3 White Sox Prospects Who Should Be in the Bigs This Year

The Chicago White Sox are preparing to contend for the AL Central title in 2020. After signing Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel, and Edwin Encarnación, the White Sox are looking for their first winning season since 2012.

That success could also depend on a group of prospects that the White Sox have been eagerly anticipating for years. Fans have already seen Eloy Jiménez and Yoán Moncada in the major leagues, but there are three other key names that look set to contribute in 2020.

1. Luis Robert, OF

The hype for outfielder Luis Robert has fully arrived, as Robert was named the No. 3 prospect in baseball by MLB.com. You can't say it isn't deserved: Robert raced through the minors last year, hitting .328/.376/.624 with 32 homers and 36 steals across all levels. Robert has already signed a six-year, $50 million deal, which means any service time concerns are out the window. He will almost certainly be on the Opening Day roster. From there, the sky is the limit. A true five-tool player, Robert could be a contributor from day one.

2. Michael Kopech, RHP

Michael Kopech spent all of 2019 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but he's still one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Kopech was utterly dominant in the minors, posting double-digit strikeout rates at every level for Chicago. He made four starts in the majors before he was shut down in 2018, and aside from a poor outing against the Detroit Tigers, he looked very capable of handling the competition. Kopech pairs a high-90s fastball with a great changeup and slider. He has the potential to be an ace, even if he starts the year in Triple-A. With the White Sox needing another starter to fill out the rotation, Kopech is certainly talented enough to contribute in 2020.

3. Nick Madrigal, 2B

When Nick Madrigal was taken with the fourth overall pick in 2018, few knew what to expect. Some were expecting the 5-foot-7 Oregon State second baseman to be another José Altuve, but Madrigal has taken a completely different approach. He is one of the most interesting hitters in the minor leagues. Madrigal has amazing contact skills—he hit .341 in Double-A and .331 in Triple-A in 2019. He almost never strikes out, posting a 3.7 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A. In his entire career, across NCAA to the minor leagues, he has struck out just 58 times. He combines his .398 OBP in the minors with decent speed, good defense, but no power whatsoever (he has just four homers in the last two years). This presents Chicago with a real conundrum. The White Sox would surely love to have a talent like Madrigal in the lineup, but his lack of power makes him a difficult player to project. Whatever happens, it's clear that Madrigal has solved minor league pitching. He should be in the majors sooner rather than later.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.