If the White Sox rebuild needed proof of hope, their dominant AFL performances may have been the loudest answer yet. DD
White Sox prospects Sam Antonacci, Hagen Smith and Braden Montgomery were among the standout performers during 2025 Arizona Fall League play.
The 2025 Arizona Fall League officially wraps up Friday with the championship between the Surprise Saguaros and Peoria Javelinas.
But for nine White Sox prospects, AFL play ended Wednesday as the Glendale Desert Dogs lost 8-7 to the Javelinas. Despite the loss, it was another productive night at the place for White Sox prospects Braden Montgomery, Sam Antonacci and Caden Connor, who accounted for five of the team’s 10 hits and four of their seven runs.
Recognized for their high-level performance during the AFL, Montgomery, Antonacci and Hagen Smith were chosen to participate in the Fall Stars Game. Smith, No. 5 among White Sox prospects, pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, a hit and a walk. Montgomery, the team’s top prospect, walked twice and scored, while Antonacci provided the game-winning sacrifice fly in a 5-4 win.
Here’s a statistical recap of how the nine White Sox prospects performed in the AFL, along with quotes from Smith and Antonacci.
Hitters
- INF Sam Antonacci: 28-for-74, 3 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 24 R, 15 BB, 11 K, 11 SB, .378/.505/.541/1.046
- OF Caden Connor: 23-for-64, 2 2B, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 15 R, 18 BB, 9 K, 8 SB, .359/.494/.391/.885
- INF Ryan Galanie: 11-for-52, 1 2B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 9 BB. 13 K, 3 SB, .212/.362/.231/.593
- OF Braden Montgomery: 15-for-41, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 13 BB, 12 K, 3 SB, .366/.527/.634/1.161
Despite his success in the AFL, Antonacci is motivated to achieve bigger and better things.
“I don’t really want to be known as a good Fall League player. I want to be known as a productive big leaguer that brings a championship here to Chicago,” Antonacci said. “But it’s obviously better than not succeeding here. But, like I said, there’s still a lot of work to be done to get to where I want to be.”
Pitchers
- LHP Hagen Smith: 14 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 6 BB, 21 K, 2.57 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, .143 AVG
- RHP Connor McCullough: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 9 ER, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 3 BB, 9 K, 12.79 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, .231 AVG
- RHP Tyler Davis: 10.2 IP, 18 H, 9 ER, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 6 BB, 18 K, 7.59 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, .375 AVG
- RHP Jarold Rosado: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 9 ER, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 13 BB, 7 K, 12.15 ERA, 2.55 WHIP, .167 AVG
- RHP Carson Jacobs: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 11 BB, 12 K, 4.50 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, .190 AVG
Smith missed some time in the regular season with an injury and tweaked his mechanics a bit, but he feels it all came together well this fall.
“I feel good. Just still working on mechanics stuff. Just kind of making sure it’s little tweaks here and there,” Smith said. “Right now, just focused on doing what I’ve been doing right now, slow and smooth down the mound. And I think for me the big thing was trying to throw a lot of changeups against good hitters, see how it is. It’s come along really good actually. Just keep throwing it and see how it does.”
