The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are one of the best teams in the minor leagues, as they finished the first half of the minor league season with the best record in their league, as they had a 41-25 record with an outstanding +138 run differential, which beat the second place team by over 85 runs.
This has been a trend in the White Sox system, as the Birmingham Barons, the White Sox AA affiliate, finished first in their respective league as well. For the Cannon Ballers, they have gotten help from a lot of different players, as many players on the team are having fantastic seasons.
Let’s take a look at who’s helped them with this fantastic season thus far:
George Wolkow
White Sox fans may be familiar with Wolkow, as he was the hometown kid they chose in the 7th round of the 2023 draft. He should have gone much earlier, but Wolkow reclassified and was able to enter the draft a year early. The White Sox were able to cut him a strong deal in the 7th round and he chose to sign for a rich signing bonus. This was a steal for the White Sox, as Wolkow would have been a first round pick in this year’s draft.
So far Wolkow is everything as advertised, as he has had a very good start to his minor league career as an 18 year old.
In just 20 games, he has hit five homeruns, has seven RBIs, and drawn seven walks. He started off slowly, as he is significantly younger than everyone at this level, but he has caught fire as of late and is hitting .250/.333./.486. This is an impressive stat line for anyone, but especially for an 18 year old in his first 20 minor league games.
As a lefty, Wolkow showcases an absurd amount of power and it has translated to low-A. If he keeps this up, he could potentially hit 15-20 homruns in his first affiliated season, which would be an impressive feat.
Wolkow will need to spend some significant time in the minors, but he could be featured on many top-100 lists very shortly. He will be a fun name to watch as he navigates through the minor leagues on his way to Chicago.
Aldrin Batista
The Cannon Ballers have a fantastic staff and there were plenty of players worthy of covering in this article, but Batista has been one of the best ones.
So far on the season, Batista has a 3.32 ERA over 12 starts. In 59 innings, he has 64 strikeouts and a solid 1.21 WHIP. Batters are only hitting .209 against him, which is very impressive.
Since he was acquired by the White Sox from the Dodgers, he has played extremely well. He is just 21 so he currently leads the next wave of White Sox arms that will make their way through their farm system. He will be a name to monitor, as he is easily one of the most talented arms in the system.
Batista could see a promotion to Winston Salem after the trade deadline when a lot of guys are shuffled around, but he definitely deserves it much sooner.
The Cannon Ballers hold a lot of talent, so they will be a team to monitor as the season goes on, as they are a lock for the playoffs in their league.
