Charlotte Knights
Record 2-4 (last week), 9-11 (first half), 9-11 (overall)
Knights Players of the Week
Shane Smith 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Korey Lee .100/.143/.200, 20 at-bats
Caden Connor .308/.471/.308, 13 at-bats
Michael Turner .364/.364/.818, 11 at-bats
Rikuu Nishida .182/.308/.455, 11 at-bats (promoted from Birmingham on April 17)
Jacob Gonzalez .208/.259/.333, 24 at-bats
Jarred Kelenic .263/.417/.526, 19 at-bats
William Bergolla Jr. Did not play (7-day IL from shin bruise)
Tanner McDougal 4
1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K Tyler Schweitzer 5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K Doug Nikhazy 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K Hagen Smith 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
The Knights took a step back, dropping the first four against Jacksonville (11-10) before salvaging the series by winning the last two games.
Starting pitcher Shane Smith, 26, provided an excellent start, delivering five shutout innings and allowing only one hit. It is surprising to see Smith in this article, as most of the South Side Sox staff (including me) predicted that Smith would be the most valuable White Sox pitcher this season. However, Smith’s first three MLB starts of the season did not go smoothly (10.80 ERA, 5.64 FIP), so he is working through struggles in Charlotte. This start was certainly a positive development, as the Jumbo Shrimp did not stand a chance against Smith. Smith’s five shutout innings played a large role in breaking Charlotte’s losing streak, as the Knights went on to win by a score of 2-0 on Saturday.
Smith had a breakout season in 2025, as the former Rule 5 pick was named to the American League All-Star team, posting a 3.81 ERA and 2.2 fWAR. The beginning of the 2026 season did not go as Smith would have hoped, but if he builds on the momentum from Saturday, he will not be in Charlotte for long.
2026 Charlotte Knights Players of the Week
Korey Lee & Oliver Dunn (April 6-12)
Shane Smith (April 13-19)
Birmingham Barons
Record 3-3 (last week), 6-9 (first half), 6-9 (overall)
Barons Player of the Week
Braden Montgomery .600/.640/1.200, 20 at-bats
Rikuu Nishida .333/.571/.444, nine at-bats, 3-for-3 stolen bases (promoted to Charlotte on April 17)
Samuel Zavala .217/.308/.478, 23 at-bats
Alec Makarewicz .400/.445/1.000, 10 at-bats
Calvin Harris .333/.333/.400, 15 at-bats
Wilfred Veras .136/.160/.182, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 22 at-bats
Jeral Perez .050/.095/.200, 20 at-bats
Shane Murphy 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Jake Palisch 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Jackson Kelley 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Jairo Iriarte 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Mark McLaughlin 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K
The Barons recovered from a 1-5 week by splitting their road series against Rocket City (7-8).
How about Braden Montgomery? The talented outfielder turned 23 on Thursday, and he had an outstanding week, posting an off-the-charts 1.840 OPS. Montgomery, who primarily plays center, went 12-for-20 with a homer, five doubles, two triples, four walks, seven RBIs, and a stolen base, was firing on all cylinders. Montgomery is the top White Sox prospect according to us and to MLB Pipeline, and he showed why this week. Without Montgomery’s contributions, this would have been an entirely different series. On a side note, Garrett Crochet had a nightmarish start this week, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in 1 2/3 innings. Montgomery was part of the return from Boston in that trade, so this was a terrific week for that trade’s results.
2026 Birmingham Barons Player of the Week
Samuel Zavala (April 6-12)
Braden Montgomery (April 13-19)
Winston-Salem Dash
Record 5-1 (last week), 10-5 (first half), 10-5 (overall)
Dash Player of the Week
Colby Shelton .478/.571/1.043, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 23 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .211/.375/.632, 19 at-bats
Anthony DePino .364/.500/.727, 22 at-bats
Kyle Lodise .308/.625/.538, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 13 at-bats
Ryan Burrowes .261/.370/.348, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 23 at-bats
Justin Sinibaldi 3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Dylan Cumming 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K
Grant Umberger 4 IP, 8 ER, 12 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Jake Curtis 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Gabe Davis 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Drew McDaniel 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 2 K
The Dash had a terrific week, taking five out of six against Asheville (4-11) to climb to first place in the South Division.
Infielder Colby Shelton, 23, shattered all expectations this week, posting an otherworldly 1.614 OPS. Shelton finished 11-for-23 with three homers, two doubles, a triple, four walks, two stolen bases, and 14 RBIs. The Asheville pitching staff simply did not have any answers for Shelton. The White Sox selected Shelton in the sixth round last year out of the University of Florida. Shelton posted a disappointing slash line (.141/.243/.172, 31 wRC+) with Kannapolis in 27 games in 2025, but 2026 (.429/.509/.755) has been an entirely different story, to say the least. Shelton, who has experience at shortstop, third base, and second base, has been one of the farm system’s most surprising stories of the month.
2026 Winston-Salem Dash Player of the Week
Caleb Bonemer (April 6-12)
Colby Shelton (April 13-19)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Record 2-4 (last week), 4-11 (first half), 4-11 (overall)
Cannon Ballers Player of the Week
Abraham Núñez .421/.476/.684, 19 at-bats
Bryce Eblin .308/.438/.462, 13 at-bats
Stiven Flores .273/.333/.364, 11 at-bats
Javier Mogollón .250/.435/.563, 16 at-bats
Billy Carlson .167/.286/.292, 24 at-bats
James Taussig .333/.538/.778, nine at-bats
Rylan Galvan .200/.333/.600, 15 at-bats
Riley Eikhoff 8 IP, 9 R (6 ER), 11 H, 5 BB, 6 K
Caedmon Parker 4 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Truman Pauley 4 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 0 H, 5 BB, 5 K
Trey Cooper 3 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 5 K
Landen Payne 3 1/3 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Pierce George 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5 K
The Cannon Ballers stumbled a bit against Myrtle Beach (9-6), dropping four out of six to fall to seven games under .500.
Outfielder Abraham Núñez, 20, was extremely reliable for Kannapolis, going 8-for-19 with a homer, two doubles, and two walks to finish the week with a 1.160 OPS. Núñez primarily plays center field, which is one of the most premium positions on the field and generally does not require as much offense for a player to be valuable. As a result, the offense Núñez provided was an even larger bonus. Núñez opened the season as our No. 83 prospect, but in the early going, his stock is rising quickly.
2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Player of the Week
Stiven Flores (April 6-12)
Abraham Núñez (April 13-19)
