Billy Carlson is still searching for his first professional homer, partially because a thumb injury cost him a month and a half of his pursuit, but the combination of the muted impact and the absence caused him to fall out Baseball America's top-100 list back in May. He hasn't yet resurfaced there, but he only returned to action this past week.
That said, Keith Law chose an opposite tack with Carlson in his midseason top-100 revision. Despite the choppy start, Carlson rose from No. 66 preseason to No. 40 in July because he likes the overall skill set and the initial showing.
Carlson is an outstanding defensive shortstop, maybe a 70 glove with an 80 arm. He has real power, but bars his lead arm and loads his hands so deep that he doesn’t meet the ball out front enough to pull it. He missed about seven weeks with a torn thumb ligament, which isn’t going to help his power anyway, returning just a few days ago. The good news is that he’s hitting .275/.408/.373 with very low whiff and chase rates, not shocking for a California high school product but still a very positive sign. If the White Sox can clean up his swing, he might be a monster, with plus-plus defense, strong OBPs and 20+ homers a year. That’s No. 1 prospect in baseball stuff.
But what The Athletic gives, it also takes, as Carlson was listed as the White Sox's candidate in an article predicting one player traded by each team.
Carlson was Chicago’s first round draft pick in 2025, taken No. 10 overall as a high schooler out of California. The White Sox, notably, drafted another shortstop No. 1 overall earlier this month. That’s to say nothing of their current young shortstop, Colson Montgomery, who is a bona fide great player. So while you can never have too much shortstop talent in your system, parting with Carlson might make some sense to really bolster a club that could win the AL Central, and maybe even get a postseason bye. It’s been an incredible turnaround, and Chicago needs to capitalize at the deadline by adding some pitching.
Montgomery 6, Birmingham 4
- Boston Smith batted leadoff and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Caleb Bonemer was 1-for-4 with a double and a K.
- Anthony DePino went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Colby Shelton, 2-for-4 with two doubles.
- Lucas Gordon: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 54 of 81 pitches for strikes.
- Pierce George: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 11 of 23 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 1, Greensboro 0 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Jeral Perez went 1-for-2 with a walk.
- George Wolkow was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Max Banks: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 8 of 10 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 7, Winston-Salem 6 (Gmae 2, 7 innings)
- Jeral Perez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a strikeout.
- Christian Oppor: 0 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 5 of 20 pitches for strikes.
- Seth Keener: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 13 of 18 pitches for strikes.
Columbia 2, Kannapolis 1
- Jaden Fauske doubled, singled twice and walked once.
- Matthew Boughton was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Javier Mogollón, 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Nick McLain was 0-for-4.
- Alexander Albertus, 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and CS.
- Christian Gonzalez was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
ACL White Sox 4, ACL Dodgers 1 (7 innings)
- Landon Hodge went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Yordani Soto was 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base.
- Alejandro Cruz, 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
Notes:
*The ACL White Sox finished the season 19-41.
