Jacob Gonzalez’s meteoric rise fuels a Major League promotion, while Christian Oppor’s command struggles lead to a demotion as ESPN reshuffles the South Siders' top talent.
The Chicago White Sox have a new set of top-10 prospects.
ESPN recently updated every team’s top-10 prospects for June. There wasn’t much movement for the White Sox at the top, as Caleb Bonemer (No. 1), Noah Schultz (No. 2), and Braden Montgomery (No. 3) still rank as the top three prospects in the organization.
However, there was some slight movement in the rest of these rankings. One hitter has risen up to the No. 4 spot after not ranking inside the top-10 by ESPN last month, and one pitcher continues to fall.
Here are the biggest risers and fallers from ESPN’s latest prospect rankings.
Riser: Jacob Gonzalez
Jacob Gonzalez is the biggest prospect riser for the White Sox in this new update. He rises up to the No. 4 spot after a strong start to the season at Triple-A Charlotte. Gonzalez batted .317 with 19 home runs, 62 RBI, and eight stolen bases across 52 games.
The former first-round pick is finally showcasing his full potential. After hitting 17 combined home runs in his first three Minor League seasons, Gonzalez hit a Triple-A-leading 19 homers in his first 199 at-bats with the Charlotte Knights this year.
Those numbers led the White Sox to call up the 24-year-old this past weekend. He has started each of the past four games for Chicago and came through in a big spot in the first inning of Wednesday’s game. Gonzalez tallied a two-run single for his first RBI of his career.
Faller: Christian Oppor
Left-handed pitcher Christian Oppor really broke out in the White Sox’s farm system last year. He finished with a 3.08 ERA and 116 strikeouts across 87 ⅔ combined innings pitched at Single-A and High-A.
However, Oppor has not looked like that same pitcher at Double-A this season. He has a 9.49 ERA and a 27.9% walk rate in his first eight starts with the Birmingham Barons. His control has been such a problem for him in the early going that the White Sox actually sent him back to the Arizona Complex League to work on his stuff.
Oppor issued at least five walks in each of his last four outings at Double-A and gave up five runs on five hits with five walks and zero strikeouts across two innings in his last start with the Barons back on May 20.
His recent struggles on the mound drop him from No. 7 to No. 10 in ESPN’s rankings.
Riser: William Bergolla Jr.
Infielder William Bergolla Jr. moves up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8 amid a strong start to the 2026 season. It has been a while since Bergolla has appeared in a Minor League game, as he suffered a shin bruise all the way back on April 9.
However, his early-season numbers are enough to move him ahead of Jaden Fauske (No. 9) and Oppor (No. 10). Bergolla hit .457 (16-for-35) with four doubles, eight RBI, five walks, four strikeouts, and two stolen bases in his first 10 games at Triple-A Charlotte.
The White Sox hope Bergolla can return from his shin injury very soon. They acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies back at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for left-handed reliever Tanner Banks.
