It is the ninth year of Top Prospect voting at South Side Sox!

First, let us review past years:

To make sure we give the SSS readership a strong vote in our South Side Sox Top 100, we’re going to run five or 10 polls before kicking off our Top 100 Prospect countdown. Ideally, we get 50 votes in, and then somewhere around the end of January the Prospect Vote and Top 100 will meet. From there, we will stop the polling and run through the Top 50, finishing during Spring Training.

As of now our countdown will start with Zach DeLoach at No. 100, but that name changed once already as this was being written. As is custom, the Prospect Vote will turn over to the next round as soon as the top vote-getter seems to have an insurmountable lead — but we’ll take no longer than a week to vote even in the closest battles.

Unlike most years, our staff ballots feature a variety of players as our No. 1 prospect. Who will you choose, in this wide-open race?

Four players from last year’s Top 10 Prospects have lost their prospect status due to MLB service (Edgar Quero, Kyle Teel, Colson Montgomery, Grant Taylor). Both as a consequence of these graduations AND poor performance from formerly plum prospects, just two players on last year’s initial ballot appear in this year’s as well.

Eight of the 10 players on this first 2026 ballot played in the White Sox system in 2025, with the exception of two 2025 draft choices.

This year, three players (Drew Dalquist, Jared Kelley and DJ Gladney) mark in their seventh year in our Top 100, which is pretty amazing. On the other hand, in each case the players have seen their prospect status sink, or at best, stall.

All right, let’s have some fun. And get voting!

Round 6 was a barnburner, our first this cycle, as Tanner McDougal and Billy Carlson ran neck-and-neck the entire way. In the end, McDougal leapfrogged Carlson for the win to prevail by three votes, with 47 of 121 overall (39%):

This is McDougal’s second appearance in our Vote … but he finished No. 33 two years ago; in 2025, he did not make the ballot. Quite a turnaround! McDougal is also the first RHSP to advance this year.

This decade’s other No. 6s
2025 Aldrin Batista (22%)
2024 Cristian Mena (17%)
2023 Noah Schultz (34%)
2022 Yoelqui Céspedes (55%)
2021 Yoelqui Céspedes (59%)
2020 Zack Collins (42%)

Newcomer Peyton Pallette had an excellent ballot debut, finishing in fifth, with six vote. Shortstop and 2025 draftee Kyle Lodise also received his first vote in the polling, while Jeral Perez was shut out this round, resulting in the biggest drop so far in the voting, down to a tie for ninth from a tie for third.

New to the ballot this round is outfielder George Wolkow.

Mason Adams
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 26
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 29
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 8
2024 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.0 years
Overall 2024 stats (AA/AAA) 7-5 ▪️ 23 games (22 starts, one finish) ▪️ 1 CG ▪️ 120 1⁄3 IP ▪️ 2.92 ERA ▪️ 110 K ▪️ 28 BB ▪️ 1.146 WHIP ▪️3.0 WAR

This 13th-rounder was rising in the system despite being counted out at every turn — until an arm injury during a Cactus League game last spring saw Adams tumble into Tommy John surgery. Obviously there are questions surrounding his recovery, but it may be easier to rely on a bounce-back from an overachiever like Adams than most hurlers.

William Bergolla
Shortstop
Age 21
2025 high level Birmingham (AA)
Age relative to high level -3.7 years
Overall 2025 stats 125 games ▪️ 0 HR ▪️ 36 RBI ▪️ .286/.342/.333 ▪️ 40-of-51 (78.4%) SB ▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 26 K ▪️ .981 FLD%▪️ 4.4 WAR

The epitome of a “Chris Getz player,” Bergolla offsets his Punch-and-Judy bat with deft baserunning, a killer glove and incredible plate discipline. Well young for his level, this legacy player (dad, also William Bergolla) has cut through the White Sox system like butter since his acquisition at the 2024 trade deadline (from Philly, for Tanner Banks).

Billy Carlson
Shortstop
Age 19
2025 high level Corona, Calif. (Prep)
Scouting grades (40-80 scale) Hit 45 ▪️ Power 50 ▪️ Run 55 ▪️ Arm 70 ▪️ Field 70 ▪️ Overall 55

The White Sox just can’t stay away from shortstops, which is the smartest draft strategy they have taken in many years. This latest blue-chipper is a defensive whiz (maybe not Ozzie Smith or even Ozzie Guillén, but the best that could be found in the 2025 draft) with a lot of room to grow into his bat.

Reudis Diaz
Right-handed relief pitcher
Age 20
2025 high level ACL (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -2.1 years
Overall 2025 stats 1-1 ▪️ 1 SV▪️ 21 games (4 finishes) ▪️ 27 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.28.ERA ▪️ 18 K ▪️ 8 BB ▪️ 1.084 WHIP ▪️1.2 WAR

Who? You’re forgiven for being unfamiliar with an extremely young arm who hasn’t yet gotten out of rookie ball, but our No. 77 prospect a year ago (then a starter, repeating the DSL and killing it) made a successful adjustment Stateside. He’ll return to starting in 2026, likely getting his feet wet in Arizona and getting a promotion to Low-A in the second half of the season.

Jaden Fauske
Outfielder
Age 18
2025 high level Nazareth Academy (Ill.) (Prep)
Scouting grades (40-80 scale) Hit 55 ▪️ Power 50 ▪️ Run 55 ▪️ Arm 50 ▪️ Field 50 ▪️ Overall 50

Another thing the White Sox just can’t stay away from are products of their Area Codes team. Following in Bonemer’s (and George Wolkow, as well as pitchers Noah Schultz and Blake Larson) footsteps is the Jim Thome-approved Fauske, who was a catcher-outfielder but now seems set on giving it a bigger run in the field than behind the plate. It will be interesting to see whether the White Sox give Fauske any catching reps (he grades out well as a catcher); for what it is worth, he was announced at the draft as an outfielder-only.

Kyle Lodise
Shortstop
Age 22
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -1.0 years
Overall 2025 stats 28 games ▪️ 4 HR ▪️ 10 RBI ▪️ .185/.319/.370 ▪️ 7-of-8 (87.5%) SB ▪️ 15 BB ▪️ 21 K ▪️ .954 FLD%▪️ 0.4 WAR

Last summer’s third-rounder got right to work after the draft, reporting to High-A and adding another third to what was already the longest (55 games) season of his career. While that slash is rough, at least nearly a fourth (four of 17) of the shortstop’s hits left the yard. Perhaps against easier competition (or, maybe not), Lodise ran out a .329/.429/.667 slash in his last college season for Georgia Tech, with similar power, baserunning and bat discipline numbers.

Peyton Pallette
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
Age 24
2023 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 11
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 18
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R
2025 high level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -3.3 years
Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 2-3 ▪️ 11 SV ▪️ 52 games (27 finishes) ▪️ 64 1/3 IP ▪️ 4.06 ERA ▪️ 86 K ▪️ 28 BB ▪️ 1.119 WHIP ▪️ 1.1 WAR

Pallette has spent two or three seasons now as the likely “next closer up” among White Sox farmhands, and his heavy time spent in Charlotte last summer might mean the big club is ready to see him break north with them next spring. While the former starter hasn’t quite mastered Charlotte, what pitcher truly can in such a robust hitting environment. There’s no product of the system ready to advance to the bigs more than Pallette.

Jeral Perez
Shortstop
Age 21
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 11
2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2025 stats 125 games ▪️ 22 HR ▪️ 70 RBI ▪️ .244/.315/.448 ▪️ 10-of-13 (76.9%) SB ▪️ 44 BB ▪️ 112 K ▪️ .906 FLD%▪️ 1.3 WAR

On the plus side, Perez nearly doubled his homers and proved to have surprising thumb for a smallish middle infielder. However, he misses a lot of balls both at the plate and in the field. A challenge for the still very young bopper is finding a way to distinguish himself with stiff competition right around his age and level, including three MIs on this ballot: William Bergolla, Caleb Bonemer and Billy Carlson.

George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 20
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 14
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 13
2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.4 years
Overall 2025 stats 116 games ▪️ 13 HR ▪️ 69 RBI ▪️ .223/.317/.362 ▪️ 33-of-39 (84.6%) SB ▪️ 54 BB ▪️ 147 K ▪️ .969 FLD%▪️ 1.4 WAR

Wolkow flashed a bagload of skills in repeating Low-A in 2025, including a stellar steals volume and rate that had only been hinted at previously as a pro. He also continues to man a challenging outfield spot, flashing an arm strong enough for right but dexterity that can be a fit in center. That said, his improved K-rate (29.6%!) still leaves a lot to be desired. For a fella whose power has evaporated (just 13 homers and 31 XBHs all season), 2026 looms as a crucial development year. Gulp: Wolkow will be forced up to High-A without really proving he’s mastered Kannapolis.