Prospect Report: White Sox’s Pallette Debuts On Back Fields

Image credit: Ethan Salas (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Peyton Pallette, RHP, White Sox: With their second-round pick in 2022, the White Sox made an upside play and took Peyton Pallette out of Arkansas. In his sophomore season, the righthander’s three-pitch mix intrigued analysts thanks to a 93-95 mph fastball with excellent shape, a high-spin curveball in the high 70s and a high-80s changeup with enough movement to get whiffs and grounders. 

Pallette never got to reinforce his draft stock during his junior year, which ended before it started because of preseason Tommy John surgery. He was back on the mound on Monday on the back fields for two-plus innings against the Brewers. He was excellent in his first inning, striking out all three hitters he faced with a fastball that touched 95 and a high-70s curveball. He threw 16 pitches and got five swings and misses in the frame. 

Watch the first two innings of his outing below. 

Ethan Salas, C, Padres: Salas was the top prospect in the most recent international period, and he inked with San Diego for $5.6 million. The brother of Twins prospect Jose Salas, Ethan is a catcher with a powerful lefthanded swing and uncommonly quiet receiving for a player his age. The 16-year-old played in San Diego’s annual spring prospect showcase on Monday and opened with a bang. Facing former Yankees first-rounder Ian Clarkin—who is 12 years Salas’ senior—Salas smoked a double the opposite way into the left-center field gap. It was Salas’ only hit of the evening, but considering he’s the age of a high school sophomore and was facing a much more seasoned pitcher, loud contact of any kind was mighty impressive. He also recorded a pop time of 2.01 seconds to second base attempting to nab a runner stealing. 

Harry Ford, C, Mariners: The Mariners’ top prospect already has time in the World Baseball Classic under his belt, and on Monday he showed why he’s one of the better prospects in the game. Facing a variety of Padres prospects under the lights at Peoria Stadium, Ford smoked a home run roughly 410 feet to dead center field off the batter’s eye. His swing is simple and powerful, and he showed it with one mighty blast. 

Samuel Zavala, OF, Padres: Were it not for injuries that stymied his season, Zavala’s profile might be much higher. The lithe, lefthanded-hitting outfielder still lasted just 10 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before a move to Low-A, where he held his own against much more seasoned competition. Zavala collected a pair of singles up the middle and showed impressive bat control in doing so by manipulating his barrel to the bottom of the strike zone on both occasions and still having the strength to get the ball through the infield. He’s one of San Diego’s higher upside prospects, currently ranking No. 4 in its system.