Charlotte Knights
Record 4-2 (last week), 26-25 (first half), 26-25 (overall)
Knights Players of the Week
LaMonte Wade Jr. .313/.429/.625, 1-for-1 stolen bases, 16 at-bats
Korey Lee .313/.313/.500, 16 at-bats
Mario Camilletti .385/.500/.385, 13 at-bats
Rikuu Nishida .273/.393/.273, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 22 at-bats (Promoted to Chicago on May 24)
Braden Montgomery .100/.182/.200, 26 at-bats
Jacob Gonzalez .250/.308/.375, 24 at-bats
Kyle Teel Did not play (right knee, expected to miss 3-6 weeks)
William Bergolla Jr. Did not play (7-day IL from shin bruise)
Hagen Smith 3 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 K
Jonathan Cannon 10 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 7 BB, 10 K
Shane Murphy 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Tyler Gilbert 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
David Sandlin 4 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Shane Smith Did not play (7-day IL, expected to miss a couple of weeks due to a right rotator cuff strain)
Tanner McDougal Did not play (7-day IL, will be shut down for several weeks due to a flexor strain)
After going 3-3 for three straight weeks, the Knights went 4-2 in Gwinnett against the Stripers (28-23) to climb above .500.
For the second time in three weeks, LaMonte Wade Jr. was the Knight of the Week. Wade, 32, went 5-for-16 with a homer, two doubles, a stolen base, and four walks, as he consistently found ways to reach base. In fact, he wins this award despite being ejected from Sunday’s game for protesting an obviously wrong foul/fair call that ended in a double play call against Charlotte!
Overall, Wade is slashing .259/.423/.446 (125 wRC+) in 42 games, all with the Knights. Incredibly, his OBP for this week was only slightly higher than his season OBP. Wade primarily plays first base, but he can also play outfield, so in addition to his ability to reach base, he offers some roster flexibility.
Although Rikuu Nishida is not our Knight of the Week, it is worth mentioning that he earned a promotion to the White Sox. This promotion was announced on Sunday afternoon, and it is well-deserved. Nishida, 25, has been an on-base machine, slashing .323/.449/.384 (129 wRC+) in 44 games (33 with the Knights, 11 with the Barons). On top of that, Nishida is 15-for-19 in stolen base attempts. Nishida is primarily a second baseman, but he also has some experience in all three outfield spots. Nishida, a 5´6´´ player from Osaka, Japan, does not have much power, but he has found many other ways of making a positive impact on the field. Congratulations to Nishida on the promotion, and it will be exciting to see him play in the majors.
2026 Charlotte Knights Players of the Week
Korey Lee (March 27-April 5)
Oliver Dunn (April 6-12)
Shane Smith (April 13-19)
Jarred Kelenic (April 20-26)
Oliver Dunn (April 27-May 3)
LaMonte Wade Jr. (May 4-10)
Jacob Gonzalez (May 11-17)
LaMonte Wade Jr. (May 18-24)
Birmingham Barons
Record 0-5 (last week), 16-28 (first half), 16-28 (overall)
Barons Player of the Week
Alec Makarewicz .409/.458/.955, 22 at-bats
Colby Shelton .045/.125/.045, 22 at-bats
Jordan Sprinkle .389/.421/.667, 5-for-5 stolen bases, 18 at-bats
Calvin Harris .333/.500/.667, 12 at-bats
Jorge Corona .375/.444/1.000, eight at-bats
Jason Matthews .429/.556/1.286, seven at-bats
Samuel Zavala .000/.200/.000, four at-bats (Was on the Temporary Inactive List for most of the week)
Lucas Gordon 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K
Jackson Kelley 4 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Luke Bell 3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Connor McCullough 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Jake Palisch 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 1 K
The Barons are having a tough time, and they find themselves in the cellar of the Southern League. This week, they got swept in Biloxi against the Shuckers (22-21) to fall 12 games worse than .500.
Infielder Alec Makarewicz, 25, was a diamond in the rough for the Barons, finishing 9-for-22 with three homers, a triple, a double, and two walks for a 1.413 OPS. Makarewicz has displayed plenty of power during his 32 games with the Barons, slashing .242/.324/.548 (124 wRC+) with 10 homers. Makarewicz has plenty of experience at first base and third base, and he is getting lots of playing time at both positions this year.
2026 Birmingham Barons Players of the Week
Samuel Zavala (April 6-12)
Braden Montgomery (April 13-19)
Alec Makarewicz (April 20-26)
Wilfred Veras (April 27-May 3)
Jake Palisch (May 4-10)
Wilfred Veras (May 11-17)
Alec Makarewicz (May 18-24)
Winston-Salem Dash
Record 3-3 (last week), 26-19 (first half), 26-19 (overall)
Dash Player of the Week
George Wolkow .522/.577/1.043, 23 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .200/.333/.350, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 20 at-bats
Ely Brown .316/.409/.421, 19 at-bats
Kyle Lodise .250/.276/.500, 28 at-bats
Grant Magill .385/.385/.692, 13 at-bats
Boston Smith .211/.444/.526, 19 at-bats
Justin Sinibaldi 3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Jack Young 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Grant Umberger 4 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Gabe Davis 3 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Drew McDaniel 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Mathias LaCombe 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
After an excellent, 5-1 series last week, the Dash came back down to earth a bit with a series split in Greensboro against the Grasshoppers (28-17).
Outfielder George Wolkow, 20, went on an absolute tear, going 12-for-23 with two homers, two triples, two doubles, three walks, and 12 RBIs. In 42 games this season, all with the Dash, Wolkow is slashing .255/.339/.459 (106 wRC+). Just this week, Wolkow, who primarily plays right field, increased his season OPS from .657 to .798; things had not been so easy for him in 2026, but he turned it around in a big way in Greensboro. Wolkow, who is from Downers Grove, is still quite young, so he has plenty of time to iron out his weaknesses while still remaining a valuable prospect. A week ago, this type of week seemed to be out of the realm of possibility, but this series shows that Wolkow has plenty of potential. Now, it is a matter of being more consistent and showing that he can be an above-average hitter on a regular basis.
2026 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Week
Caleb Bonemer (April 6-12)
Colby Shelton (April 13-19)
Colby Shelton (April 20-26)
Caleb Bonemer (April 27-May 3)
Colby Shelton (May 4-10)
Boston Smith (May 11-17)
George Wolkow (May 18-24)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Record 6-0 (last week), 24-21 (first half), 24-21 (overall)
Cannon Ballers Player of the Week
Riley Eikhoff 13 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 11 K
Billy Carlson .333/.450/.467, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 15 at-bats
Ryan Galvan .273/.385/.636, 11 at-bats
Jaden Fauske .143/.333/.143, 14 at-bats
Javier Mogollón .176/.300/.588, 17 at-bats
James Taussig .400/.455/.800, 10 at-bats
Abraham Núñez .412/.545/.706, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 17 at-bats
Truman Pauley 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Trey Cooper 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Max Banks 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K
Blaine Wynk 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K
How about those Cannon Ballers? After getting off to an ice-cold April, when they went 8-16, they have completely turned it around and are suddenly better than .500. This week, the Cannon Ballers swept the Pelicans (18-25) in Kannapolis — the first such series sweep in Cannon Ballers history. As a bonus, while the Cubs did not win a game this week, and with this Kannapolis series, one of their minor league affiliates also endured a winless week.
Right-handed starter Riley Eikhoff, 24, played a large role in the sweep, as he delivered 13 shutout innings across two excellent outings. In addition, Eikhoff only allowed five hits, he struck out 11, and he only issued two walks. Overall, Myrtle Beach struggled immensely against Eikhoff, making this an incredibly encouraging week for the righthander. With these excellent performances, Eikhoff lowered his season ERA from 5.20 to 3.83, and suddenly a promotion to Winston-Salem is not out of the question.
2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Week
Stiven Flores (April 6-12)
Abraham Núñez (April 13-19)
Javier Mogollón (April 20-26)
Arxy Hernández (April 27-May 3)
Javier Mogollón (May 4-10)
Max Banks (May 11-17)
Riley Eikhoff (May 18-24)
ACL White Sox
Record 1-4 (last week), 5-10 (first half), 5-10 (overall)
Complex Sox Player of the Week
Yordani Soto .364/.462/1.000, 11 at-bats
Efren Teran .222/.263/.556, 18 at-bats
José M. Mendoza .273/.385/.636, 11 at-bats
Eduardo Herrera .200/.294/.267, 15 at-bats
Landon Hodge .182/.357/.182, 11 at-bats
Kendry García 4 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Jeremy González 3 1/3 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Orlando Suarez 3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Fabian Ysalla 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K
The Complex Sox had a tough week, only finding one win in five games. However, there were some strong individual performances, with shortstop Yordani Soto leading the way.
Soto, 17, was very reliable on both sides of the ball this week, providing solid defense at a premium position while posting a 1.462 OPS. Soto went 4-for-11 with a homer, a triple, two doubles, and two walks. Soto’s strong performance on Wednesday, when he tripled and scored a pair of runs, went a long way toward the team’s only victory of the week.
2026 Complex Sox Players of the Week
Alexander Albertus (May 4-10)
Eduardo Herrera (May 11-17)
Yordani Soto (May 18-24)