Mark Payton
Outfielder
2024 SSS Top Prospect Ranking N/R
Charlotte Knights

Outfielder Mark Payton, 32, has now played 568 Triple-A games across seven seasons. On the strength of an outstanding 2022 season in Charlotte that even earned him a cup of coffee on the South Side, in 2023 Payton played in Japan for the Seibu Lions.

Despite such a long minor league career, often to great success, Payton has only appeared in 40 MLB games. In other words, in terms of professional baseball, Payton has been waiting in line a long time without seeing much of The Show. However, given the way Payton performed in 2024, it is surprising that he did not appear in the majors, especially given the state of the team up north.

Payton played in 112 games in 2024, all with the Knights, and he was an on-base machine, slashing .309/.383/.463 (122 wRC+). By contrast, White Sox outfielders slashed .224/.286/.342 (79 wRC+) and accumulated -2.8 fWAR, easily the worst group in the majors by fWAR. Would Payton have done better? We will never know for sure, but promoting him would have been worth a try.

Although the 5´7´´ Payton does not have much power, he found plenty of ways to be valuable to the Knights. The outfielder’s ability to put the bat on the ball made him a good choice to hit near the top of Charlotte’s lineup. Payton also used a 11.1% BB rate to boost his OBP pretty close to .400. Payton mainly plays left field, but he made himself useful in center and right as well, providing some positional flexibility.

It is unclear what the future holds for Payton, who has had a difficult time making a breakthrough into the majors. However, his performance for the Knights cannot be overlooked, and he was certainly one of the more underrated players across the system in 2024. Congratulations to Payton on earning a spot among our All-Stars, and if I had a say in the matter, he certainly would have played for the 2024 White Sox.

2024 Sox Populi White Sox Minor League All-Star Team
Ronny Hernandez (C)
Edgar Quero (C) (Player of the Year)
Caden Connor (1B)
Tim Elko (1B)
Ryan Galanie (1B)
Shawn Goosenberg (1B)
Wilmer Difo (2B)
Brooks Baldwin (SS)
Zach DeLoach (LF)
Mark Payton (LF)
Mason Adams (RHSP)
Aldrin Batista (RHSP)
Ky Bush (LHSP)
Lucas Gordon (LHSP)
Noah Schultz (LHSP) (Pitcher of the Year)
Drew Thorpe (RHSP)
Eric Adler (RHRP)
Adisyn Coffey (RHRP)
Bryce Collins (RHRP)
Aaron McGarity (RHRP)

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Mark Payton photo: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights