The White Sox reached the All-Star break looking nothing like a team in a rebuild. They’re in first place, they’re 50-45, and after a 9-1 win over the Athletics on Sunday afternoon at Rate Field, they head into the pause with real postseason expectations hanging over them.
That’s a sharp turn from where Chicago stood a year ago. The 2025 club was 32-65 at the break and 27 games back in the American League Central, a far cry from the position it now occupies after a weekend sweep on a beautiful day for baseball.
With 67 games left, the conversation around this team has changed.
“Yeah, I think so,” said White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery, who leads the team with 23 home runs. “In our heads, we just are like, ‘How are we not going to be a playoff team if we just play like we are playing right now?’”
Manager Will Venable sounded just as direct about where the bar sits now.
“We've had pretty high expectations and standards for all these guys, and they've met them mostly and done a great job,” Venable said. “So we just keep trying to get better. You know, that's the focus for us.”
Chicago didn’t waste time showing what that looks like. The A’s grabbed their first lead in a game since July 1 when Shea Langeliers hit a first-inning homer off Noah Schultz, but the White Sox answered with a six-run first and never looked back.
Sam Antonacci set the tone with his third leadoff homer, then later got hit by a pitch for the 18th time this season. Braden Montgomery added the big swing, connecting for a three-run homer and finishing with four RBIs.
Schultz, meanwhile, got a much-needed win. The left-hander moved to 3-6 and snapped a six-start winless stretch that included five losses. He worked five innings on 74 pitches, throwing 53 strikes, allowing the early homer but no walks while striking out four before handing the game to the bullpen.
In Other News...
Billy Carlson Just Gave White Sox Fans A Reason To Exhale
Billy Carlson is back on the field, and for White Sox fans that alone is a welcome sight after a thumb injury briefly threatened to slow one of the organizations more closely watched young infielders. Carlson returned to action with the ACL White Sox, handled shortstop and finished 0-for-3, a modest box score that matters less than the simple fact that he was playing again after recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his left thumb.
The timing should offer some relief around the organization, too, because the initial recovery window had suggested a shorter absence before the setback lingered longer than expected. Carlsons first game back does not answer every question about how quickly hell recapture his rhythm, but it does get him moving in the right direction again, which is exactly what the White Sox needed to see after a frustrating stretch on the injury front. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Finally Took The Kind Of Draft Swing Fans Wanted
The White Sox went after upside in the 2026 draft class, and Joey Volchko is the kind of arm that fits the bill. The right-hander transferred from Stanford to Georgia and became a key part of the Bulldogs run to a College World Series championship, flashing the power stuff that can make scouts take notice. MLB has him ranked as the 68th-best prospect, which gives Chicago a little more to dream on than a typical middle-round arm.
Volchkos appeal starts with the pitch mix, especially a slider that stands out and a fastball that can miss bats. The stuff is there to imagine a real impact arm down the line, but the White Sox are also buying into a pitcher who still has to prove he can consistently throw strikes. For a club looking for more than safe, low-ceiling picks, this was the kind of swing fans had been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]
Why White Sox Fans Will Judge This No. 1 Pick Hard
The White Sox spent the top pick on a player who fits their preferred mold almost perfectly, taking UCLA shortstop Daniel Roch Cholowsky first overall in the 2026 MLB draft. He brings the kind of all-around profile that teams dream about at the top of the board, with a reputation for impact at the plate and reliability in the field, and he also carries a bit of draft history with him as just the third college shortstop ever chosen No. 1 overall.
For Chicago, though, the fit is only part of why this selection will be watched so closely. The organization has made clear what kind of player it values, and Cholowsky checks those boxes, but No. 1 picks are judged on more than philosophy. White Sox fans will want to know not just whether he looks like the right choice on paper, but whether he can quickly turn that promise into the kind of cornerstone production that makes a franchise-altering pick feel obvious in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]