With the White Sox’s draft signings made official on Thursday, 20 of the 21 players taken earlier this week are now officially in the organization, and Baseball America wasted no time folding the newest class into its updated top 100 prospects list.
No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky is the headliner, and he comes in at No. 5 overall. Second-overall pick Grady Emerson lands at No. 12, while No. 3 pick Vahn Lackey checks in at No. 26.
Cholowsky also sits atop the White Sox’s organizational rankings, which are already due for some movement. Braden Montgomery is next at No. 24, though he’s only about a week of games away from losing his eligibility, just like recently graduated Noah Schultz.
Caleb Bonemer is the only other White Sox prospect in the top 100, coming in at No. 29.
Tanner McDougal, Hagen Smith and Billy Carlson all opened the season on similar lists, but injuries have kept them from climbing back into that group. Carlson, at least, is back to being fully operational in Kannapolis.
On the field Thursday, Durham beat Charlotte 8-2. Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts, Austin Hays started in left and played five innings while going 0-for-3 with a strikeout, and Ryan Galanie finished 3-for-4 with a double.
Jonathan Cannon gave up four earned runs in five innings, allowing five hits, three walks and a homer while striking out three. Tanner McDougal worked two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk with no strikeouts.
Rocket City topped Birmingham 5-3. Caleb Bonemer went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout and a caught stealing.
Anthony DePino was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Boston Smith kept rolling with a homer, a single, a walk and a strikeout.
Colby Shelton went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout and a caught stealing, and Samuel Zavala singled, struck out twice and was picked off. Lucas Gordon allowed two earned runs over 4.2 innings, while Mathias LaCombe had a rough Double-A debut and Pierce George also gave up a run in relief.
Boston Smith’s homer drew extra attention, with FutureSox noting: "Boston's baked bomb:
Boston Smith continues his assault on the Southern League with his 5th HR in AA. #Barons pic.twitter.com/WGVwPQMQ94
- FutureSox (@FutureSox) July 18, 2026"
Bowling Green beat Winston-Salem 5-3. Kyle Lodise went 0-for-3 with a walk and was 1-for-2 on the bases, Tim Elko finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, George Wolkow was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Jeral Perez homered.
Kannapolis rolled past Myrtle Beach 9-1. Jaden Fauske went 1-for-4 with a walk, Matthew Boughton was 2-for-5 with a triple, and Billy Carlson made his return to Kannapolis by singling three times, striking out twice and stealing a base. Nick McLain went 1-for-3 with two walks, Alexander Albertus was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, and Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a walk.
In the ACL, the Guardians beat the ACL White Sox 7-3 in seven innings. Jose Mendoza singled twice and struck out once, and Yordani Soto went 1-for-2 with a walk.
In the DSL, the Blue Jays Red shut out the DSL White Sox 5-0 in seven innings. Sebastian Romero went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, Fernando Graterol was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, Ronald Cardozo went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout, Felix Lebron went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and Samuel Luis wore the silver sombrero.
On the mound, Enmanuel Rodríguez allowed two earned runs in 1.1 innings with four walks and two strikeouts, while Franchel Crisóstomo gave up three earned runs in one inning, walking five, striking out none, hitting one batter and throwing two wild pitches.
In Other News...
White Sox Farm Has A New Bat Fans Need To Watch
With Winston-Salem sitting in a strange in-between stretch after a wave of promotions sent much of its top talent to Birmingham, the Dash have needed someone to grab hold of the offense. James Taussig has done exactly that. The undrafted free agent out of UT-San Antonio has turned into one of the more interesting bats in the White Sox system, punishing pitchers to the tune of a .276/.382/.647 line with 10 homers in 29 games.
For a club waiting on reinforcements from Kannapolis and sorting through a busy minor league shuffle across the system, Taussigs surge has given the Dash a needed jolt. He also drove in all three Winston-Salem runs, a reminder that the production is not just loud, it is carrying real weight in the lineup. With so many affiliates producing their own headlines, the White Sox may have found a new name in the lower levels worth tracking closely. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Just Pushed Toronto Closer To A Franchise-Altering Decision
John Schneider did not sugarcoat the mood after Toronto was blanked 3-0 by the White Sox, a loss that fit too neatly into a season of offensive frustration. The Blue Jays have had trouble putting runs on the board for much of the year, and the latest setback only sharpened the sense that a club built to contend is spending too much time chasing the game instead of dictating it.
Chicagos win left Toronto still stuck at the bottom of the AL East at 46-53, with the margin for error shrinking by the day. The Blue Jays have been discussed as possible buyers ahead of the trade deadline, but that kind of posture only works if the lineup starts producing soon, and the way this trip unfolded did little to make that case easier. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Hicks Suddenly Looks Like The Bullpen Answer White Sox Needed
Jordan Hicks is starting to look like a meaningful bullpen piece again for the White Sox, and the timing matters. After returning to relief work, he has paired the kind of velocity that made him such an intriguing arm in the first place with noticeably better command, giving Chicago something it has been searching for in the late innings.
The early-season attempt to change his arm slot never really took, and Hicks has since moved back toward what he was doing before. The result has been a steadier version of the right-hander, one that teammates and pitching coach Zach Bove have both viewed favorably even while his recent outings have come in lower-leverage spots, leaving the bigger test still ahead. [Read more 🡒]