Rikuu Nishida
2B/LF
2024 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 86
Birmingham Barons

Simply put, whether you prefer the longball or K-rate topping 12, there’s one thing we can all agree on after the 2024 season: Rikuu Nishida is the most exciting player in the White Sox system.

Does that mean he’s the best prospect? Of course not. Destined to make the majors, and soon? Nope. But Nishida managed to go from curio to weapon in one summer, skipping from Low-A Kanny to High-A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham, and was a factor in team successes at all three stops.

A big part of the excitement surrounding Nishida is not just that he’s an unorthodox player: Tiny strike zone, contact at all costs, pesky baserunner. But the REAL excitement should instead (or also) come from the fact that Nishida made a pro debut in 2023 that was utterly underwhelming — for those of us rooting for the guy, a bit gutting — and then came out gangbusters in 2024 to force his way onto the radar.

True, that gangbusters play was aided by playing at A-ball levels with competition younger than him. But by the time Nishida reached Birmingham, a merit promotion that would also help with the coming playoff series, he held his own. The Double-A numbers, small sample size and all, .333/.400/.333, 15 total bases, no Ks in 11 games. In his four postseason game, Nishida bagged four hits and four walks, for a .409 OBP.

And in another example of zagging against the league’s zigging, Nishida kept his feet moving all season, swiping 49-of-61 bags for a stellar 80.3% success rate — and doing so in incredibly disruptive and pesky fashion.

A year ago, we would have told you to temper expectation for this novelty player. This year, we say the majors is no longer a hope, but an expectation.

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)
Rikuu Nishida (2B/LF)
Brooks Baldwin (SS)
Javier Mogollón (SS)
Zach DeLoach (LF)
Mark Payton (LF)
Mason Adams (RHSP)
Aldrin Batista (RHSP)
Jake Peppers (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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Photo from Rikuu Nishida’s Twitter account.