Chicago White Sox have a top 10 farm system

According to Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, the White Sox, a little over a quarter of the way through the season, have the sixth-best farm system in Major League Baseball. Before the season, the White Sox ranked 18th.

Reuter ranked each prospect on a “Tier system” from one to four, with Tier 1 being the best. For the White Sox, they currently have two Tier 1-level prospects, shortstop Caleb Bonemer and left-hander Noah Schultz. The lone prospect representing Tier 2 is Montgomery, who was promoted to Triple-A on May 5.

Left-hander Hagen Smith and shortstop Billy Carlson are in Tier 3, with two players, infielder/outfielder Sam Antonacci and right-hander Tanner McDougal, rounding things out in Tier 4. McDougal will miss the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery.

According to Reuter, second baseman/third baseman Colby Shelton, who was not ranked, was his “prospect snapshot.”

“Few prospects are off to a better start this season than Shelton, who is hitting .310/.425/.599 with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 34 RBI in 39 games between High-A and Double-A,” wrote Reuter. “He was a sixth-round pick out of the University of Florida last year, and he was not even ranked among the top 30 prospects in the White Sox system when the season started, according to Baseball America.”

Schultz and Antonacci are already contributing at the big league level. Montgomery is likely the next White Sox prospect to make their debut. At 20, and playing at High-A, Bonemer is still a long way from making the big league roster. However, he is currently swinging a hot bat in Winston-Salem. In 40 game, Bonemer is hitting .255 with a 1.003 OPS and 14 home runs.