As the 2026 MLB season enters its middle stages, the White Sox are beginning to get their first extended look at the players selected in the 2025 draft. With many of the draft picks gaining significant playing time between Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, it’s not too early to start drawing conclusions based on the early-season performance. It’s still early, but here are three of the biggest surprise performers and one of the biggest disappointments from the 2025 draft class so far.
Surprise: IF Colby Shelton
Perhaps the biggest 2025 draft standout so far, Colby Shelton has completely dominated over the season’s first six weeks in High-A. The White Sox took Shelton in the sixth round out of Florida after he hit .377 with seven homers in his junior season. Shelton posted back-to-back 20-homer seasons in his first two years of college, but traded that power for contact during his draft year. The White Sox hoped to find a happy medium, and they seem to have found it this year. Shelton actually debuted in Kannapolis in 2025 but struggled mightily, posting just a .415 OPS in 27 games. In the same number of games this season, it’s been a completely different story. Shelton enters Thursday with a .364/.488/.687 slash line with six home runs and a 1.175 OPS. He was named minor league player of the month for April and looks primed for a call-up to Double-A soon. At 23, he could move through the White Sox system quickly, and could be on the big league radar as quickly as 2027.
Disappointment: IF Billy Carlson
When the White Sox selected Billy Carlson with the 10th overall pick last season, they knew his bat was going to be a project. Considered one of the best defensive prospects in the class, the team felt they could tap into his upside offensively and made him the choice. Carlson spent the offseason working on his swing and was assigned to Low-A Kannapolis to begin the season. So far in 26 games, he’s hitting .230 with a .669 OPS. Despite a solid .369 OBP and 20 walks, Carlson hasn’t made much of an impact at the plate in the early going. He has yet to hit a home run and has struck out 27 times. It’s very early, and Carlson is still just 19 years old, but his early offensive results haven’t been incredibly impressive, and White Sox fans will need to hope in the team’s player development system to turn things around.
2025 No. 10 overall Draft pick Billy Carlson rips an RBI single in his first professional AB at Single-A ‼️@whitesox | @Kcannonballers pic.twitter.com/WEVrGz0Mbh
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 2, 2026
Surprise: RHP Gabe Davis
The first pitcher the White Sox selected in the 2025 draft, righty Gabe Davis was known at Oklahoma State for his big arm and inconsistent results. He threw just 24.1 innings during his 2025 collegiate season and posted a 7.03 ERA. His results in his first three years weren’t too much better, but the White Sox felt like his arm had enough talent to take a shot on him in the fifth round. Despite being a reliever throughout college, the White Sox assigned Davis to Winston-Salem and have given him a chance to start this season. So far, that decision has paid off. In five starts, Davis has posted a 1.69 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. His starts have been abbreviated, usually consisting of three or four innings each as he builds up his inning count. So far, Davis has turned his excellent stuff into results, and the White Sox will hope that continues throughout the season.
Surprise: IF Kyle Lodise
It’s been an interesting start to the season for 2025 third-round pick Kyle Lodise. The 22 year-old jumped straight to High-A Winston-Salem last season and posted a .689 OPS with four home runs in 28 games to close out the year. He joined the same level to begin this year and is once again hitting under .200. This time, however, his on-base percentage of .431 and OPS of .820 have opened eyes. Lodise has walked 28 times in 23 games, demonstrating elite on-base ability, and he’s started to heat up a bit at the plate since the calendar has flipped to May. If he can make more consistent contact and tap into the extra-base power the White Sox know he possesses, he can quickly become one of the more exciting infield prospects in the system. At the very least, the White Sox seem to have found another high-OBP infield prospect, a type they’ve become familiar with over the past two seasons.
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