2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 56: Shane Murphy
A big lefty with control and command
Shane Murphy
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
6´5´´
210 pounds
Age: 23
2023 High Level Kannapolis (Single-A)
Age relative to high level +0.4
SSS rank among all left-handed starters in the system 8
Overall 2023 stats 4-4 ⚾️ 21 games (21 starts) ⚾️ 96 2⁄3 IP ⚾️ 3.63 ERA ⚾️ 1.076 WHIP ⚾️ 98 K ⚾️ 23 BB
The White Sox selected Murphy in Round 14 (No. 431) of the 2022 MLB Draft. The lefthander pitched three seasons for Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Ariz. — although during his time there, the lefty only threw a total of 14 innings (0-1, 0.64 ERA, 18 strikeouts, three walks over seven appearances).
After signing with the Sox in 2022, the team assigned him to the ACL in August for a few weeks before promoting him to Kannapolis to finish out the season. Murphy appeared in three games (two starts) for the Cannon Ballers, and opponents had no trouble seeing the ball, as they hit .350 off of him with two walks over 4 1⁄3 innings.
Murphy returned to Kannapolis for 2023, where he started 21 games for the Ballers. He had a much stronger showing this time around, going 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA and a 9.12 K/9. Throughout the season, the Sox assigned him to the Developmental List a few different times as well, to work through some mechanics and/or possible injury issues.
Murphy’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Walks 95
K/BB 94
Hittable 68
vs. Power 68
Durability 46
Strikeouts 43
Murphy’s four-pitch arsenal includes good breaking stuff and a low-90s fastball. He has solid command, as evidenced by a 2.14 BB/9. Due to his age and 2023 mastery of Low-A, Murphy likely starts in Winston-Salem, with hopes of getting some starts in Birmingham bhy season’s end.
[Note: The makeup of the White Sox minors changes over the long course of this project, shifting ratings. The February 3 trades with Seattle and Arizona have added three highly-rated prospects to our list, sliding players ranked No. 57-100 down a couple of spots. The list below represents our updated rankings, although the stories they link to will retain original rankings (example, No. 57 Troy Claunch originally was our No. 55 prospect).]
2024 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
56. Shane Murphy, LHRP
57. Troy Claunch, C
58. Edrick Felix, 2B
59. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
60. Edgar Navarro, RHRP
61. Lucas Gordon, LHSP
62. Andrew Pérez, LHRP
63. Javier Mogollon, 2B
64. Aldrin Batista, RHSP
65. Ryan Castillo, 1B
66. Bryce Willits, 3B
67. Colby Smelley, C
68. Wes Kath, 3B
69. Alsander Womack, 2B
70. Jordan Sprinkle, SS
71. Connor McCullough, RHSP
72. Luis Rodriguez, RHRP
73. Jonah Scolaro, LHRP
74. Ben Beutel, LHRP
75. Stiven Flores, C
76. Adrian Gil, 1B
77. Yohemy Nolasco, RHRP
78. Ben Norman, LF
79. Josimar Cousín, RHSP
80. Juan Gonzalez, C
81. Chris Lanzilli, LF
82. Alex Speas, RHRP
83. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
84. Garrett Wright, RHRP
85. Duke Ellis, CF
86. Mathias LaCombe, RHRP
87. Godwin Bennett, RF
88. Rikuu Nishida, LF
89. Caden Connor, LF
90. Zach Franklin, RHRP
91. Jeremy González, LHSP
92. Jerry Burke, RHRP
93. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
94. Mikey Kane, 3B
95. Carlton Perkins, RHSP
96. Tyler Neslony, LF
97. Drew Dalquist, RHSP
98. Jason Matthews, SS
99. Jonathan Stiever, RHSP
100. Tommy Sommer, LHSP
101. Daniel González, LHRP