Jonathan Cannon

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #8 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Cannon generated first-round buzz early in 2021, when he was draft-eligible as a Georgia sophomore, but his stock dropped after he missed time with an illness. He went undrafted after announcing that he would return to school. The White Sox drafted him in the third round in 2022, signing him for $925,000. After throwing just 7.1 innings in his draft year, Cannon reached Double-A in his first full season, showing a full assortment of six pitches.
  
  Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor. He is a strike-thrower who pounds the zone with a fastball at 93-97 mph. His two-seamer has tail and sink to both sides of the plate, while his four-seamer has ride up in the zone. Cannon complements his fastball with a nasty, bat-breaking cutter right around 90 mph, and he holds his velocity deep into games. Cannon’s best secondary offering is an above-average sweeping slider that averages 84 mph and gets up to 87. His average 80-82 mph curveball with 11-to-5 shape has more down action but also some horizontal movement. Cannon gets ground balls and soft contact from his 85-87 mph changeup with good down action. He’s a control-over-command pitcher now, with the next step forward to consistently repeat his delivery and command his pitches better. He sometimes gets across his body and has a little stiffness on his front side, spinning off and losing his direction.
  
  The Future: Cannon will head back to Double-A looking to refine his command and continue to develop his arsenal. He’s a big-bodied, durable pitcher who should be a prototype No. 4 or 5 starter who burns innings, though it’s not out of the question for Cannon to improve enough to slot into the middle of the rotation.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 60
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #11 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.
  
  The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #46 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Georgia Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 22
  BA Grade: 50/High
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: - | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 60
  Cannon ranked as the No. 67 prospect in the 2021 draft class and was one of the highest-ranking collegiate players to go unselected. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2021, Cannon returned for his third season with Georgia in 2022, where he continued to show some of the best command in the country with a deep arsenal of solid offerings. Cannon is a tall and lean righthander listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds, who attacks with a sinker, slider, cutter mix and induces plenty of ground balls and weak contact. He sits around 94 mph and touches 97 with his four-seam fastball but uses a two-seam variant frequently as well. His most used secondary is a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that generated whiffs at a 31% rate and induced plenty of ground balls. A new addition to his arsenal this spring was a cutter around 88-90 mph that gives him another option against lefthanders, and while he didn’t throw the pitch much, he also has a mid-80s changeup. None of Cannon’s pitches grades out as plus, but all of them look like 50- or 55-grade offerings. Cannon is a bit of an old-school pitcher who works in the zone heavily and likes to pitch to weak contact, so it’s possible a team will shorten his pitch mix in pro ball and have him focus on missing more bats, but he has been effective as a groundball artist who rarely issues free passes. Cannon profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter with a high-likelihood to pitch in the majors.
• Ranked #67 prospect in 2021 draft
  Georgia produced a pair of righthanders who signed for a combined $9 million in the 2020 draft (Emerson Hancock, Cole Wilcox) and Cannon was primed to follow in their footsteps as a potential Day One pick this spring in his draft-eligible second season with the Bulldogs. Cannon provided glimpses of big-time stuff out of a large frame and easy delivery as a reliever in the shortened 2020 season, but his 2021 transition to a starting role was delayed after a case of mononucleosis. Cannon pitched to a 3.98 ERA through his first 63.1 innings and 12 starts, with 57 strikeouts (8.1 K/9) and 13 walks (1.8 BB/9) and he showed flashes of excellence, but also got hit around a few times, including a three-homer game against South Carolina in early April. Cannon has a deep pitch mix led by a fastball that’s been up to 97 mph this spring, but averages 93, with sinking action. His go-to breaking ball is a mid-80s slider that is at its best towards the upper band of its velocity range, where it shows sharper bite and he also throws a slower, 12-to-6 curve in the 78-81 mph range that is more of a get-me-over pitch that can be loopy. A mid-80s changeup could be his best secondary. He throws it with good arm speed and it has solid, tumbling action. While Cannon’s arm action gets extended in the back, he repeats well and has thrown plenty of strikes in his collegiate career. He doesn’t turn 21 until a week after the draft.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.
  
  The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.
  
  The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  August Update: Cannon ranked as the No. 67 prospect in the 2021 draft class and was one of the highest-ranking collegiate players to go unselected. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2021, Cannon returned for his third season with Georgia in 2022, where he continued to show some of the best command in the country with a deep arsenal of solid offerings. Cannon is a tall and lean righthander listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds, who attacks with a sinker, slider, cutter mix and induces plenty of ground balls and weak contact. He sits around 94 mph and touches 97 with his four-seam fastball but uses a two-seam variant frequently as well. His most used secondary is a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that generated whiffs at a 31% rate and induced plenty of ground balls. A new addition to his arsenal this spring was a cutter around 88-90 mph that gives him another option against lefthanders, and while he didn&#39t throw the pitch much, he also has a mid-80s changeup. None of Cannon&#39s pitches grades out as plus, but all of them look like 50- or 55-grade offerings. Cannon is a bit of an old-school pitcher who works in the zone heavily and likes to pitch to weak contact, so it&#39s possible a team will shorten his pitch mix in pro ball and have him focus on missing more bats, but he has been effective as a groundball artist who rarely issues free passes. Cannon profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter with a high-likelihood to pitch in the majors.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Cutter: 50. Control: 60.