ESPN/Kiley McDaniel Top 100 Prospects: Montgomery #8, Schultz #57, Ramos #90

[Pale Sox]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39420988/top-100-mlb-prospects-list-2024-kiley-mcdaniel-jackson-holliday-jackson-chourio

 

No paywall.

 

edit: paywall for some, miniature American flags for others.

Edited February 1 by Pale Sox

[Y2Jimmy0]

Colson Montgomery at #8, Noah Schultz at #57 and Bryan Ramos at #90 

[caulfield12]

Brayan Ramos for Ortiz please

[DirtySox]

Methinks the organization should continue to let Shirley pick the prep guys he likes.

[Eminor3rd]

11 hours ago, Pale Sox said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39420988/top-100-mlb-prospects-list-2024-kiley-mcdaniel-jackson-holliday-jackson-chourio

 

No paywall.

Yes paywall?

Not blaming the messenger, just sayin

[Pale Sox]

6 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

Yes paywall?

Not blaming the messenger, just sayin

I see all 100 with write-ups.

[DirtySox]

I was paywalled this morning, but now I'm not. Odd.

[DirtySox]

Quote

8. Colson Montgomery, SS, Chicago White Sox
Age: 21 | Bats: Left | Throws: Right

Hit: 45/55, Game Power: 45/60, Raw Power: 60/60, Speed: 45/45, Fielding: 40/45, Throwing: 55/55

Reminds me of: Gunnar Henderson

Type: Plus on-base and power from the left side, probably playing third base

When the White Sox took then-high school senior Montgomery with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft, he was not even under consideration by many progressive-minded teams because he was already 19 years old on draft day. Yes, history says that these players are overvalued to a surprising degree, but that doesn't mean that they're all individually overvalued -- yet some teams simply wouldn't draft a 19-year-old high school player.

I won't bore you with the details of my theory, but I argued this concern didn't apply to Montgomery and ranked him 13th in the draft class. Since then, he has crushed all expectations and now looks like a potential perennial All-Star, who could debut as soon as the second half of 2024.

Montgomery has never been the quickest lateral mover defensively so despite being a fringe-average runner, speed isn't a big part of his game. He is sure-handed with an above-average arm, though, so third base is a more natural long-term fit -- he's about a notch worse defensively than Henderson, the comp I made above.

Quote

57. Noah Schultz, LHP, Chicago White Sox
Age: 20 | Bats: Left | Throws: Left

Type: Left-handed Gumby from a low slot with three plus-or-better pitches, but not refined or experienced yet

As a 6-foot-9 Illinois prep lefty with an ease to delivery, upper-80s heater and breaking ball from a lower arm slot, Shultz was an early commit to Vandy but never made it to campus. He progressed to sitting 88-92 mph on the showcase circuit before his draft spring, then reached 97 mph with improved offspeed stuff (but with a notch worse command) in 2022. Schultz went to a midtier collegiate summer league to get more innings and performed well against older competition, with the command scouts were expecting to see during his prep season.

The White Sox took him 26th overall that summer and he has thrown only 27 pro innings spread over 10 starts due to some minor injuries When he has pitched, his stuff is still electric, with his fastball an easy plus pitch that sits 94-96 mph with ride and a flat approach while his two-plane breaker might be even better and his changeup life mirrors his fastball.

He's now 20 years old and needs to post bulk innings to get any higher than this on the list, but the pieces are here for a potential front-line starter if he looks the same with a scaled-up workload.

Quote

90. Bryan Ramos, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Age: 21 | Bats: Right | Throws: Right

Type: Well-rounded third baseman who's a little above average at everything

Ramos has been performing well since he signed as a lower-profile international signing for $300,000 in the 2018 signing class. He has plus raw power that he's able to use in games pretty consistently, especially considering he has been young for every level he's played.

He's a deceptively solid-average runner with a solid-average glove at the hot corner. Ramos will turn 22 soon, and though he should play mostly in Triple-A in 2024, he could be a big league factor as soon as the second half if the need arises.

 

Edited February 1 by DirtySox

[ron883]

I'm paywalled as well. 

[Pale Sox]

1 hour ago, ron883 said:

I'm paywalled as well. 

Weird. At least DirtySox was nice enough to copy and paste the Sox write ups. Let me know any others and I can do the same. 
 

I edited the initial “no paywall” post 

[Nardiwashere]

Didn’t these guys have Montgomery #2 at the end of last year?

[Harold's Leg Lift]

Colson didn't have the luck of the draw this year.  His name got stuck towards the bottom of the hat. 

[zisk]

Been watching Bryan Ramos for a while now. Does a lot of good things. Just pray we don't pull a Marcus Semien if he

doesn't hit on day 1. We really are the kings of that. Goes all the way back to Johnny Callison and Norm Cash.  I can

almost see the younger posters looking those guys up right now.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Keith Law’s top 100 is out and he has 5 White Sox players on it. 

[Chicago White Sox]

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Keith Law’s top 100 is out and he has 5 White Sox players on it. 

He’s definitely the lowest on Montgomery out of all the major outlets, but good to see Quero, Ramos, & Nastrini where they are.

[EloyJenkins]

7 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

He’s definitely the lowest on Montgomery out of all the major outlets, but good to see Quero, Ramos, & Nastrini where they are.

Colson at 42 behind 5 other SSs is laughable though based on last years numbers. 

[Chicago White Sox]

If you want to feel any worse about the Jacob Gonzalez pick, don’t look at Law’s rankings:

• 14: Teel - 54th overall
• 15: Gonzalez - Unranked
• 16: Eldridge - 85th overall
• 17: Bradfield - 64th overall
• 18: Wilken - 71st overall
• 19: Taylor - 56th overall
• 20: Nimmala - 59th overall
• 24: Waldrep - 80th overall
• 27: Miller - 89th overall

[Y2Jimmy0]

 

39 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

He’s definitely the lowest on Montgomery out of all the major outlets, but good to see Quero, Ramos, & Nastrini where they are.

 

30 minutes ago, EloyJenkins said:

Colson at 42 behind 5 other SSs is laughable though based on last years numbers. 

I would encourage everyone to read the write up. I don't really care about the ranking. He basically said he looked stiff because of the injury but expects him to stay at shortstop. That's very positive. 

[Chicago White Sox]

13 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

 

 

I would encourage everyone to read the write up. I don't really care about the ranking. He basically said he looked stiff because of the injury but expects him to stay at shortstop. That's very positive. 

Yeah, the even money he sticks at SS comment was nice to see.  I know Ramos can theoretically play 2B, but it seems like his natural home is far & away 3B and him and Montgomery could be a fantastic left side of the infield if Colson can stick at SS.

And while this will be unpopular, I still think Gonzalez has a shot at being a really solid 2B if he can fix his swing.  His defensive skills should play well at 2B and his advanced plate discipline gives him some floor offensively even if the hit & power tools don’t live up to pre-draft expectations.  But if he doesn’t pan out, 2B is just a much easier spot to fill than SS & 3B IMO.

Edited February 5 by Chicago White Sox

[Chicago White Sox]

Also, will share the Ramos write-up because I absolutely love the kid and Law has gotten me even more hyped:

Quote

Ramos missed most of the first two months of the 2023 season with a lower abdomen injury and took a little while to get rolling, but ended up with a .271/.369/.457 line as a 21-year-old in Double A. He hit 14 homers in 77 Double-A games, peaking at 111 mph with consistently hard contact. He swings one way, hard, and it’s very rotational, so that might be how the ab injury happened in the first place. Maintaining that core strength will be key for him going forward; he might naturally come into a little more power but he’s strong enough now for 25 homers, so developing the rest of his game is more important. His approach is solid for his age, as he doesn’t expand the zone too easily and kept his strikeout rate in Double A to just under 22 percent, even though he does swing hard pretty much all the time. He’s also a solid-average defender at third with a 55 arm, and could move to second if need be. Ramos could end up doing a little of everything, hitting for average with a 10 percent walk rate and 20-25 homers, and if the version from late in the Arizona Fall League — using the whole field while looking for pitches to pull — carries over, he might be more of a 30-homer guy who cracks some All-Star teams.

 

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

I said this at the start of the offseason but the Sox would have the top farm system in MLB as soon as July if they decided to trade both Cease and Robert. After Cease is traded within the next 6 months and after the draft, the Sox “should” comfortably have 6 top 100 mlb prospects. I don’t expect Robert to get traded by July but next offseason is a real possibility at which time 8-9 top 100 mlb prospects becomes a reality (I don’t see any of their current top 10 prospects outside of Nastrini graduating in 2024).