3 White Sox prospects ranked in USA Today's '100 names you need to know'

Luis Robert

The White Sox are represented well this spring in USA Today Sports Weekly's annual preseason list of "100 names you need to know" for the upcoming baseball season.

To qualify for the list, players must have had more innings (for pitchers) or plate appearances (for hitters) in the minor leagues during 2019 than they have accumulated during all of their major league playing time.

The Sox have three guys in the top 20, with center fielder Luis Robert leading the way at No. 2. Right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech is ranked No. 14, and second baseman Nick Madrigal is No. 19.

Robert, of course, is the only one of the three expected to start the season on the South Side of Chicago, after signing an eight-year, $50 million contract extension during the offseason that alleviates any concerns about service time manipulation.

USA Today notes that Robert posted a 30-30 season across three levels of the minor leagues in 2019, and adds that it seems to be a matter of "when, not if" the 22-year-old provides a similar output on the South Side.

The guess here is we won't see a 30-30 season from Robert in 2020, although with his ridiculous tools, there's nothing wrong with being bullish on his future.

Kopech, 23, missed all of the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery late in 2018. Based upon everything we heard at SoxFest and in the media since, Kopech is not going to be on the Opening Day roster. His 100 mph velocity has returned, sure, but the team will take it slow with a prospect who has top-of-the-rotation potential.

Look for Kopech to either start the season at Triple-A Charlotte, or perhaps stay in Arizona at extended spring training when the team breaks camp. USA Today offered the possibility of Kopech contributing out of the Sox bullpen this season.

While he's certainly capable of helping in that way, I don't see it. I think the Sox are committed to trying to develop Kopech as a No. 1-caliber starting pitcher. And that means working out of the rotation, even in a season where he may be on an innings limit.

Madrigal, 22, likely will open the year at Triple-A Charlotte, as well, unless he tears up the Cactus League and forces his way into the Opening Day lineup. The second baseman offers a plus glove and elite bat-to-ball skills, as he has only struck out 21 times in 163 minor league games.

His career slash is .309/.371/.398, so power remains a question mark, but the ability to put the ball in play and hit for average is Madrigal's ticket to the majors. USA Today notes, "He might be the perfect fit to slide among the White Sox's boom-or-bust young sluggers.

Indeed, Madrigal is different than some of the other prospects we've seen come up through the Sox organization. His approach should balance the lineup out a little bit once he arrives, and unlike other youngsters in the system, his glove is not a problem.

We'll get our first look at Sox players starting Saturday, when the team opens Cactus League play against the Los Angeles Angels at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.