Charlotte Knights
May record 16-11; Overall record 30-27
Knights Player of the Month
Jacob Gonzalez .344/.438/.771, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 4-for-5 stolen bases, 96 at-bats (promoted to Chicago on May 30)
Mario Camilletti .415/.547/.677, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 65 at-bats Rikuu Nishida .347/.480/.387, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 75 at-bats (promoted to Chicago on May 25) Braden Montgomery .286/.375/.476, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 84 at-bats LaMonte Wade Jr. .338/.500/.603, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 84 at-bats Korey Lee .307/.342/.573, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 4-for-5
stolen bases, 75 at-bats
Hagen Smith 6.52 ERA, 19 1/3 IP, 15 BB, 25 K
Tyler Schweitzer 5.23 ERA, 10 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 7 K
Ben Peoples 5.73 ERA, 11 IP, 11 BB, 15 K
David Sandlin 0.75 ERA, 12 IP, 6 BB, 17 K (promoted to Chicago on May 26)
Shane Murphy 6.67 ERA, 27 IP, 4 BB, 19 K
Jonathan Cannon 4.85 ERA, 26 IP, 15 BB, 27 K
After a mediocre first month of the season, the Knights climbed above .500 with a solid performance in May. Surprisingly, even though Charlotte is not far above .500, their run differential (+61) is the best out of all 20 teams in the International League.
Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, 23, got off to a great start in April, and he did not slow down at all in May. Gonzalez has exceeded expectations more than perhaps anybody in Minor League Baseball this season. Gonzalez has a 1.087 OPS in Triple-A, a number that increased in May, when he posted a sky-high 1.209 OPS . Across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A in 2024 and 2025, his overall OPS was .651. During 264 games across those two seasons, Gonzalez hit 16 homers. In the first two months of 2026, however, Gonzalez has already hit 19. Finally, with Murakami suffering an unfortunate hamstring injury that is expected to result in him missing 4-6 weeks, Gonzalez earned the promotion to the White Sox. No matter how we look at his numbers, Gonzalez has been on fire for the Knights all season, and it will be interesting to see how he handles the highest level.
2026 Charlotte Knights Players of the Month
Jacob Gonzalez (March-April)
Jacob Gonzalez (May)
Birmingham Barons
May record 9-17; Overall record 19-31
Barons Player of the Month
Anthony DePino .311/.386/.508, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 61 at-bats (promoted from Winston-Salem on May 12)
Samuel Zavala .151/.326/.178, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 6-for-9 stolen bases, 73 at-bats
Jordan Sprinkle .286/.312/.400, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 13-for-14 stolen bases, 70 at-bats
Alec Makarewicz .198/.282/.490, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 96 at-bats
Jacob Burke .301/.341/.458, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 10-for-11 stolen bases, 83 at-bats
Jake Palisch 3.58 ERA, 27 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 11 K
Lucas Gordon 3.96 ERA, 25 IP, 14 BB, 31 K
Connor McCullough 6.05 ERA, 19 1/3 IP, 4 BB, 20 K
Jairo Iriarte 1.80 ERA, 10 IP, 3 BB, 9 K
Nick Altermatt 1.69 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 14 K
The Barons remained cold in February, and they now have the worst record and run differential (-42) among the eight teams in the Southern League.
Despite the cold month, first baseman Anthony DePino arrived in Birmingham after a promotion from Winston-Salem, and he provided the Barons with a hot bat. DePino, 23, got off to a fantastic start in Double-A, which is a common road block for upcoming prospects. DePino started the season with Winston-Salem, where he slashed .265/.380/.479 (125 wRC+), but incredibly, he has been even better after being promoted.
2026 Birmingham Barons Players of the Month
Braden Montgomery (April)
Anthony DePino (May)
Winston-Salem Dash
May record 15-12; Overall record 30-21
Dash Player of the Month
Boston Smith .265/.429/.485, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 5-for-6 stolen bases, 68 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .225/.411/.425, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 5-for-8 stolen bases, 80 at-bats
Ryan Burrowes .237/.330/.355, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 8-for-10 stolen bases, 93 at-bats
Ely Brown .288/.435/.384, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7-for-8 stolen bases, 73 at-bats
Kyle Lodise .213/.306/.436, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 6-for-9 stolen bases, 94 at-bats
George Wolkow .256/.337/.444, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 90 at-bats
Drew McDaniel 2.29 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 9 BB, 18 K
Grant Umberger 4.87 ERA, 20 1/3 IP, 5 BB, 19 K
Justin Sinibaldi 7.65 ERA, 20 IP, 7 BB, 19 K
Liam Paddack 6.06 ERA, 16 1/3 IP, 11 BB, 26 K
Gabe Davis 3.52 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 24 K
After getting off to a fast start in April, the Dash slowed down slightly, but they still went above .500 in May and are in second place in the South division of the South Atlantic League.
Catcher and outfielder Boston Smith, 23, has been one of the most productive players in the organization this season. Smith, who is primarily a catcher, has provided value on both sides of the ball. Smith started the season with Kannapolis and was promoted on April 14. Since then, Smith has not slowed down at all after arriving in Winston-Salem. In May, Smith led the team in OPS among players with more than 40 at-bats, and he was even a threat on the base paths. Overall, with Winston-Salem, Smith is slashing .286/.430/.590 (158 wRC+). The White Sox selected Smith in the sixth round in last year’s draft, and so far, he is outperforming expectations by a wide margin.
2026 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Month
Colby Shelton (April)
Boston Smith (May)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
May record 18-9; Overall record 26-25
Cannon Ballers Player of the Month
Max Banks 1.06 ERA, 34 IP, 2 BB, 27 K
Stiven Flores .266/.319/.375, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 64 at-bats
Jaden Fauske .213/.375/.333, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 7-for-10 stolen bases, 75 at-bats
Billy Carlson .293/.425/.379, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5-for-6 stolen bases, 58 at-bats
Javier Mogollón .293/.326/.549, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 10-for-11 stolen bases, 82 at-bats
Abraham Núñez .267/.371/.400, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 8-for-12 stolen bases, 90 at-bats
Riley Eikhoff 1.85 ERA, 34 IP, 6 BB, 32 K
Caedmon Parker 4.30 ERA, 23 IP, 11 BB, 24 K
Truman Pauley 4.26 ERA, 19 IP, 12 BB, 30 K
Trey Cooper 3.07 ERA, 14 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 15 K
Well, I certainly did not see this coming. After an 8-16 start to the season, the Cannon Ballers have completely turned it around and are now above .500.
I am much less surprised about the success of Kannapolis starter Max Banks, who has been the Cannon Baller of the Month in April and May. Banks, 23 posted a 1.06 ERA in 34 innings, and he struck out 27 while only walking two in May. Overall, Banks has a 1.50 ERA this season to lead a strong Kannapolis pitching staff that is first out of 12 Carolina League teams with a 3.68 ERA. Kannapolis has a somewhat solid lead over Fredericksburg (3.85) and Hickory (4.01), the next-best teams in terms of ERA. The White Sox selected Banks in the 14th round of last year’s draft, and he has been extremely difficult for opposing hitters to solve. Well done to Banks, who was an integral part of the Cannon Ballers’ big month.
2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Month
Max Banks (April)
Max Banks (May)
ACL White Sox
May record 7-14; Overall record 7-14
Complex Sox Player of the Month
Kendry García 0.60 ERA, 15 IP, 8 BB, 17 K
Efren Teran .302/.318/.535, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 43 at-bats
José M. Mendoza .275/.326/.525, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 40 at-bats
Eduardo Herrera .250/.385/.375, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 32 at-bats
Yordani Soto .211/.286/.456, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 57 at-bats
Cesar Familia 1.00 IP, 9 IP, 5 BB, 7 K
Jeremy González 2.31 ERA, 11 2/3 IP, 5 BB, 17 K
Carlton Perkins 2.57 ERA, 7 IP, 6 BB, 12 K
Fidel Montero 9.00 ERA, 13 IP, 9 BB, 16 K
Reinder Gómez 5.06 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 13 K
The Complex Sox opened their season on May 2, and they struggled quite a bit during their first month of the season. They find themselves in the basement of the Arizona Complex League West, as they are 7-14 with a -35 run differential.
Despite the team’s slow start, right-handed pitcher Kendry García, 22, was on top of his game. García led the team in innings pitched (15), and he was outstanding during his time on the mound. García only allowed one earned run, and opposing hitters slashed .082/.220/.102 against him. García’s only slight issue was control, as he averaged 4.8 walks per nine innings. However, the walks did not matter much, as he pitched around them by only allowing four hits. García also struck out 10.2 per nine, and he did not allow any homers.
2026 Complex Sox Players of the Month
Kendry García (May)
