There may not be a more fitting name for a mascot than “Southpaw.” The furry green friend of the Chicago White Sox parades around Rate Field on game days, blending classic baseball terminology with the club’s South Side identity.

But in a way, “Southpaw” has become the perfect symbol for the organization itself — a franchise that has developed a reputation for producing elite left-handed pitchers.

From the team that brought you Mark Buehrle, Chris Sale, Carlos Rodón, and Garrett Crochet, another talented lefty is climbing through the system — and his name isn’t Noah Schultz or Hagen Smith.

Allow me to introduce Christian Oppor.

An Underrated Gem from Wisconsin

Oppor, a 21-year-old left-hander from Madison, Wisconsin, was selected by the White Sox in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Gulf Coast State College. He signed for a bonus of roughly $550,000, and his development since then has been explosive and exciting. 

After breaking into pro ball with the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Sox in 2023, Oppor posted a 5.21 ERA there in 2024 — a season that showed flashes of promise but also plenty of room for growth. The White Sox, however, saw something more: a live arm, a repeatable delivery, and the kind of raw stuff that could blossom with time.

Oppor’s Breakout 2025 Season

In 2025, Oppor’s talent finally translated into results. Splitting time between Kannapolis (Low-A) and Winston-Salem (High-A), he made 22 starts, logging a 3.08 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 87.2 innings — an eye-popping 11.9 K/9 rate.

Even more impressive was how dominant his stuff looked. Oppor’s fastball, once sitting in the 93–95 mph range, now explodes out of his hand and touches 101 mph from a deceptive, whippy left-handed delivery. His changeup — a pitch that generated a swing-and-miss roughly 50 percent of the time in 2025 — was rated by Baseball America as the best in all the minor leagues according to Stuff+ metrics.

The Next Big Arm on the South Side

Now ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the White Sox organization, Oppor is trending toward something special. If his development continues, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the Top 3 of Chicago’s prospect rankings — and perhaps among the Top 50 prospects in all of baseball — by this time next year.

Expect him to face tougher competition in 2026, likely with Double-A Birmingham, where his stuff will be truly tested. But if Oppor carries over his 2025 dominance and continues refining his command, the “unknown” lefty from Wisconsin won’t be under the radar much longer.