Welcome back, everyone.
The Chicago White Sox recently recalled one of their top prospects to The Show, so this week I figured it would be a good time to talk about him and the impact he will have in fantasy baseball. Let’s say hello to Sam Antonacci!
(Wait, did you think I was talking about Braden Montgomery? Silly you. Let’s wait a little before talking about him.)
Antonacci is making a name for himself with the White Sox, but if you didn’t know who he was before this season, no one can blame you.
Time to dive in and take a deeper look at Antonacci.
The Stats
| YEAR | LEVEL | G | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | NCAA | 61 | 90 | 6 | 47 | 15 | .367 | .523 | .504 |
| 2024 | A | 23 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 7 | .333 | .471 | .432 |
| 2025 | RK|A+|AA | 116 | 78 | 5 | 57 | 48 | .291 | .433 | .409 |
| 2026 | AAA | 14 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | .313 | .500 | .479 |
| 2026 | White Sox | 49 | 30 | 1 | 15 | 8 | .285 | .387 | .376 |
Antonacci’s has never been in the spotlight on his road to the White Sox. He started his career at Heartland Community College, a Division II junior college, and was named the NJCAA DII Player of the Year after hitting .515 with 14 home runs and 103 RBI. Ahead of the 2024 season, he transferred to Coastal Carolina, and in his one season there, he slashed .367/.523/.504 with six homers and 47 RBI. He led the Sun Belt conference in OBP and had 50 walks compared to only 40 strikeouts.
Despite his impressive hitting skills, Antonacci fell to the fifth round of the 2024 draft before the White Sox snagged him. Less than two years later, he is making a mark with the Sox.
The Tools
- Power
The reason you may be overlooking Sam Antonacci, and one of the big reasons why he fell in the draft, is the fact that he is not a power hitter. In today’s game, that is a cardinal sin. With Coastal Carolina in 2024, he hit only six homers. In his first full season in the minors in 2025, he slugged only five balls over the fence. And so far in a combined 213 at-bats between Triple-A and the majors this season, he has hit only three homers.
Simply put, he is not a power threat. The numbers back that up as he ranks in the 29th percentile in Avg. EV, 33rd percentile in Barrel% and in the 26th percentile in Hard Hit%. His fly ball rate of 20% is 6.5% lower than the MLB average.
- Hit
OK, so Antonacci is not a power hitter. Guess what, not everyone in the majors is. What he does well, however, is make consistent contact and hit line drives all over the field. Despite being a rookie, he currently has a 14.8% strikeout rate, ranking in the 85th percentile. He ranks in the 90th percentile in Whiff% (16.3) and 93rd percentile in Chase% (21.5). And while he does not hit for power, he knows how to square the ball up, ranking in the 87th percentile in that category (31.2) and in the 93rd percentile in LA Sweet Spot% (41.0).
While Sam Antonacci does a great job of making contact, he is not overly patient at the plate, as he has only a 6.6% walk rate. But as seen by his outstanding chase rate, Antonacci doesn’t go out of the zone. The reason he doesn’t draw a lot of walks is due to the fact that pitchers attack the zone since he is not a power threat, but he draws enough to add to his batting average to give him an OBP of .387, compared to the MLB average of .319
- Speed
This is really what helps Antonacci’s value. If he were just a solid hitter who clogged the bases, then his value would not be that high. But once on base, Antonacci is a threat to steal second. He is not the fastest runner, but he does a good job of reading pitchers and knowing when to run. So far this season, he has eight steals with Chicago after swiping five at Triple-A. Last season, he stole 48 bases in 58 attempts.
The Results
| MONTH | G | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| March/April | 14 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .225 | .347 | .425 |
| May | 28 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 8 | .296 | .378 | .337 |
| June | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .333 | .471 | .444 |
The above stats are what have me excited about Antonacci. He had a rough introduction in the majors in March/April, slashing .225/.347/.425. But he wasn’t overmatched at the plate as he had an amazing 6% strikeout rate. He was making contact, but was hitting into some bad luck as he had only a .216 BABIP.
But in May, things started to turn around for Antonacci. In 26 games, he slashed .296/.378/.337, thanks in large part to a .382 BABIP. His strikeout rate did increase, however, jumping to 19%, but that is still a very acceptable rate. The month of June has started even better as he is slashing .333/.471/.444 with three walks and four strikeouts.
The home runs are not going to be a part of his game, but his ability to hit line drives will allow him to rack up extra-base hits. He has seven doubles this season to go with two triples, which leads to an OPS of .762 this year (the MLB average is .715) and an OPS+ of 116. Over the course of 162 games, Antonacci is on pace for 50 RBI and 26 steals with that .762 OPS and a .387 OBP.
The Verdict
Sam Antonacci is not the sexiest of players out there, as his style of game has fallen out of favor with most fantasy players and even real MLB general managers. But there is a lot to like about a player who gets on base and steals bases. Every league I know of still uses steals as a category and on-base percentage, as well as runs scored. Well, he does well in all three of those categories.
Now, throw in this nice little nugget – he is eligible at multiple positions. In both Yahoo and ESPN leagues, he can be slotted in at left field, third base, and second base. In Fantrax, they added the shortstop position.
So here is a player who will help your runs scored, your OBP, and your steals, who can also play multiple positions this season and likely at least two next year, yet is rostered in only 26% of Yahoo leagues and 13% of ESPN leagues. Even in Fantrax leagues, which are geared toward leagues with large rosters, he is owned in only 74% of leagues. I’m sure there is a player or two on your roster who is not matching what Antonacci is doing, so do yourself a favor and make the change and add Sam Antonacci.
Thanks!
Thanks for reading, and come back again next week.
