2025 Charlotte Knights Preview

Some of the organization’s top position players start in Triple-A, providing offensive upside we haven’t seen there for awhile

Get ready for a turbulent 2025 season for the Charlotte Knights. As prospects get the call-up and are optioned between the Chicago White Sox and Triple-A affiliate team, it’s hard to identify a core group of players who will consistently play in both halves of the season.

The Knights played better last year than in 2023, but that isn’t saying much. Charlotte finished at the bottom of the International League East with a 33-41 record, but managed to improve to 35-38 in the second half. With several players expected to graduate to the majors at some point and reinforcements from Double-A expected but not guaranteed, it’s hard to say if the overall record will improve this year.

Charlotte welcomes several new coaching staff members this year. Former Double-A Birmingham manager and White Sox closer Sergio Santos will be the new manager for the Knights, and Ángel Rosario and Jim Rickon from last year’s Winston-Salem team join as the bench and hitting coaches. Scott Aldred, the new pitching coach, is the only external hire.

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The Rotation
Jairo Iriarte is back in the minors after a September stint with the Sox last year that saw him promoted straight from Double-A Birmingham. He appeared in six outings as a reliever and only allowed one earned run. Iriarte will make his first appearance with the Knights after holding a 3.75 ERA and restricting hitters to a .228 batting average while in the Barons rotation last year. He is ranked ninth among White Sox prospects on MLB Pipeline, seventh at South Side Sox.

Nick Nastrini’s command issues have landed him back in Charlotte. He had a 5.29 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over 85 innings with the Knights last year, and his pitching only got worse when he was called up. His slower pitch arsenal doesn’t do his control problems any favors, which usually results in too many walks.

Chris Rodriguez got the Opening Night start for the Knights, for reasons a bit puzzling. It could be supposed he would be the first/emergency call-up to the South Side for a spot start, but that really would make little sense. He is AAAA fodder at this point, and that is being generous.

Unlike Rodriguez, Justin Dunn is a legit MLB starter who came too late to the org and would get in the way of the “youth movement” to break camp with Chicago. He was fabulous in Cactus League play and stands a fair chance of cracking the White Sox rotation as needed; his fate will be determined by how well Iriarte and Nastrini throw, as they are vaunted prospects and higher priorities than Dunn.

Offseason minor league signing Owen White is the fourth arm in the rotation, despite his swingman role at his most recent stop, for Triple-A Round Rock (Texas Rangers). Somebody’s gotta fill out the rotation, right?

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The Bullpen
Adisyn Coffey, while surprisingly not in any serious consideration this spring for a bullpen spot on the South Side, takes sole possession of the closer role in Charlotte. If he hits the ground running, Coffey could be a rising star pick not only for a role with the White Sox, but a shot at closing.

Second among promising righties in Charlotte is UDFA Chase Plymell, who has been grinding away in the White Sox system since 2021. He was fantastic in 2024, splitting time between Birmingham and Charlotte and pitching even better for the Knights than the Barons.

Justin Anderson had a great season in Charlotte but didn’t earn a single save out of his six opportunities with the White Sox last year, while allowing 26 earned runs. Although he only collected two losses and his 4.39 ERA wasn’t terrible, past history informs why Anderson didn’t make Chicago’s 26-man roster.

Last season in Chicago, southpaw Jared Shuster didn’t establish himself as an important arm. Though his docket includes four outings as a starter, Shuster’s 35 earned runs and 1.46 WHIP were enough of a case to keep him in Triple-A a little longer.

However, there are a couple of phenomenal lefties in the pen, at least lefties who had phenomenal 2024s. Trey McGough came over from Baltimore in the Eloy Jiménez trade and was lights-out both before and after the deal (1.98 ERA, 1.016 WHIP); however, he got no real shot in spring to crack the South Side pen and in his two chances in Cactus League play, he failed. Garrett Schoenle was even better than McGough (1.67 ERA, 0.943 WHIP, although mostly at Double-A).

The bulk of the remaining righties in the pen are MLB retreads of various vintages (James Karinchak, Steven Wilson, Gus Varland)

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Position Players
In a welcome turn, many of the top White Sox position prospects are starting the season in Charlotte.

Chase Meidroth and Kyle Teel, who both played in Boston’s farm system last year, are standout imports on Charlotte’s Opening Day roster. Meidroth, the No. 8 prospect with MLB and 13th with SSS, had a .293 batting average and .437 on-base percentage last year in Triple-A Worcester. His plate discipline results in 105 walks and only 71 strikeouts. No. 1 catching prospect Teel spent 84 games in Double-A Portland before playing only 28 games in Triple-A last year. He had less success in Worcester, but batted .288 and had an better-than-average on-base percentage.

[Insertion during story edit, Friday night: In fact, Meidroth led off the 2025 season with a walk, unsurprisingly. And the first hit and RBI of the Knights season came from Teel, unsurprisingly.]

Edgar Quero is the other half of a Charlotte catching tandem that is the envy of all baseball. His .280/.366/.463 slash line across Double and Triple-A last year is great for any player, but excellent for a catcher. With his strong hitting across both sides of the plate, Quero shouldn’t spend the entire season with the Knights as MLB’s No. 6 prospect (No. 3 at SSS).

Colson Montgomery was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of March after dealing with back spasms and struggling to keep on pace with big league play. It was a tough 2024 for the 23-year-old shortstop, who struggled in his 130 Triple-A games last year with the Knights. He slashed a paltry .214/.329/.381, although he did hit 18 home runs. Like Meidroth, Quero and Teel, Montgomery may not stay in Charlotte for long — but of the quartet, he has the most to prove.

Tim Elko is the sort of player the White Sox have seen a lot of over the past few years, a three-outcomes hitter who can thump the ball a mile. He has too much miss in his swing to be a sure bet for the South Side, and the White Sox holding onto Andrew Vaughn at an onerous $6 million price spelled out how little faith the club has in Elko’s game translating to the majors. IF this popular clubhouse leader can sew up that hole in his cut, first base should remain wide-open for him all season with the Sox.

Andre Lipcius is a Guardians product swept up from the Dodgers organization as a minor league free agent this offseason, and is plenty intriguing. He has defensive versatility and plenty of pop. He also got a LOT of run in Cactus League play despite showing poorly, which could indicate the White Sox favor him as a call-up. Lipcius has a decided Zach Remillard and Danny Mendick flavor to him, so seeing him on the South Side this season would be no shock.

Bobby Dalbec and Tristan Gray are MLB vets heading in opposite directions. Dalbec is using the Sox org as a last career gasp, while Gray has legit upside and authored a really good spring. It’s somewhat shocking he’s in Charlotte, but administrative details (40-man!) can often get in the way of a merit promotion.

Dominic Fletcher was sent back to Triple-A after spending most of his time with the Sox last year, and on the cusp of the season was waived off of the 40-player roster to make his future in the organization uncertain. He played less than 30 games in rookie and Triple-A before he was promoted to the South Side in 2024. Fletcher struggled to hit above the Mendoza Line, but showcased his solid defense in right field.

Cal Mitchell came over to the White Sox this offseason on a minor league deal, after a powerful and potent 2024 for Triple-A El Paso (.277/.359/.512). He did not distinguish himself in the spring, but will be a Shiny New Thing for the White Sox to call up if he has a hot start.

Outfielder-infielder Greg Jones Jr. is the newest addition to the franchise. Claimed off of waivers from Colorado, Jones joins the Sox after spending the vast majority of the 2024 season with Colorado’s Triple-A team. He had a respectable slash line of .269/.346/.460 with the Albuquerque Isotopes, but it didn’t translate to his six games in the majors.

The rest of the outfield are familiar names who saw South Side time in 2024 (though to little little effect): Corey Julks, Zach DeLoach, Oscar Colás.