GLENDALE, Ariz. – When Paul Janish finished his big league career in 2017, he knew he wanted to eventually return to the pro game. First, he had to go back to school.

Janish went back to his old stomping grounds at Rice University, first as an assistant coach and then as associate head coach before signing on to be the White Sox farm director last November. He joins a front office headed by Chris Getz, now the general manager who was the organization’s farm director, and Josh Barfield, who served in that position for the D-backs before coming to Chicago as an assistant general manager. All three, perhaps not coincidentally, spent considerable time playing on the dirt in the big leagues.

“We have an internal joke going that if we had been better players, we might not be in this situation,” Janish said. “But the fact that we were just below average Major League infielders, I think we all have that going for us.

“Having Chris around, having Josh around, guys that have been farm directors, it’s been more beneficial than not for sure. And it helps, too, Chris having the intimate awareness of the organization. It’s more productive when we’re having our conversations about various things and how we want to do things.”

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It’s always a steep learning curve for a new farm director in his first Spring Training, but Janish seems to be a quick study. Even if he had been in that chair for a while, there’d be a lot of new names and faces to learn. There are 17 players on Chicago’s new Top 30 prospects list who weren’t with the organization at this time last year, including 11 of the first 17. That’s a huge overhaul, one that has helped the White Sox creep up the farm system rankings. Chicago came in 30th before the 2022 season, held the No. 26 spot a year ago and is now much more in the middle of the pack at No. 20. In the early stages of camp, Janish has liked what he’s seen, perhaps even more than he expected.

“Chris and the front office have done a great job of deepening the pool, so to speak, via the trade acquisitions,” Janish said. “Being here on site now and getting to know some of the players and seeing them up close, it’s -- I’m going to use the term -- it’s not as bare as I thought it might have been. We’re excited about some guys. We have a bunch of work to do, but there are definitely some pieces, probably more than what some people think.”

Janish also knows that this influx of talent helps the White Sox beyond just a greater quantity of quality players. Many of the new acquisitions are at the upper levels of the system, so not only should they be able to help out in Chicago soon, they are also creating a logjam at the top.

“Most of the trades in the offseason, those guys are going to be in the top half of the organization,” Janish said. “So the guys who have been here, some of them might be going back to the affiliate they were at last year to start the season, which as players we all know that can be disheartening, it pisses you off, it creates motivation. The competition and the deepening of the pool I think is going to be a good thing organically within the organization.”

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Camp standout: Jacob Burke

Burke spent two years at Southeast Louisiana, then transferred to Miami, and the move paid off. He finished his final year with an OPS over 1.000 and reached double-digits in home runs and steals, leading to the White Sox taking him in the 11th round of the 2022 Draft. After missing a month with a back injury, he performed well across two levels of A ball and got ready for the upper levels while making up for some lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. Getz and company really want to stress athleticism and versatility from the big leagues on down and Burke fits right into that mold. He’s a gritty player with some speed and while he’s never going to be a huge power guy, he’s already shown off his quick right-handed bat this spring, including going 2-for-3 when called over for Cactus League action.

“He can play all three outfield positions,” Janish said about Burke's versatility. “He’s a really tough kid, he plays hard, almost like a cleaner version of Eric Byrnes. He’s a really intense kid. At this point, he’s made an impression both on our side and he’s gone to a couple of Major League games, participated early, hit some homers in some live sessions against some Major League pitchers.”

Breakout candidate: Mason Adams

Pitching talent can be found everywhere, in all rounds of the Draft. Adams is proving that point by coming out of Jacksonville University as a senior taken in Round 13 of the 2022 Draft and signed for $75,000. He’s now No. 19 on the White Sox Top 30 and might have the best pitchability in the system to go along with a plus curve. It’s not wow stuff, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he follows up his 2023, when he reached Double-A and finished with a 3.14 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9, with more success.

“He had a really good year in the Minor Leagues last year,” Janish said. “Internally, he’s not exactly a sleeper, but he’s maybe not as well known. I think he’s going to be a good big league pitcher, assuming health and the progression and development stays the same.”

Something to prove: Oscar Colás

For two straight years, at the start of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Colás was the No. 2 prospect in the organization, behind only Colson Montgomery. The Cuban star signed for $2.7 million with the White Sox when the 2022 international signing period opened in January and the hope was he could quickly join the big league lineup. Things started out well enough, with him hitting .314/.371/.524 across three levels of the Minors in 2022. His 2023 season did include his big league debut, but he hit .216/.314/.571 in 75 games. It means he’s not technically a prospect anymore, but now 25, he needs to go out and have his performance meet the expectations of what he could do on the field.

“He’s had a taste of the Major Leagues, didn’t have a lot of success, he was well thought of in the organization,” Janish said. “Who knows what’s going to happen this year, but he’s shown well in camp.”

Spring breakout sleeper: Tim Elko

He’s not ranked on the White Sox Top 30 as a 25-year old with just 34 games above A ball. But the 2022 tenth-rounder who signed for just $35,000 is coming off a year that saw him hit 28 homers and drive in 106 runs. Sure, he needs to refine his approach to continue having that kind of success (29.8 percent K rate), but it’s legit right-handed power and it’s not hard to envision him doing some damage in a big spot in Friday’s Spring Breakout matchup against the Cubs.