Add these 5 Chicago White Sox prospects to the watch list

Chicago White Sox fans of the future undoubtedly are up to speed on all of the organization's top prospects.

They know outfielders Eloy Jimenez (adductor strain) and Luis Robert (thumb) are down again with injuries, starting pitcher Michael Kopech is having an uneven campaign with Class AAA Charlotte, AA Birmingham starter Dane Dunning is hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery, and first-round draft pick Nick Madrigal is scheduled to join low A Kannapolis at some point this week.

With so much young talent to track, a few Sox prospects have slipped through the cracks.

"There have definitely been some surprises," said Chris Getz, the White Sox's director of player development.

Here are five:

Spencer Adams

The Sox typically go the college route when using high draft picks on pitchers.

In 2014, they used their second-round pick on White County (Georgia) High School right-hander Spencer Adams.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pounder took some expected lumps on his climb through the system, and he figured to spend the entire season at Birmingham after going 3-6 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 starts this year.

But Adams was dealing with a finger injury in spring training, and he was bumped up to Charlotte in mid-June after allowing just 1 earned run in 21 innings over his final 3 starts at Double-A.

Adams has allowed 1 earned run over 13 innings in his last 2 starts with Charlotte, and the 22-year-old is pushing to be a part of the White Sox's rotation in 2019.

Luis Gonzalez

He's a third-round pick out of the University of New Mexico in 2017, and Sox amateur scouting director Nick Hostetler was thrilled to land the outfielder.

"Luis is a five-tool type of center fielder," Hostetler said.

The tools have been on display this season.

After batting .300/.358/.491 in 55 games with Kannapolis, the 22-year-old Gonzalez is hitting .317/.353/.492 in 13 games with high A Winston-Salem. He has 24 doubles, 9 home runs, 34 RBI and 8 stolen bases in 69 combined games.

"He uses the whole field and he's got some naturalness in the bat," Getz said. "He gets on base and has sneaky pop. Defensively, he's continued to improve. He's better than he was last year. He's throwing better. He's just a baseball player."

Ian Hamilton

An 11th-round pick in 2016 out of Washington State, don't be surprised if Hamilton is pitching out of the White Sox's bullpen following the all-star break.

After racking up 12 saves in 21 appearances with Birmingham while posting a 1.78 ERA, the right-handed Hamilton has not allowed a run in 6⅔ innings with Charlotte.

"He's got the right mentality," Getz said. "He certainly has the stuff. Mid-to-upper 90s fastball, a plus slider, just a bulldog approach to the whole thing."

Ti'Quan Forbes

Acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Miguel Gonzalez trade last August, Forbes is attracting attention at Winston-Salem.

A natural third baseman who also has been playing second, Forbes is batting .421 (16-for-38) with 2 home runs and 8 RBI over his last nine games.

Laz Rivera

A 28th-round pick in 2017 out of the University of Tampa, Rivera is a natural shortstop also capable of playing second and third base.

Rivera also can hit, as evidenced by his .339/.383/.522 slash line with 9 home runs and 33 RBI in 78 games with Kannapolis and Winston-Salem.