A trio of White Sox prospects made an impression in Sunday’s Arizona Fall League All-Star showcase.
The Chicago White Sox have had a number of players shine during the Arizona Fall League while suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs.
Top prospects like Braden Montgomery and Hagen Smith have continued to show why they’re so highly regarded, while unheralded depth pieces such as Caden Connor have made names for themselves.
The White Sox sent three players to the 2025 Fall Stars Game — the AFL’s end of year All-Star showcase. Infielder Sam Antonacci and left-hander Hagen Smith were regular selections, while Montgomery earned his spot by winning the American League’s Final Vote. He likely would have been a lock for the roster had he not missed the first few weeks recovering from the injury that ended his Double-A season in Birmingham.
The American League Fall Stars came away with a 5–4 walk-off win on Sunday night, and all three White Sox representatives were named among MLB.com’s top performers of the game by Jim Callis.
Antonacci walked with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to drive in a run, then capped the night with a walk-off sacrifice fly to the opposite field in the bottom of the ninth. He didn’t record a hit, but his patience and situational awareness at the plate were on full display — the same traits that could have him in Chicago sooner rather than later.
Montgomery, meanwhile, has been a walking machine since returning from injury. In 11 games, he’s drawn 13 walks, good for a .529 on-base percentage. That patience showed again on Sunday, when he worked two walks, scored a run, and nearly added a hit with a 98.7 mph flyout to center in the third inning.
Smith pitched the second inning for the AL Fall Stars and was tested early. After a leadoff walk and a single — compounded by a fielding error — put runners on second and third with nobody out, Smith showed exactly why the White Sox made him the fifth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He escaped the jam unscathed, forcing a fielder’s choice before striking out two highly regarded prospects, Chris Suero (Mets No. 15) and Starlyn Caba (Marlins No. 5), to end the inning.
Chicago’s prospects will look to keep their strong fall performances rolling when the Desert Dogs return to action Monday night.
The AFL playoff will begin on Thursday, November 13 and the Desert Dogs will be in them despite a 10-15 record on the season thus far.