One Man’s Trash: Sam I An-tonacci

I am Sam. I am Sam. Sam-I-An-tonacci.

That Sam-I-An-tonaaci! That Sam-I-An-tonacci! I kind of like that Sam-I-An-tonaaci!

Do you like speed with a sprinkle of power?

I very much do like them, Sam-I-An-tonacci.

I like speed with a sprinkle of power.

Would you like them here or there?

I would like them here and there.

I want them anywhere.

I like speed with a sprinkle of power.

I do like them, Sam-I-An-tonacci.

Sam Antonacci of the Chicago White Sox is 23 years old, 5-foot-11, 193 pounds, and bats from the left side. Chicago selected him in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB draft.

Last season in the minor leagues, he racked up 519 plate appearances over two levels, capping out at Double-A. Over that span, Antonacci produced five home runs, 78 runs, 57 RBI, and 48 stolen bases. The walk rate was 13.3%, the strikeout rate was 14.1%, and the ISO was .118. The .291 batting average was buoyed by a .341 BABIP.

To open this season, he spent 14 games in Triple-A and accrued 67 plate appearances. The walk rate was 22.4%, the strikeout rate was 11.9%, and the ISO spiked to .167. The batting average was .313, once again elevated by a .342 BABIP.

On April 15th, Antonacci got the call to the big club.

For the first 16 games, Sam Antonacci was batting sixth or seventh in the batting order. Over the 57 plate appearances, the slash was .271/.368/.458 with a 7% walk rate, 7% strikeout rate, and .188 ISO. He racked up two doubles, two triples, a home run, seven runs, and seven RBI. He did not steal and was caught twice.

On May 3rd, Antonacci was inserted into the leadoff role. From that point until the end of the month, Antonacci racked up 105 plate appearances. He had three doubles, 14 runs, six RBI, and stole eight bases. The slash was .278/.369/.311 with a 5.7% walk rate, 20% strikeout rate, and .033 ISO. The BABIP was .362.

Since June 1st, the slash is .313/.421/.531 with a 9.2% walk rate, 15.8% strikeout rate, and .219 ISO. The BABIP is once again high at .347. Over the 76 plate appearances, Sam Antonacci produced five doubles, three home runs, 14 runs, nine RBI, and three stolen bases.

Over those three segments of the season, the ISO has shown the biggest variability, while the bat speed has remained constant at 70 mph. In terms of the ISO, that variance isn’t surprising since Antonacci has never been known as a big power hitter.

What is most interesting is what looks like a change in approach.

For the first two segments of the season, the pull rate was 31.% and 29.6%. In the month of June, that number is 50%. Correspondingly, the ISO is the highest of .219, barrel rate is 9.6%, average exit velocity is the best at 89.2 mph, and the hard hit rate is 40.4%, compared to 35% in the prior two segments.

How I break this all down is that the first 16 games were a “getting used to the bigs” moment. The White Sox didn’t put too much pressure on him and slotted him towards the bottom of the lineup. The game was not too big for him, and he showed excellent plate discipline.

Then he was inserted as the leadoff hitter. Unsurprisingly, there was an adjustment period. It took him some time to get comfortable, but it looks like he’s reached a state of nirvana – no longer just trying to survive, but now attempting to do damage by waiting for his pitch and driving it into the seats.

The Statcast page for Sam Antonacci is nice. The xwOBA and xBA are both in the 90th percentile. The LA Sweet Spot% is in the 89th percentile, while the chase and whiff rates are in the 90th percentile. The sprint speed of 28.3 ft/sec is in the 76th percentile.

The approach really is pristine. The overall swing rate is only 40.7%. In the minors, that number was often in the high-30s. In the strike zone, though, he’s swinging at 61.7% of the pitches. The contact rate in the zone is 90.8% while the swinging strike rate is a miniscule 5.5%.

Will Sam Antonacci hit 20 home runs? Probably not. Double-digits? Possibly, especially if he continues to pull the ball at a high rate. An adjustment period will likely come as pitchers try different things to expose a weakness, but the profile is so good that I don’t foresee a black hole of production during that period. The stolen bases should be there, the plate discipline is excellent, and he’s batting leadoff. Finally, he has 2B, 3B, and OF eligibility. He also gets a boost in OBP leagues.