Mason Adams
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking: 35
Charlotte Knights

Mason Adams was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 13th round in 2022, and currently ranks eighth among White Sox top prospects according to MLB Pipeline — making an incredible leap this year.

Upon joining the organization, Adams only appeared in a few innings for the ACL White Sox and had a lackluster performance. Since then, he has blossomed as a reliable starter who can work his way out of tough innings while preserving a low ERA. It also certainly helps that he can strike out a lot of batters. Adams played for three White Sox minor league teams in 2023, spending the majority of the season with Low-A Kannapolis before advancing to High-A Winston-Salem, and closing the year out in Double-A Birmingham.

The 2024 season was no different, as Adams kept the momentum rolling. He began the year in Double-A Birmingham, and emerged as one of the top starters for the Barons. In 103 1/3 innings, he maintained a 2.44 ERA in 17 starts, and ended up second in strikeouts with 101 — only behind Jairo Iriarte, who racked up 122 in 23 more innings. Adams also kept up an efficient 1.05 WHIP, and posted a strong 3.35 FIP, however, Mason also gave up the most home runs for the Barons this year (nine). The good news is that he is often extremely difficult to hit, and for these reasons, he was promoted to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on August 10.

Mason’s transition into Triple-A ball wasn’t as smooth as one would hope, and in his first outing, he gave up three runs in three innings, and heavily struggled with walks, walking five compared to his one strikeout. Adams bounced back for three solid innings in his next outing. He struck out one and gave up three hits, however, no runs came across the board this time. Moving into September, he continued to struggled to keep runs from scoring, and in three starts, he gave up 10 runs (eight earned) in 11 innings, and averaged a 6.55 ERA for the month.

Adams is a young player who shows plenty of promise, and his time with Charlotte is a small sample size in a new experience. Overall, he ended up with a 2.92 ERA across 120 1/3 total minor league innings in 2024. While his fastball only reaches the low-to-mid-90s, his curveball is his bread and butter, sitting in the low-80s and striking out plenty of batters.

Adams should start out with the Knights again next year, and he deserves to get another chance to settle in at that level and continue to develop as a pitcher.

Congratulations to Mason Adams on a great 2024 season!

2024 Sox Populi White Sox Minor League All-Star Team
Edgar Quero (C) (Player of the Year)
Brooks Baldwin (SS)
Mason Adams (RHSP)
Aldrin Batista (RHSP)
Noah Schultz (LHSP) (Pitcher of the Year)
Drew Thorpe (RHSP)
Eric Adler (RHRP)
Adisyn Coffey (RHRP)

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Mason Adams photo: Birmingham Barons