Charlotte Knights

Record 4-2 (last week), 31-32 (overall)

Knights Player of the Week

Brooks Baldwin .375/.464/.833, 24 at-bats

Colson Montgomery .286/.444/1.143, seven at-bats
Jacob Amaya .400/.538/.800, 10 at-bats
Corey Julks .300/.364/.550, 20 at-bats
Tim Elko .500/.500/1.000, four at-bats (promoted to Chicago on June 4)
Bryan Ramos .263/.286/.632, 19 at-bats
Andrew Vaughn .235/.409/.412, 17 at-bats
Kyle Teel .400/.400/.500, 10 at-bats (promoted to Chicago on June 6)
Zach DeLoach .400/.400/.500, 10 at-bats
Andre Lipcius .375/.375/.750, 16 at-bats
Dru Baker .400/.438/.533, 15 at-bats

Tyler Schweitzer 1 2⁄3 IP, 8 R (6 ER), 8 H, 2 BB, 0 K
Nick Nastrini 2 2⁄3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Evan McKendry 9 IP, 11 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Chris Rodriguez 2 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
[redacted] 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K

The Knights dropped two of the first three before their offense picked up a ton of steam. Charlotte scored 31 runs in the final three games to take the series against Lehigh Valley, 4-2. Lehigh Valley is 43-20 with a run differential of +104, so it is highly unusual for them to lose a series like this. Well done to the Knights for this excellent performance against the team with the best record and run differential in the International League.

Brooks Baldwin, 24, was on top of his game this week, finishing 9-for-24 with three homers, two doubles, four walks, and six driven in. Baldwin started the season with the White Sox but was optioned to Charlotte on May 19. Baldwin slashed .215/.257/.331 (63 wRC+, -0.6 fWAR) with the White Sox, but it has been an entirely different story in Charlotte. Through 16 games with the Knights, Baldwin’s slash line is .343/.405/.716 (181 wRC+), so he has provided a huge spark. Overall, Baldwin’s performance at the MLB level has not been overly impressive through 77 games. However, given the way Baldwin is swinging the bat now, he might not be waiting much longer for another chance.

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)
Jason Matthews (May 5-11)
Andre Lipcius (May 12-18)
Kyle Teel (May 19-25)
Jacob Amaya (May 26-June 1)
Brooks Baldwin (June 2-8)

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Birmingham Barons

Record 3-3 (last week), 31-25 (overall)

Barons Player of the Week

Jake Palisch 12 IP, 4 R (0 ER), 13 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Rikuu Nishida .188/.435/.188, 16 at-bats
Jacob Gonzalez .286/.385/.381, 21 at-bats
Caden Connor .333/.440/.381, 21 at-bats
Ryan Galanie .250/.269/.250, 24 at-bats
Shawn Goosenberg .300/.385/.300, 10 at-bats

Noah Schultz 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Shane Murphy 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Grant Taylor 3 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Tommy Vail 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K
Riley Gowens 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Dalton Roach 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Hagen Smith Did not play (on the seven-day injured list)

In a week with a lot of quality pitching, the Barons split the series against Rocket City (21-34). The Barons scored 23 runs and only allowed 15 in six games.

Starter Jake Palisch, 26, lowered his ERA even further, and it now sits at 0.77 through 47 innings. This week, Palisch pitched 12 innings across two starts, and although he allowed four runs, none of them were earned. Impressively, Palisch has still only allowed one home run all season. That low of a home run rate is very unlikely to be sustainable, but his ability to force weak contact is much improved from last year.

Entering this season, given the immense amount of talent on the Barons pitching staff, there was not much focus on Palisch. However, the southpaw is assertively putting himself in the picture.

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)
Ryan Galanie (May 5-11)
Riley Gowens (May 12-18)
Jacob Gonzalez (May 19-25)
William Bergolla (May 26-June 1)
Jake Palisch (June 2-8)

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Winston-Salem Dash

Record 3-3 (last week), 21-36 (overall)

Dash Player of the Week

Samuel Zavala .600/.652/.900, 20 at-bats

Braden Montgomery .333/.407/.417, 24 at-bats
Jeral Perez .409/.458/.591, 22 at-bats
Jackson Appel .500/.625/.500, 12 at-bats
Alec Makarewicz .222/.417/.667, nine at-bats
Sam Antonacci .417/.611/.833, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 12 at-bats

Lucas Gordon 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Frankeli Arias 7 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 4 K
Tanner McDougal 4 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 6 BB, 6 K
Mark McLaughlin 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Christian Oppor 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Vince Vannelle 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K

This marks the third consecutive 3-3 week for the Winston-Salem Dash. This series appeared to be going very wrong, with the Dash only scoring a total of five runs in the first three games. However, they picked it up and won the final three games to split the series against Asheville (25-32).

I am delighted to announce that outfielder Samuel Zavala, 20, has decisively won his first weekly award of the season. Zavala went 12-for-20 with two homers, three walks, and six RBIs. No matter how this is framed, there is no denying that this was a monster week for Zavala, who is slashing .251/.336/.395 (112 wRC+) overall.

Zavala’s walk rate of 11.0% is lower than it was in 2024 (17.8%), but there is plenty of upside to his more aggressive approach. Zavala is still walking and getting on base plenty, his batting average is 64 points better, and his slugging percentage is 94 points better than last year. Zavala’s biggest need for improvement from 2024 was the ability to make sharp contact, and he often displayed that ability within San Diego’s system. This was a major reason why he was one of the best Padres best prospects at the time of the Dylan Cease trade. Despite his young age, Zavala plummeted in many prospect rankings after his .187/.340/.301 season in 2024. This April, the downward trend continued, as Zavala’s numbers (.171/.263/.271) were very disappointing. However, recently, something seems to have clicked, and he was firing on all cylinders this week.

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)
Braden Montgomery (May 5-11)
Lucas Gordon (May 12-18)
Jordan Sprinkle (May 19-25)
Tanner McDougal (May 26-June 1)
Samuel Zavala (June 2-8)

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Record 4-2 (last week) 31-26 (overall)

Cannon Ballers Player of the Week

Lyle Miller-Green .412/.545/.647, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 17 at-bats

Ryan Burrowes .333/.353/.533, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 15 at-bats
George Wolkow .421/.500/.579, 19 at-bats
Ronny Hernandez .267/.421/.333, 15 at-bats
Mikey Kane .438/.500/.500, 16 at-bats
Javier Mogollón .227/.320/.364, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 22 at-bats
T.J. McCants .313/.450/.313, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 16 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .118/.333/.294, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 17 at-bats

Kaleb Sophy 4 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Ricardo Brizuela 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Seth Keener 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 0 BB, 9 K
Grant Umberger 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K
Luis Reyes 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K

The Cannon Ballers finished strong, coming from behind to walk it off on Sunday to seal the series. Kannapolis took four out of six against Myrtle Beach (20-35).

It was a fantastic week for the big bats, as Lyle Miller-Green narrowly edged out George Wolkow for the weekly award. Miller-Green collected his first award of the season by finishing 7-for-17 with a homer, a double, five walks, and a stolen base in his only attempt. Miller-Green, 24, is slashing .232/.370/.391 (120 wRC+), and he has been a boom-and-bust type of hitter. To move up in the system, Miller-Green will need to be more consistent. However, when he is swinging a hot bat, there are very few players who are more enjoyable to watch.

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)
Justin Sinibaldi (May 5-11)
George Wolkow (May 12-18)
Grant Umberger (May 19-25)
Caleb Bonemer (May 26-June 1)
Lyle Miller-Green (June 2-8)

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ACL White Sox

Record 3-2 (last week) 13-12 (overall)

Complex Sox Player of the Week

Mason Dinesen .476/.476/.619, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 21 at-bats

Grant Smith .316/.409/.526, 19 at-bats
Albertson Asigen .364/.467/.636, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 11 at-bats
Adrian Gil .286/.304/.333, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 21 at-bats
D’Angelo Tejada .357/.471/.643, 0-for-1 stolen bases, 14 at-bats

Jordany Chirinos 1 2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Fabian Ysalla 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Reudis Diaz 3 1⁄3 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K
Mathias LaCombe 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Gil Luna 2 2⁄3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K

For the third consecutive week, the ACL White Sox won three out of five, and they are finally above .500.

Shortstop Mason Dinesen, 26, was an extremely reliable player, finishing 10-for-21 with three doubles and three stolen bases without getting caught. Dinesen’s best performance was on Friday, when he went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.

Starting pitcher Mathias LaCombe, 22, was also dominant in his start. LaCombe made about as much of an impact in three innings as he could have made, striking out five without allowing any hits.

2025 ACL White Sox Players of the Week

Bryce Willits (May 5-11)
Stiven Flores (May 12-18)
Fabian Ysalla (May 19-25)
Adrian Gil (May 26-June 1)
Mason Dinesen (June 2-8)

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DSL White Sox

Record 2-2 (last week) 2-2 (overall)

DSL Sox Player of the Week

Frank Mieses .417/.563/.750, 12 at-bats

Yordani Soto .455/.538/.545, 4-for-4 stolen bases, 11 at-bats
Hendry Alcala .250/.500/.500, eight at-bats
Eduardo Herrera .125/.563/.125, eight at-bats
Christian Gonzalez .333/.636/.500, 1-for-1 stolen bases, six at-bats

Yobal Rodriguez 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Reinder Gomez 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K
Igor Escobar 2 2⁄3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Darlyn Amanzar 2 IP, 4 R (0 ER), 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K

The DSL White Sox opened their season by winning two of their first four games.

Outfielder Frank Mieses, 17, made a very successful professional debut. Mieses played in all four games and collected at least one hit in all of them. On Saturday, Mieses picked up four RBIs, three of which came on a three-run homer. Well done to Mieses on getting off to such a fast start to his professional career.

Shortstop Yordani Soto, 16, also made a positive impact, going 5-for-11 with two walks and a double. Soto was also a menace on the base paths, stealing four stolen bases without getting caught.

2025 DSL White Sox Players of the Week

Frank Mieses (June 2-8)

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