(670 The Score) Four White Sox and three Cubs prospects landed in MLB Pipeline's newest top-100 list, which was released Thursday evening.
Rays shortstop Wander Franco, 19, was named MLB Pipeline's top prospect as 2021 opens. First baseman Andrew Vaughn was the White Sox's top-ranked prospect at No. 14, while left-hander Brailyn Marquez was the Cubs' highest-ranked prospect at No. 60.
The White Sox also had right-hander Michael Kopech (No. 39), second baseman Nick Madrigal (No. 40) and left-hander Garrett Crochet (No. 56) land in the top 100. MLB Pipeline called the White Sox the "most top-heavy system in baseball, with four top-100 guys who are all legitimate contenders for American League Rookie of the Year and not much depth or close-to-big-league-ready talent behind them."
Kopech, Madrigal and Crochet have already matriculated to the big leagues at various points. In Kopech's case, it was quite awhile ago, as he hasn't played in an MLB regular-season game since September 2018. He then underwent Tommy John surgery that kept him out for the entire 2019 season, and he opted out of playing the 2020 season amid the pandemic.
Madrigal hit .340 with a .745 OPS in 29 games in 2020. Assuming he's fully recovered from a shoulder injury – and he's on the right track – he'll be the White Sox's starting second baseman on Opening Day.
Crochet was unscored upon in six innings across five appearances in the regular season in 2020. He's expected to be a key high-leverage reliever for the White Sox this season. Vaughn hasn't played above high Class-A in the minor leagues but is considered talented and advanced enough that be could make his MLB debut in 2021 and be a contributor as one of the players who fills the White Sox's designated hitter role.
In addition to Marquez, the Cubs also had outfielder Brennen Davis (No. 61) and catcher Miguel Amaya (No. 89) in the top-100 list. The hard-throwing Marquez is the only one of those three to appear in a big league game yet. He did so briefly on one occasion in late September. Marquez is expected to ascend to the big leagues sometime in 2021, though the Cubs may slow his roll by monitoring his workload and letting him develop more in the minor leagues early on in the season.
Davis hit .305 with a .907 OPS in 50 games at Class-A South Bend in 2019. MLB Pipeline projects him to reach the majors in 2022. Amaya hit .235 with 11 homers, 57 RBIs and a .709 OPS in 99 games at advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach in 2019.
