After the last White Sox failed rebuild, they took a hit in terms of talent throughout the minor leagues. For a few years in a row, the White Sox ranked in the middle of the pack or towards the bottom in farm system rankings. However, to start Chris Getz’s tenure, the focus has been to build that talent pool back up.
Now, the White Sox farm system sits in the top half of the league and most outlets give them five to six top prospects, with a few more on the fringe of making the list. This doesn’t include players like Jacob Gonzalez or Colby Shelton off to insane starts to the season. However, what differentiates this from the last rebuild is the fact that the farm system is significantly deeper, as they have some very intriguing players outside of the top “consensus” prospects.
This comes after many of the main guys on the roster have graduated off top prospect lists. Guys like Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery are no longer considered prospects, but are already making a contribution at the major league level. Despite this, the White Sox still have multiple top prospects, making this vastly different from the early 2020s, as once all the main players made their debut, the farm system was depleted.
As we sit about a month into the season, we continue our White Sox top prospect list, getting to know some of the depth in the system. We started with our 20th ranked prospect, making our way to the best prospect in the White Sox system. We unveiled our 10th ranked prospect, Jaden Fauske, in our last article. Here, we cover our 9th ranked prospect, Christian Oppor.
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Oppor, a left handed pitcher, was the White Sox 5th round pick in the 2023 draft out of Gulf Coast State Junior College in Florida. After getting drafted, he made his way to the Arizona Complex league and threw 7.2 innings of 1.17 ERA baseball, striking out nine.
In 2024, Oppor stayed at the Arizona Complex League, this time throwing 38 innings of 5.21 ERA baseball. However, he had impressive strikeout numbers that season, as he struck out 46 in those innings.
However, 2025 is when Oppor really broke out. Starting with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, he threw 22 innings, en route to a 2.42 ERA and a .85 WHIP. He struck out 34 batters and hitters only hit .164 off him. This earned him a promotion to Winston-Salem.
With the Winston-Salem Dash, Oppor threw 65 innings of 3.38 ERA baseball. He struck out 82 batters and hitters didn’t fare much better against him, as they only hit .220. The walks jumped up a bit with the Dash, but he was able to limit the damage.
This lead to the White Sox starting Oppor with the Birmingham Barons to open up the 2026 season. It hasn’t been a great start for Oppor, as he has a 9.26 ERA over 11 innings, but he has still flashed his major league arsenal. He seems to be getting back on track though, as in his last start he only gave up one run in four innings.
Christian Oppor with his best AA start to date on Saturday. He goes 4 innings and allows 1R on a solo shot in the 4th inning. 2H & 1BB vs. 6K on 38k/62p. The command looks to be coming along. #Barons lose 6-4. Oppor takes the loss and is 0-2. pic.twitter.com/JFfduwgoSR
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 26, 2026
Walks have been a big issue for Oppor this season, as he has 14 in 11 innings. If he can get his command back on track, he will be right back where he was last year. His pure stuff is up there with the best pitching prospects in the White Sox system, so this start shouldn’t worry anyone quite yet.
Since he is only 21, I see Oppor spending the rest of the year with the Barons. But, if he can string together an impressive second half, I could see him starting with the Knights in 2027, with a major league debut not too far away from that.
