The White Sox are sitting in first place in the AL Central with a little more than 20 games left, and that alone would be enough to keep fans locked in. But the labor situation hanging over the sport has made the future feel a lot less certain. The two sides are still far apart, and unless something changes fast, a lockout looks like the likely outcome, with missed games a real possibility in 2027.
That’s where the White Sox farm system comes in. Players on the 40-man roster would be shut out during a lockout, but prospects not on that roster are under a different CBA and would keep playing. For Chicago, that matters because two of its most intriguing minor leaguers are still safely outside that 40-man group.
Roch Cholowsky is the first name to know. The first overall pick saw his debut season shortened by a wrist injury, limiting him to nine games and a .167 average before he was shut down.
Even with that rough start, he’s still the prospect White Sox fans will be watching closest heading into 2027. He remains the organization’s top-ranked prospect on most outlets, and that’s not expected to change by Opening Day 2027.
Since he was drafted only two months ago and has not played above High-A, he has not been added to the 40-man roster, which means he’d still be eligible to play in 2027 no matter what happens in the big leagues. And if the MLB season does go on, there’s a chance Cholowsky reaches Chicago before it ends.
His bat has already shown a flash of why he’s so highly regarded. His first pro homer was a rocket.
Caleb Bonemer is right there with him as another reason White Sox fans have something to look forward to. Before Cholowsky arrived, Bonemer was the headline name in the system, and he’s backed that up with loud production at the plate.
The 20-year-old has already reached Double-A in just his second pro season and has hit 35 home runs between Winston-Salem and Birmingham this year. While some clubs have pushed their top prospects more aggressively, the White Sox have taken a cautious route with Bonemer, and the looming lockout may be part of that approach.
There’s an argument for getting him some Triple-A at-bats before the season ends, but there’s also no need to rush him onto the roster and risk slowing his progress for next year. Like Cholowsky, Bonemer could make his Chicago debut in 2027 if there’s a season, and he’ll be one of the names White Sox fans keep circling either way.
In Other News...
White Sox Have A Rare Pitching Prospect Worth Watching Closely
Mathias LaCombe is the sort of pitching prospect the White Sox dont often get to point to with real confidence, which is part of why he has become worth following closely. A native of France and a 12th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, he has worked his way from early injury setbacks to Double-A Birmingham, where his rise has been built on steady improvement and a fast-moving climb through the system.
LaCombes early results have given Chicago reason to keep paying attention, from a 2.88 ERA in Single-A to a strong August at Birmingham. Now ranked as the organizations No. 18 prospect, he is still in the stage where every step matters, but his path has started to look more than just intriguing, with a major league arrival by 2027 at least within the realm of possibility. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Stadium Dream Just Got Real With One Huge Catch
Justin Ishbias Canal Edge development company has moved the White Sox ballpark conversation from dream stage to something much more concrete, releasing initial information and renderings for a proposed new home called The Railyards. The plan would place the stadium across the Chicago River in Bridgeport, with an open roof and design touches meant to evoke Comiskey Park, while the site itself would sit near West Roosevelt Road and West 18th Street.
The setting is ambitious enough on its own, but the real challenge is what still sits in the way of turning it into a functioning project. Any move forward would require relocating active railyards on the property, along with clearing the usual hurdles of city approval and funding, which means the concept now has a public face but still plenty of work ahead before it becomes anything more than a striking rendering. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Prospects Are Giving This Farm System Some Real Momentum
The recent minor league action offered another reminder that the White Sox have more than one layer of promising arms pushing the system forward. David Sandlin, Grant Umberger and Fabian Ysalla combined for a strong run across their latest outings, giving up only four earned runs over 16.1 innings while piling up 20 strikeouts. Sandlin was especially sharp for Triple-A Charlotte, where he struck out 11 in a win, while Umberger delivered six solid innings with five strikeouts in a playoff-clinching victory for High-A Winston-Salem.
There was other encouraging signs beyond the mound, too. Single-A Kannapolis kept pressure on the opposition in a tight win by swiping six bases, a reminder that the organization is getting production from different parts of the roster at the same time. The Double-A Birmingham game was washed out by rain, but the bigger picture still looked upbeat for a farm system that needed a few positive stretches like this to keep building momentum. [Read more 🡒]