Charlotte Knights
March/April record 14-16; Overall record 14-16
Knights Player of the Month
Jacob Gonzalez .291/.403/.573, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 103 at-bats
Oliver Dunn .277/.372/.438, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 7-for-8 stolen bases, 112 at-bats
Jarred Kelenic .202/.346/.464, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 7-for-7 stolen bases, 84 at-bats (promoted to Chicago on April 29)
Rikuu Nishida .347/.407/.408, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5-for-6 stolen bases, 49 at-bats (promoted from Birmingham on April 17)
Drew Romo .298/.385/.561, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 57 at-bats (promoted to Chicago on April 25)
Korey Lee .176/.279/.365, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 74 at-bats
Tanner McDougal 3.00 ERA, 24 IP, 13 BB, 27 K (placed on injured list on April 30 due to a flexor strain, will be shut down from throwing for a few weeks)
Hagen Smith 2.33 ERA, 19 1.3 IP, 13 BB, 29 K
Tyler Schweitzer 3.78 ERA, 16 2/3 IP, 4 BB, 15 K
Ben Peoples 0.59 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 7 BB, 17 K
Shane Smith 5.27 ERA, 13 2/3 IP, 8 BB, 18 K
Noah Schultz 1.29 ERA, 14 IP, 2 BB, 19 K (promoted to Chicago on April 14)
Jonathan Cannon 12.66 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 4 BB, 11 K
The Knights had an OK start to the season, and as of the end of April, they are 14-16 with a +13 run differential. Out of the 20 teams in the International League, the Knights are third in OPS (.800) and 13th in ERA (5.05).
Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, 23, is off to a terrific start. In addition to providing valuable defense at a premium position, Gonzalez posted a .976 OPS during the first month of the season. Gonzalez launched eight homers, which matches his home run total throughout all of 2025. In 2024, his season OPS was .650, and in 2025, it was .652. For someone whose OPS did not escape the mid-.600s, Gonzalez was one of the organization’s most pleasant surprises in April. The White Sox drafted Gonzalez in the first round in 2023, and his stock had fallen quite a bit since then. Entering this season, MLB Pipeline had him as the No. 24 White Sox prospect, and we had him at No. 23. However, given his performance in Triple-A, Gonzalez might get an opportunity in the majors sooner than many predicted.
2026 Charlotte Knights Players of the Month
Jacob Gonzalez (March-April)
Birmingham Barons
April record 10-14; Overall record 10-14
Barons Player of the Month
Braden Montgomery .310/.423/.575, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 87 at-bats
Samuel Zavala .267/.406/.488, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 86 at-bats
Adam Fogel .281/.359/.579, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 57 at-bats
Alec Makarewicz .304/.385/.609, 5-for-5 stolen bases, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 46 at-bats (promoted from Winston-Salem on April 17)
Rikuu Nishida .250/.434/.350, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 6-for-6 stolen bases, 40 at-bats (promoted to Charlotte on April 17)
Shane Murphy 3.99 ERA, 29 1/3 IP, 6 BB, 21 K
Jackson Kelley 1.65 ERA, 16 1/3 IP, 5 BB, 14 K
Connor McCullough 2.81 ERA, 16 IP, 6 BB, 16 K
Jairo Iriarte 2.84 ERA, 12 2/3 IP, 8 BB, 16 K
Christian Oppor 9.26 ERA, 11 2/3 IP, 14 BB, 10 K
Coming off back-to-back Southern League championships, the 2026 Barons are not as strong as they were during the past couple of seasons. However, there were some positives during a 10-14 month. Out of eight Southern League teams, the Barons are second in OPS (.757), but they are sixth in ERA (5.50).
Outfielder Braden Montgomery, 23, gave Birmingham’s offense a large boost. Montgomery, who is universally regarded as one of the South Siders’ top prospects, posted a sky-high .998 OPS. Montgomery has a 60 power tool and a 70 arm tool, per MLB Pipeline, and he made plenty of use of those abilities during an excellent month. At this rate, Montgomery is positioning himself for a promotion quite soon.
2026 Birmingham Barons Players of the Month
Braden Montgomery (April)
Winston-Salem Dash
April record 15-9; Overall record 15-9
Dash Player of the Month
Colby Shelton .378/.485/.720, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 5-for-6 stolen bases, 82 at-bats
Caleb Bonemer .284/.396/.750, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 2-for-2 stolen bases, 88 at-bats
Anthony DePino .253/.373/.458, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 3-for-3 stolen bases, 83 at-bats
Boston Smith .324/.432/.784, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 37 at-bats
Kyle Lodise .182/.438/.309, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 10-for-12 stolen bases, 55 at-bats
Dylan Cumming 5.73 ERA, 22 IP, 4 BB, 28 K
Grant Umberger 5.40 ERA, 21 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 22 K
Justin Sinibaldi 8.57 ERA, 21 IP, 11 BB, 20 K
Jake Curtis 1.50 ERA, 12 IP, 2 BB, 17 K
Gabe Davis 1.50 ERA, 12 IP, 5 BB, 9 K
The Dash posted the organization’s only winning record in April. There were plenty of positive developments in Winston-Salem, and it was difficult to decide on one Player of the Month. The Dash lapped the field in terms of OPS, leading the 12-team South Atlantic League; Winston-Salem’s OPS is .857, while Greensboro at No. 2 is quite a bit lower, at .788. By contrast, Winston-Salem’s ERA (5.17) was only 10th, but the offense largely carried the Dash to a comfortably winning record.
How did the Dash lead the league in OPS by such a wide margin? There are two people who deserve a special shout-out. Of course, we are familiar with Caleb Bonemer, 20, who plays third base and shortstop. Bonemer launched 11 homers en route to a 1.146 OPS, and he has shown no signs of slowing down since his breakout pro debut in 2025. Incredibly, however, he was not even the top Dash player in April. While Bonemer posted a 187 wRC+, Colby Shelton sits at 211! Shelton, 23, who plays second base and third base, simply could not be stopped. The White Sox selected Shelton last year in the sixth round, and he got off to a slow start with the Cannon Ballers. However, the infielder is already showing that he can handle a higher level than the one he struggled with in his first taste of professional baseball.
2026 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Month
Colby Shelton (April)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
April record 8-16; Overall record 8-16
Cannon Ballers Player of the Month
Max Banks 2.25 ERA, 20 IP, 4 BB, 23 K
Stiven Flores .379/.438/.414, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 58 at-bats
Jaden Fauske .276/.415/.408, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 6-for-7 stolen bases, 76 at-bats
Billy Carlson .233/.359/.314, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3-for-4 stolen bases, 86 at-bats
Ryan Galvan .244/.436/.610, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 41 at-bats
Javier Mogollón .238/.425/.381, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 9-for-10 stolen bases, 63 at-bats
Abraham Núñez .288/.350/.397, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 73 at-bats
Riley Eikhoff 5.82 ERA, 21 2/3 IP, 8 BB, 20 K
Caedmon Parker 4.12 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 21 K
Jackson Nove 2.51 ERA, 14 1/3 IP, 8 BB, 27 K
Pierce George 1.54 ERA, 11 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 15 K
The Cannon Ballers had the coldest start out of any team in the organization, winning only one-third of their games. Out of 12 teams in the Carolina League, Kannapolis was 10th in OPS (.704), but was better on the other side, posting the fifth-best ERA (4.44).
Kannapolis starter Max Banks, 22, played a sizable role in the pitching staff’s strong performance. Banks was second on the pitching staff with 20 innings pitched, and he was very effective. Banks tallied 23 strikeouts while only issuing four walks. Incredibly, opposing hitters had a .360 BABIP against Banks, so he was not exactly lucking his way into those impressive numbers. Overall, he provided reliable innings in the rotation, and April was a big step in the right direction for Banks, who the White Sox drafted in the 14th round last year.
2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Month
Max Banks (April)