FriendlyNorthsider Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 (edited) Wolkow was always considered a project when the White Sox drafted him in the 7th in 2023 as a 17.5 year old. Hes still only 19.5 and I think all things considered he would be a top 40 pick in this years draft if he was eligible. I did a little write up earlier in the year expressing my optimism on him and the early returns are strong. When I was watching him, I saw a flawed player in the frame of a big league star. His legs are massive and he is incredibly athletic for a guy that is 6’7 240. He looks like Colston Loveland in a baseball uniform. What I didn’t like wasn’t just his swing and miss but also the pitches he was watching. He seemed to have issues with pitch recognition and at times looked overmatched. The goal for this year was to graduate A ball and to start 2026 in High A. To get a feel for how young he is, he has just 7Abs out of 250 against pitchers younger than him (6 ended in a hit). The season started off horribly. Wolkow was 9/68 (.132) in April with 1 homer and 23 strikeouts to 8 walks. It was certainly not a cause for panic as this guy is still young for the league and guys of his size tend to develop a bit slower. His .426 OPS left little room for optimism however. May was a slight improvement. He slashed .218/.297/.368 (.665 OPS) which was far more palatable, but his 30 strikeouts to 9 walks mirrored his poor performance in April’s. June has been another story. Wolkow is 19/56 (.339) with 4 homers and 14 strikeouts to 9 walks and has a 1.001 OPS. We’re seeing the K numbers get to where they need to be while the power and walks go up. He had a 123 wRC+ last year in A ball in 320 PAs so it’s hard to look at his 95 wRC+ in 250 PAs as a positive development. His .406 BABIP last year wasn’t going to be sustainable and quite frankly his 40.6% K-rate last year put a big damper on those numbers. The K rate is down to 26.8% this year and is 20.8% this month while having his best power month (.554 SLG) and walk rate (13.4%). Even in his excellent July last year, had a .553 SLG, 37.3% K Rate and 14.2% walk rate. Getting all 3 of those metrics in the right place was the goal this year, because success at the next level can’t rely on a .400+ BABIP. This month was his best as a pro outside of rookie ball and shows the bones of a great prospect on the cost of a lottery ticket. This is the exact player the Sox have been wanting to develop for years and I will be watching him as closely as any prospect in the system the rest of the year. You just don’t see 6’7 240 lefties come around often. I would have more concern about his pitch recognition if he was a 4 year SEC hitter that played high level high school ball in Florida or California. When Aaron Judge was his age he was a freshman in college with 2 homers in 187 ABs using a metal bat (.902 OPS) but still. This will take a lot of time and a lot of reps, but this month was a huge step in the right direction. The next challenge for him is lefties. Hes 9/44 (.205/.327.227) this year with 0 hrs and 19ks to 6 walks. In 2024 he was also 9/44 with 0 homers and in 2023 in rookie ball he was 1/10 with 0 homers. Thats starting to be a concerning sample. I think the Sox should do whatever they can during this season and off season to help him see more pitches against lefties. Simulated games, whatever you need to do. There are worse things than being a strong side platoon player, but he’s a guy that has time on his side to develop. Don’t platoon him until the bigs. Let the kid develop his approach and get reps. Edited June 26 by FriendlyNorthsider 4 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Do we have an EV numbers on him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxBlanco Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Fantastic summary. I’ve been following him closely this year as well, and the turnaround this past month has been awesome to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyNorthsider Posted July 3 Author Share Posted July 3 On 6/26/2025 at 2:29 PM, chitownsportsfan said: Do we have an EV numbers on him? I can’t find any other than those listed in articles showing pretty elite Max EV. My criticism going into the year was that he swings too hard. He needs to let his lower half and wrists do the work for him. Barreling and Launch Angle will carry him. in typical FriendlyNorthsider fashion, he’s 1/21 with 1 bb 1 single and 9SO since this post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.