The Arizona Fall League season has come and gone, but a trio of White Sox prospects left a lasting impression.
Sam Antonacci, the organization’s No. 11 prospect, emerged as one of the league’s biggest standouts. The 22-year-old infielder led all players in both hits and stolen bases.
Across 19 games, Antonacci collected 28 hits, including three home runs, while driving in 14 runs and swiping 11 bases. He finished with a .378 average and a robust 1.046 OPS over 93 plate appearances, boosted by an impressive 15 walks against just 11 strikeouts.
The three home runs were particularly noteworthy for a player who hit just five during the regular season. Antonacci also logged 98 innings at second base, 26.2 at shortstop, and seven at third without committing an error.
The White Sox top-ranked prospect, Braden Montgomery, also turned in a strong Fall League season, reminding everyone why he’s considered a Top-40 talent in baseball.
Montgomery missed the start of the AFL season after an errant pitch fractured his right foot in September. The injury cut short an impressive first professional campaign in which the 22-year-old hit .270 with an .804 OPS across 121 games between Low-A Kannapolis, High-A Winston-Salem, and Double-A Birmingham.
But he returned to the lineup with a bang, reaching base three times in his first five plate appearances, with a single, a pair of walks and two stolen bases. By the end of the Fall League season, he had hit .366 with a 1.161 OPS in 12 games.
His hot stretch included eight extra base hits, 11 RBIs, and 13 walks against 11 strikeouts. Despite missing the start of the AFL season, Montgomery still managed to rank third in the league in on-base percentage (.527), fifth in doubles (6), sixth in slugging percentage (.634), and seventh in batting average.
Caden Connor, who does not appear among the White Sox top 30 prospects, quietly put together one of the more impressive under-the-radar performances this fall. Connor slashed .359/.494/.391, collecting 23 hits, scoring 15 runs, and stealing eight bases across 19 games. He also showed excellent plate discipline, drawing 18 walks against just nine strikeouts in 83 plate appearances.
It’s an encouraging step forward for Connor, who has been rapidly climbing the organizational ladder. He opened the year in High-A Winston-Salem and finished it in Triple-A Charlotte, continuing to trend upward as a potential sleeper prospect in the system.
