night. Just the consistency that he shows up to the ballpark with every day.”

Montgomery now has new offensive questions to go along with the defensive ones that never left, and it’s now a wonder whether he’ll reach the majors in 2024. But the 22-year-old is hellbent on showing everyone that he can be a shortstop at the major league level. He has to be an effective one at the minor league level first, and the development on that front is ongoing. Jirschele joined the chorus of White Sox people who have commended Montgomery for the work he’s put into his defense and his drive to answer those defensive questions.

“His sense of urgency, his internal clock, certain things like that that we’ve worked on from the start of the year,” Jirschele said. “The kid, he really cares about his defense. He wants to stay at shortstop, and obviously he wants to prove that every single night.

“The biggest impressive thing was really just separating his offense from his defense and not carrying ABs out into the field and still continuing to make plays for us and get us off the field. It’s impressive for a 22-year-old kid to really go through true failure for the first time and to see consistent defense at a primary position of shortstop.”

White Sox top prospects: Whatever happened to Oscar Colás?

If there was one thing we expected to see following a mass exodus from the big league roster at the trade deadline, it was opportunities opening up for younger guys who could have a future with the organization.

That has happened in right field, where Tommy Pham getting traded away has produced more consistent playing time for Dominic Fletcher, who the team traded for in the offseason and didn’t see much opportunity because of Pham’s presence, as well as some injuries.

But it still might surprise folks that Oscar Colás is nowhere to be seen.

Colás struggled mightily when handed the everyday gig in right field prior to the start of the 2023 season, sent down to the minors not once but twice as he displayed noticeable shortcomings at the plate, in the field and on the base paths. Major league pressure didn’t follow Colás into 2024, though, as Fletcher seemed to be the guy (at least prior to the Pham signing), and Colás went to the minors to earn himself another shot.

Well, that shot hasn’t really come. Colás has been on the big league roster a couple times, but those were brief stints waiting for injured players to return. He’s only had 38 plate appearances in the majors this year. The numbers, a .273 average and a .368 on-base percentage, have been all right. They haven’t been quite so high in the minors, where he’s hitting .255 with a .341 on-base percentage through 79 games.

Jirschele, who managed Colás in the majority of those games, said he’s seen improvement from the 25-year-old Cuban. But is the possibility still there for Colás to be an impact hitter at the major league level?

“Absolutely. There’s a ton of talent there,” Jirschele said. “He can get in streaks where he’ll hit five, six, seven home runs in a week. I’ve seen it firsthand in the minor leagues. Just continuing to stay consistent with his approach and understand that his time will, hopefully, come sooner than later. He’s just got to make the most of each and every day, wherever he is, and stay with his approach and he’ll be OK.

“I’ve been very pleased and impressed with his maturity and his growth when he did, both times, get back down by us, understanding that he needed to continue to put the work in. I think the biggest thing, for me, that stands out from last year to this year, offensively anyways, is the maturity in his approach. There’s a lot less chase there and an understanding of what pitchers are trying to do to him and also where his hot spots are and where he can do the most damage and stick to his plan, rather than just be a free swinger.

“That growth there offensively has been great, and it’s translated over into his defense, as well. Just the maturity and the process of the daily work that it takes to be a consistent big leaguer has been big for him.”

We’ll see if Colás makes it back to the major league team before the season is up. Even if he doesn’t, he’ll continue to be an interesting candidate to play a role on the 2025 squad.

White Sox top prospects: Hagen Smith lands high on new top-100 list

There was a whole lot of moving and shaking within the White Sox’ segment of MLB.com’s re-rank. But before getting to where guys sit within the organization, notice that the team’s top draft pick from last month’s draft is already ranked among the best prospects in the sport.

Hagen Smith, the lefty pitcher who the White Sox selected with the No. 5 pick in the draft, is the No. 32 prospect in baseball.

While fans are still curious over why the White Sox didn’t use the opportunity to strengthen their position-player group in the minor leagues, Smith seems to be a stud prospect after his record-setting days at Arkansas and should excite fans about what his place in a future rotation could be.

As mentioned, Schultz is now the top-ranked prospect in the White Sox’ organization and the No. 15 prospect in baseball. Montgomery (No. 28) and Quero (No. 63) joined the two lefty arms on MLB.com’s top-100 list.

Here’s the site’s top-30 list of White Sox prospects, which includes Jeral Perez, Alexander Albertus and William Bergolla, three players acquired in deadline deals at the end of last month, in the top 16.

1. Noah Schultz
2. Colson Montgomery
3. Hagen Smith
4. Edgar Quero
5. Jairo Iriarte
6. Grant Taylor
7. George Wolkow
8. Brooks Baldwin
9. Mason Adams
10. Ky Bush
11. Caleb Bonemer
12. Jacob Gonzalez
13. Bryan Ramos
14. Jeral Perez
15. Alexander Albertus
16. William Bergolla
17. Samuel Zavala
18. Nick Nastrini
19. Blake Larson
20. Tyler Schweitzer
21. Seth Keener
22. Aldrin Batista
23. Jake Eder
24. Nick McLain
25. Casey Saucke
26. Wilfred Veras
27. Juan Carela
28. Payton Pallette
29. Tanner McDougal
30. Sean Burke