The outfielder looks to rebound from his first season in Winston-Salem
Samuel Zavala
6´1´´
175 pounds
Age: 20
First appearance on the South Side Sox Top 100 Prospects
2024 High Level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -3.1 years
SSS rank among all center fielders in the system 1
Overall 2024 stats 111 games ⚾️ 8 HR ⚾️ 39 RBI ⚾️ .187/.340/.301 ⚾️ 83 BB ⚾️ 104 K ⚾️ 14-of-19 (73.7%) SB ⚾️ .994 FLD% ⚾️ 1.4 Simple WAR
Outfielder Samuel Zavala, 20, has seen his reputation tumble a bit, and he stands at No. 28 in our rankings. The White Sox acquired Zavala from the Padres in March 2024 as one of the pieces of the Dylan Cease trade. Zavala had been in San Diego’s system since signing with them at the age of 16 in 2021. At the time of the trade, Zavala was MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 Padres prospect, and he was only rated slightly lower than that in the White Sox system (in fact, though we didn’t have time to write him up, Zavala came in at No. 8 in last year’s Top 100).
Zavala played 111 games in 2024, all with the Winston-Salem Dash. Zavala’s career had been on a steep upward trajectory entering his age-19 season, but unfortunately, that momentum did not remain with him. On the plus side, Zavala had a sky-high walk rate (17.8% BB) en route to a .340 OBP. However, Zavala did not put the bat on the ball nearly as much as the White Sox would have wanted. As a result, his batting average (.187) and slugging percentage (.301) were disappointing, as was a .234 BABIP that dropped nearly 100 points from 2023. Overall, Zavala’s 96 wRC+ fell just below average for the High-A level.
Zavala’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Durability 78
XBH 77
Power 72
RBIs 71
Hitting 57
Runs 69
Speed 62
Contact 54
Average 67.50
Part of the large discrepancy between’s Zavala’s batting average and OBP can be explained by that .234 BABIP. Zavala is still very young, but that it by far the lowest batting average on balls in play he has had during any single season. As a result, especially given Zavala’s ability to make sharp contact, it is reasonable to expect his numbers to rebound in 2025. Even considering some bad luck, however, 2024 was a bit of a step in the wrong direction for the talented outfielder, who is looking to show that he can still be an elite prospect.
Zavala is primarily a center fielder, although he also got some playing time in both corner outfield positions, too. At this stage, it appears that Zavala will be able to stick in center, so his bat will be his largest area of focus this summer. Given his age and 2024 performance, Zavala will return to Winston-Salem to begin 2025.
2025 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
28. Samuel Zavala, CF
29. Peyton Pallette, RHRP
30. Jake Eder, LHSP
31. Juan Carela, RHSP
32. Javier Mogollón, SS
33. Nick McLain, RF
34. Ronny Hernandez, C
35. Casey Saucke, RF
36. Eric Adler, RHRP
37. Rikuu Nishida, 2B
38. Shane Smith, RHSP
39. Tim Elko, 1B
40. Zach DeLoach, LF
41. Riley Gowens, RHSP
42. Prelander Berroa, RHRP
43. Sam Antonacci, 2B
44. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
45. Jarold Rosado, RHRP
46. Ryan Galanie, 1B
47. Trey McGough, LHRP
48. Ricardo Brizuela, RHSP
49. Lucas Gordon, LHSP
50. Aaron Combs, RHRP (traded to Phillies on January 1)
51. DJ Gladney, RF
52. Abraham Núñez, CF
53. Andre Lipcius, 1B
54. Shawn Goosenberg, 1B
55. Caden Connor, 1B
56. Mario Camilletti, 2B
57. Jake Peppers, RHSP
58. Ryan Burrowes, SS
59. Garrett Schoenle, LHRP
60. Jackson Appel, C
61. Tommy Vail, LHSP
62. Bryce Collins, RHRP
63. Tanner McDougal, RHSP
64. Stiven Flores, C
65. T.J. McCants, CF
66. Gil Luna, LHRP
67. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
68. Zach Franklin, RHRP
69. Drew Dalquist, RHRP
70. Nick Altermatt, RHRP
71. Carson Jacobs, RHRP
72. Alec Makarewicz, 1B
73. Jacob Burke, CF
74. Calvin Harris, C
75. Terrell Tatum, CF
76. Phil Fox, RHRP
77. Reudis Diaz, RHSP
78. Jurdrick Profar, SS
79. Drew McDaniel, RHSP
80. Michael Turner, C
81. Caleb Freeman, RHRP
82. Braden Shewmake, SS (designated for assignment on January 1, claimed by Royals)
83. Connor McCullough, RHSP
84. Shane Murphy, LHSP
85. Mikey Kane, 1B
86. Daniel González, LHRP
87. Wes Kath, 3B
88. Pierce George, RHRP
89. Tristan Stivors, RHRP
90. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHRP
91. Chase Plymell, RHRP
92. Eddie Park, CF
93. Loidel Chapelli, 2B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
99. Drake Logan, LF
100. Cole McConnell, CF