The White Sox feature six Top 100 Prospects, tied for the third-most in baseball, and five of them have a realistic chance to make their big league debuts this season.
The first arrives today.
Catcher Edgar Quero will start against the Athletics in hopes he can add some life to what has been the third-worst offense (3.18 runs per game) in the Majors this year. He slashed .333/.444/.412 with one homer in 15 games at Triple-A Charlotte before his promotion.
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Coming off an MLB-record 121 losses in 2024 and off to an American League-worst 4-13 start, Chicago is more focused on building for the future than playing for the present. Quero will join fellow rookie Chase Meidroth in the lineup on a club that is using two more rookies (Sean Burke, Shane Smith) in its rotation.
Ranked No. 62 on the Top 100, Quero is an offensive-minded catcher who advanced to Triple-A at age 21 last year and led all Minor League backstops his age or younger in OPS (.829) and wRC+ (139). He has a mature approach, rarely chasing pitches out of the zone and making repeated contact.
Quero pulled pitches more often and hit them harder than ever in 2024, getting to more of his average to solid raw power. He has 20-homer upside despite a tendency to make ground-ball contact. A switch-hitter, he has been more productive from the right side of the plate against upper-level pitching.
After leaving Cuba in 2019, Quero signed with the Angels for $200,000 two years later. He starred in his first extended taste of full-season ball in 2022, winning California League MVP accolades after leading the Single-A circuit in slugging (.530) and OPS (.965) at age 19.
Quero slumped after the Angels skipped him a level to Double-A in 2023, and they sent him to the White Sox along with left-hander Ky Bush in exchange for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo L¨®pez that July. He performed better after the trade, a prelude to his strong 2024 season.
Quero's bat is ready to be tested in the Majors, but he's continuing to refine his catching. He's making progress with his receiving, framing and blocking but may not become more than a fringy-to-average defender. He has average arm strength but needs to improve his accuracy after committing 10 throwing errors in 75 games last year.
While at Charlotte, Quero was part of the Minors' best catching tandem with Kyle Teel, who sits at No. 29 on the Top 100 after joining the organization as part of the Garrett Crochet trade in December. Splitting the two backstops will allow them both to get more reps behind the plate.
¡°We¡¯ve been very impressed with Edgar,¡± White Sox farm director Paul Janish said during Spring Training. ¡°He did a good job in the offseason with his body after having some minor back issues at the end of last season. He¡¯s a little more polished defensively than Kyle right now. He has a good rapport with his pitchers and does a good job of game planning.¡±