White Sox: 3 prospects to offer for Rockies shortstop Trevor Story

Based on MLB.com’s rankings, four of the White Sox top prospects (and five of the top-seven) are pitchers. No. 1 prospect Jared Kelley is probably off-limits, and No. 4 Jonathan Stiever is struggling enough (at least in terms of surface results) at Triple-A Charlotte right now that they are probably better off keeping him. So now we land on 2019 second-round pick Matthew Thompson and Dalquist, a third-round pick the same year.

Over 11 starts for Single-A Kannapolis so far this year, Dalquist has a 5.67 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 22 walks over 33.1 innings. Over his last seven starts (24 innings), he has issued 17 walks.

MLB Pipeline’s scouting report cites Dalquist’s growth as a pro, while also pointing to him eventually becoming something along the lines of a No. 4 starter. There’s certainly upside for more, and the White Sox literally bought into it by ponying up more than double his slot value as a third-round pick to keep him from going to the University of Arizona.

It’s way too early to write Dalquist off, especially since all minor leaguers missed out on a normal season in 2020. But he is a potential trade asset, as part of a deal for Story or someone else.