White Sox Weekly Minor League Update: April 28-May 4, 2025

The Cannon Ballers went 5-1 to lead the way

Charlotte Knights

Record 3-3 (last week), 15-18 (overall)

Knights Player of the Week

Tristan Gray .438/.471/.688, 16 at-bats

Tim Elko .261/.320/.391, 23 at-bats
Corey Julks .318/.318/.500, 22 at-bats
Kyle Teel .368/.429/.421, 19 at-bats
Zach DeLoach .357/.412/.714, 14 at-bats
Omar Narváez .273/.360/.455, 22 at-bats

Nick Nastrini 5 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K
Dan Altavilla 4 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Justin Anderson 2 2⁄3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Chris Rodriguez 3 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Tyler Schweitzer 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Owen White 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K

The Knights split their series against the Norfolk Tides (12-20). Charlotte won the first three games before getting crushed in the final three.

Infielder Tristan Gray, 29, who has gotten a lot of playing time at third base and shortstop, had a big week for the Knights. Gray went 7-for-16 with a home run and a double, the same numbers as Jermaine Dye in the 2005 World Series. Gray led the team with a 1.159 OPS, and he provided some timely hitting, especially in Wednesday’s thrilling, 9-8 victory. With this terrific week, Gray boosted his season OPS to .909. This year, Gray has only played for the Knights, but this week was a major step in the right direction.

Zach DeLoach went 5-for-14 with a homer and a triple to fall just short of Gray in terms of OPS. This was not quite enough to win the weekly award, but it is enough for honorable mention. Meanwhile, although Tim Elko’s weekly numbers were surprisingly close to average (instead of amazing), I feel it is necessary to provide an update. Elko went 6-for-23 with a home run, a walk, and nine strikeouts. The home run was Elko’s 10th of the season.

2025 Charlotte Knights Players of the Week
Tim Elko (April 7-13)
Bobby Dalbec (April 14-20)
Tim Elko (April 21-27)
Tristan Gray (April 28-May 4)

Birmingham Barons

Record 3-3 (last week), 14-12 (overall)

Barons Player of the Week

Caden Connor .389/.476/.500, 18 at-bats

Rikuu Nishida .176/.333/.176, 2-for-3 stolen bases, 17 at-bats
Jacob Burke .333/.455/.444, nine at-bats
Ryan Galanie .238/.304/.333, 21 at-bats
William Bergolla .273/.333/.364, 22 at-bats
Jacob Gonzalez .200/.304/.450, 20 at-bats
Wilfred Veras .125/.300/.125, 16 at-bats

Hagen Smith 10 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 8 BB, 13 K
Noah Schultz 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Shane Murphy 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Andrew Dalquist 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Riley Gowens 6 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K
Grant Taylor 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K

The Barons had a solid week, splitting the series against the Blue Wahoos (18-9).

Outfielder Caden Connor, 24, went 7-for-18 with three walks, two doubles, and a successful stolen base in his only attempt. Connor has shown a great ability to get on base during the past couple of seasons. In 2024, across Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, Connor had a .372 OBP. After this week, Connor’s OBP in Birmingham is .373.

Starter Hagen Smith, 21, provided 10 strong innings across two starts, only allowing two runs on five hits. Smith also racked up 13 strikeouts, as he was very difficult to solve. The only negative part of his numbers was his walk rate, as he issued eight free passes.

2025 Birmingham Barons Players of the Week

William Bergolla (April 7-13)
Tyler Schweitzer (April 14-20)
Wilfred Veras (April 21-27)
Caden Connor (April 28-May 4)

Winston-Salem Dash

Record 2-4 (last week), 9-18 (overall)

Dash Player of the Week

Jeral Perez .292/.333/.792, 24 at-bats

Braden Montgomery .333/.462/.524, 21 at-bats,
Sam Antonacci .348/.423/.609, 23 at-bats
Cole McConnell .583/.688/.667, 12 at-bats
Samuel Zavala .357/.357/.643, 14 at-bats

Tanner McDougal 2 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Jake Bockenstedt 4 2⁄3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Lucas Gordon 11 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 12 K
Tommy Vail 4 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Mark McLaughlin 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 10 K
Frankeli Arias 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Phil Fox 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Winston-Salem won its first two games against Greensboro (19-8), and it looked like they might pull off an unlikely series victory. However, Greensboro came back to win the series after taking the last four games. Despite dropping another series and falling to 9-18, the Dash still have a +1 run differential.

Jeral Perez, 20, had a monster week, launching four homers and driving in eight. Largely thanks to those home runs, Perez posted a 1.125 OPS, and he was a major catalyst for the Dash offense. Perez is No. 19 on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 White Sox prospects, and based on the way he is playing, he appears to be underrated. Perez is primarily a second baseman, but he also plays shortstop. Given his age and position, Perez is off to one of the best starts in the organization. Overall, Perez has a .919 OPS, and his stock is looking up.

Cole McConnell also had a huge week, but given that he only appeared in four games and only drove in a pair of runs, Perez had a larger impact. Sam Antonacci remained hot, and Samuel Zavala had his best week of the season by far. Meanwhile, Braden Montgomery’s first week after being promoted went well.

2025 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Week
Jake Bockenstedt (April 7-13)
Lucas Gordon (April 14-20)
Sam Antonacci (April 21-27)
Jeral Perez (April 28-May 4)

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Record 5-1 (last week) 16-11 (overall)

Cannon Ballers Player of the Week

Miguel Santos .500/.550/.778, 18 at-bats

Javier Mogollón .368/.538/.579, 4-for-5 stolen bases, 19 at-bats
Calvin Harris .438/.500/.625, 16 at-bats
George Wolkow .385/.412/.385, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 13 at-bats
Lyle Miller-Green .278/.409/.500, 18 at-bats

Christian Oppor 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K
Ricardo Brizuela 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Luis Reyes 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Justin Sinibaldi 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Jack Young 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

The Cannon Ballers had another good week, winning five of six against Augusta (14-13).

Miguel Santos, 24, played in his first five games of the 2025 season, and he wasted no time making an impact. Santos went 9-for-18 with a homer, two doubles, and two walks en route to a 1.328 OPS. Santos is primarily a second baseman, but he also plays shortstop and third base, so he provides some defensive flexibility. Time will tell if Santos can continue crushing it, and given he is older than most players at this level, he will have to. However, regardless, this was a fantastic start for Santos.

Pitchers Christian Oppor and Jack Young could hardly have been any better, as they combined to allow zero runs on two hits in 10 innings.

2025 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Week

Jordan Sprinkle (April 7-13)
Caleb Bonemer (April 14-20)
Jordan Sprinkle (April 21-27)
Miguel Santos (April 28-May 4)