FutureSox is highlighting every 2024 Chicago White Sox top prospect by position. This iteration includes the notable catchers in the system. Players ages are listed in parenthesis.
EDGAR QUERO (20) – MLB Pipeline White Sox Prospect #5
Most recent level: AA Birmingham Barons
Turning 21 in a few weeks, Edgar Quero is still one of the youngest players in AA for the White Sox. On top of that, he’s a top 10 catching prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. Listed firmly in our Top 5 here at FutureSox, it is no surprise that he is the first catcher listed on our positional rankings.
After coming over from the Angels in the Lucas Giolito/Reynaldo Lopez trade, Quero (who, like White Sox all-timer Jose Abreu, was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba) hit .277 with a .759 OPS for the Birmingham Barons. In fewer than half the games, he equaled his home run total with Rocket City (3) and drove in 22 runs compared to 35 for Rocket City. In keeping his K’s close to his walks, Quero continued to hit like he has for the past few seasons, not striking out a ton, walking a lot.
It is pretty clear that Quero is the White Sox catcher of the future. At this point, the Cuban is too young to make the leap to the Majors, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he makes the leap in 2025, after another successful season in the minors for the Sox. The switch-hitter is a player to watch, that is for sure.
CALVIN HARRIS (22) – Fangraphs White Sox Prospect #19
Most recent level: A Kannapolis
Calvin Harris was the second of two college World Series winners the White Sox drafted in 2023. After taking Jacob Gonzalez in the first round, the Sox continued to pillage Ole Miss’ program by taking Harris in the 4th round. The left-handed hitting catcher had a very good college career for the Rebels, and hit .321 with 14 doubles and 12 home runs in 2023 before being drafted by the White Sox. He got a decent run with Kannapolis, but only hit one home run and three doubles in 108 plate appearances. He walked almost as much as he struck out though, so the eye was still there.
Harris is not a good defensive catcher per se, so it’s unsure if he can stick at the position. Not a great arm, a .969 fielding percentage in A, they all add up to Harris potentially being moved to a corner IF or OF position. For now though, he can look forward to a potential move up to Winston-Salem in 2024.
RONNY HERNANDEZ (19)
Most recent level: ACL White Sox
The career of Ronny Hernandez has only just gotten under way, but the teenage Venezuelan is already making a name for himself in the White Sox system. The 19-year old hit .338 with a .923 OPS with the Arizona Complex League White Sox, with 16 XBH in 148 AB’s. Some of those numbers were gathered as a DH, but with plenty of time behind the dish, Hernandez still got the chance to prove whether his insane 51% caught stealing in 2022 was the real deal.
It was.. not.
In 2023, Hernandez’ ability to gun down runners in the US was nothing like his ability to do so in the Dominican Summer League, because he barely got to 23%. On the bright side, his other defensive statistics ticked up, so there is plenty to still like about him behind the plate. 2024 will be a good experiment, to see if he can hold his own in Kannapolis in his age-19 season.
ADAM HACKENBERG (24)
Most recent level: AAA Charlotte
For a good few years, Adam Hackenberg was the only catching prospect of note in the system, but the arrivals of Lee and Quero and the emergence of Perez and Hernandez have pushed him down the lists. He’s still here though, and he’s still improving. After starting the 2023 season in AA Birmingham, Hackenberg earned a call-up to Charlotte after hitting .276 in 66 games for the Barons with 10 doubles and five home runs. This was a nice uptick from a somewhat disappointing 2022, in which the bat lagged behind the glove.
Unfortunately for Hackenberg, his increase in usefulness on the offensive side led to a decrease in his contributions on the defensive side of things. With a mere 23% caught-stealing rating (22% in Birmingham, 25% in Charlotte), 16 errors (14 in Birmingham, 2 in Charlotte) and nine passed balls (all with the Barons), Hackenberg struggled behind the plate more than ever before in his career.
Sure, part of the passed balls and errors could be attributed to AA level teammates and uninspiring pitching, but the CS% is a big problem. It will be up to Hackenberg to show that this was a blip, after gunning down 44% and 36% of base runners in 2021 and 2022. He isn’t looking at much playing time though, with Lee, Perez and eventually even Quero in line to take reps behind the plate for Charlotte.
MICHAEL TURNER (25)
Most recent level: A+ Winston-Salem
As a 9th round draft pick in 2022, Michael Turner started his full-season pro career at age 24 in 2023. The Arkansas product got a whopping 5 at-bats in 2022 with Kannapolis, in which he walked three times and struck out twice, so there is really not much to see there. For Winston-Salem in 2023, however, Turner had an excellent season.
The backstop batted .309 in 92 games (304 ABs), in which he notched 26 doubles, a triple and four home runs. With more walks (64) than strikeouts (58), Turner displayed a great eye in the box and battled his way to a .430 OBP (.871 OPS) on the season. A .364 BABIP also showed some potential for prolonged success for the left-handed hitting catcher.
The biggest issue for Turner was his defense, which seemingly took a step back in 2023. The former Razorback committed eight errors and notched nine passed balls, but the worst part about his game was by far his inability, like Hackenberg, to throw out base runners; a mere 20% of attempts were thwarted by Turner and the opposition ran wild on the combination of Turner/Winston-Salem pitching staff. With the addition of several other catching prospects, and Turners advanced age, this is a big season for him.
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox