South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 64: Shawn Goosenberg

Shawn Goosenberg

Second Baseman
6´1´´
193 pounds
Age: 23
2022 SSS Top Prospect Ranking 71
2022 High Level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -0.5 years
SSS rank among all second basemen in the system 4
Overall 2022 regular season stats 23 games ⚾️ 3 HR ⚾️ 11 RBI ⚾️ .256/.341/.423 ⚾️ 9 BB ⚾️ 31 K ⚾️ 4-of-4 (100%) SB

Despite stellar performances overseas and at Calabasas High, Shawn Goosenberg’s slight, 6´1´´, 180-pound frame and modest statistics made for a quiet college recruiting process. So once his coaches got in contact with the staff at Northwestern, Goosenberg jumped at the chance to attend a top academic school and play baseball in the Big Ten. By the second month of the 2019 season, Goosenberg was a regular in the Cats lineup; he finished the year with a .288 batting average and was selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and All-Big Ten Third Team, even as NU finished 23-27 overall and ninth in the conference.

Goosenberg continued his upward trajectory at the beginning of his sophomore season, translating offseason work in the weight room into tangible offensive improvements. Then, COVID-19 cut the season after just 13 games. What an impressive season it was, however, as Goosenberg slashed .444/.500/.704 with a homer in 27 at-bats before the pandemic struck. Goosenberg continued working on his game over the summer, a regimen that included playing for the Kalamazoo Mac Daddies in the Northwoods League in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Prior to 2021, Goosenberg had clubbed just one career homer in 230 combined plate appearances for the Wildcats. That all changed in his junior season, however, as he swatted 14 homers in 169 plate appearances. For the year, Goosenberg also mashed 12 doubles and stole 10 bases while producing an impressive .362/.426/.717 slash line. As a result of his efforts, he was selected in the 19th round of the MLB Draft by the White Sox.

After slashing a robust .273/.385/.545 in an abbreviated six-game stint with the ACL squad, Goosenberg struggled with Kannapolis (.213/.351/.338 and a 98 wRC+ in 29 games). Combined with both teams, he slashed .225/.358/.382 with eight doubles, two homers, four stolen bases, 15 walks (12.2%) and 39 strikeouts (31.7%).

Goosenberg performed well with 2022’s promotion to Winston-Salem to start the season — when he was able. The “able” part is the problem here, as the infielder was basically injured all season, with May and June stints on the IL. That June stint, beginning on June 14, ended his season.

The good news? Goose (just guessing on that nickname!) is viewed very favorably vs. his peers, per the Baseball Cube:

Goosenberg’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Power 82
Speed 77
XBH 76
Hitting 73
RBIs 62
Durability 61
Runs 55
Contact 48
Team Winning Percentage .387

Still, if healthy Goosenberg will likely re-do his 2022 season with Winston-Salem, unfortunately sliding more toward org infielder than actual prospect.

2023 South Side Sox Top 102 White Sox Prospects

64. Shawn Goosenberg, 2B
65. Randel Mondesí, LF
66. Emerson Talavera, RHRP
67. Declan Cronin, RHRP
68. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
69. Colby Smelley, C
70. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
71. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
72. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
73. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
74. James Beard, CF
75. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
76. Ronny Hernandez, C
77. Troy Claunch, C
78. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
79. Tim Elko, 1B
80. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
81. Trey Jeans, LHRP
82. Jerry Burke, RHSP
83. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
84. Mason Adams, RHSP
85. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
86. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
87. Laz Rivera, 3B
88. Xavier Fernández, C
89. Álvaro Agüero, CF
90. Ben Norman, RF
91. Erick Bello, RHRP
92. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
93. Arnold Prado, RF
94. Alsander Womack, 2B
95. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
96. Evan Skoug, C
97. Noah Owen, RHSP
98. Javier Mora, 2B
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
101. Billy Seidl, RHRP
102. José Rodulfo, RHRP