A strong, solid first season for this feisty righty
Jake Peppers
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
6´3´´
160 pounds
Age: 23
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 54
2024 High Level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level +0.4
SSS rank among all right-handed starters in the system 13
Overall 2024 stats 7-6 ⚾️ 22 starts ⚾️ 97 IP ⚾️ 4.27 ERA ⚾️ 1.371 WHIP ⚾️ 86 K ⚾️ 43 BB
With the 269th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft the White Sox selected Jake Peppers. He is another tweener of a pitcher, but the White Sox seem determined to give him a full shot in the rotation. He struggled with command in college at Jacksonville State; in 140 innings, he walked 81 batters. On the flip side, Peppers showed a little bit in terms of a wipeout pitch (slider), so he worked in 143 strikeouts. Last season was Peppers’ best in terms of control, but not a big enough improvement to warrant a top pick.
The hope here is that he fills into his 6´3´´ frame and gains some bulk from his current listed weight of 160 pounds (which, to be fair, already seems WAAAAY low). That, hopefully, puts his mid-90s fastball up to the high 90s. The slider is Peppers’ go-to, with a 56% swing-and-miss rate. That is why he is a tweener.
If Peppers cannot get a third pitch (changeup) more developed, he doesn’t look like a bad two-pitch reliever. He ranks 187th per MLB Pipeline in this draft, purely on projections and the glimpses he showed in college and the Cape Cod League, where he corralled a 2.60 ERA in 17 1⁄3 innings at the high-level college summer league.
Post-draft, the Sox assigned Peppers to the ACL, where he saw action in four games and held hitters to an impressive .227 batting average over 5 2⁄3 innings.
The 22-year-old started 2024 with Single-A Kannapolis and spent the entire year with the Cannon Ballers. In his first full season of professional ball, Peppers was an essential part of a successful Ballers rotation. All of his 22 appearances came as a starter, and he earned himself a respectable 7-6 record with a 4.27 ERA and above-average 8.0 K/9 over 97 frames. In his last start of the season, Peppers struck out seven batters and secured the victory in the CBs 14-2 stomping of the Salem Red Sox. At Sox Populi, we named him a White Sox Minor-League All-Star.
The righty proved to be a durable and dependable arm in a memorable year for both Peppers and Kannapolis, helping to lead them to a playoff spot in the Carolina League South Division Championship. One of Peppers’ most notable starts of the season came in Game 2 of the Division Series, when he tossed five innings, surrendered no runs, and gave up only four hits with one walk and five Ks.
Peppers’ Baseball Cube player ratings
Durability 81 (identical to last season)
Strikeouts 60 (-12)
vs. Power 57 (-4)
Hittable 57 (-4)
K/BB 44 (0)
Walks 40 (+6)
Average 56.50 (-2.33)
Given his age and full-season run in the rotation at Kannapolis in 2024, it seems a modest step up to Winston-Salem and a full season there is in the plans for 2025. If Peppers can flash skill beyond durability during his summer in Salem, he’ll see Double-A by season’s end.
2025 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
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 (since designated for assignment and lost to Kansas City)
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