Grading The White Sox Top Prospects This Season: No. 19, Terrell Tatum

The 19th-ranked prospect on this list is speedster Terrell Tatum. Taken in the 16th round out of North Carolina State in 2021, he has definitely overperformed his draft position. He was an integral part of the North Carolina State team going pretty far in the College World Series in 2021. 

In that last season in college, he would hit .317 with 12 homers and 16 stolen bases. He showcased all five tools, which definitely improved his draft stock. Performing well in the College World Series definitely helped with that as well.  

In his first taste of professional baseball in 2021, he would play for the White Sox in the Arizona Complex league. There he would hit .265 in 22 games with an impressive .444 on-base percentage. He would add one homerun and 10 RBIs. He would have a solid 21 walks to 28 strikeouts and would steal three bases. He had shown enough to get promoted to High A Winston-Salem in just his first year, skipping Low-A. 

In four games in Winston-Salem, he would go two for ten with two RBIs and four walks. He would turn on the speed and steal four bases. This is a decent output for just a few games in his first professional season and he was primed for a nice 2022. 

Unfortunately, in 2022 he would just be limited to 42 games because of a suspension from MLB due to a positive test. In those 42 games, he would hit .267 over two levels, as they started him out at Low-A Kannapolis to start his season. He would be promoted back to Winston-Salem for the rest of the year to set him up for this year. He would hit three home runs and have 21 RBIs in his short 2022 stint, adding 16 stolen bases. He walked a decent amount as well, as he had a .405 OBP. 

In 2023 he would start off at Winston-Salem and he would have his best output as he would hit .268 with a .434 OBP. He would hit four homers and add 29 RBIs. He would also walk 58 times while only striking out 19 times. He would also be a base-stealing threat, stealing 32 bases. After 60 games the Sox would promote him to AA Birmingham. 

At Birmingham he would struggle to adjust, hitting only .231 with a .361 OBP. He would strike out 80 times in only 65 games, but he still added 42 walks and 15 stolen bases. Overall, in 2023, he would hit .248 with a .397 OBP, six home runs, and 51 RBIs. He would add 100 walks, 149 strikeouts, and 47 total stolen bases. All in all, this is a very nice season, and he should be adjusted to the AA pitching when he starts there next season. He is 24, so he will have to show some improvement at AA soon, as he should be pushing for the majors soon. 

I would grade his season a B-, as he struggled once he got to AA. But he still provided a lot, as he got on base and stole a lot of bases. Look for him to get off to a hot start next year and make the move to AAA and potentially the MLB next year, as his worst-case scenario can be a 4^th outfielder/base stealing threat.