Southside Prospect Weekly: Campbell's Birmingham Explosion, Umberger's High-A Takeover
By Gordon Kairis ·
Southside Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the White Sox farm system.
Campbell Catches Fire in the Steel City
Dylan Campbell (AA, CF, Rank: 21) has been a complicated prospect to track since arriving in Birmingham via trade from Philadelphia earlier this season. His line at Double-A Reading before the deal, a .216/.281/.412 slash with elevated strikeout totals, fit the cautionary version of his profile: a 60-speed center fielder with real defensive value but a 40 hit tool that keeps getting tested by better pitching. This week, none of that mattered. He went 9-for-26 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, and four RBI, posting one of the more complete offensive performances in the system. The pop is the surprising element, because he came into the week with six home runs across 226 plate appearances at Birmingham. Three more in a single week against Double-A arms is not something you can script for a guy whose power is graded at 45.
The bigger picture is where this fits relative to what he has been building since the trade. Over the last 30 days at Birmingham, he is hitting .245 with a .333 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging mark across 109 plate appearances, with a contact rate that has climbed to 76.4 percent on a 44.5 percent swing rate. That contact rate is the most encouraging number in his recent line, because the persistent concern with Campbell has been the pull-heavy chase that got exposed in his prior Double-A stint with Reading. A 76 percent contact rate suggests he is putting the bat on the ball at a higher clip, and when you pair that with 12 walks against 18 strikeouts over the last month, the plate approach looks steadier than it has at any prior Double-A stop. His combined Birmingham line on the season reads .254/.353/.430 with six home runs before this week's outburst, numbers that represent a meaningful step forward from his Reading years. He still profiles as a bench piece at the high end, with the ceiling case being a 15-to-20 home run everyday outfielder if the contact gains hold. After a week like this one, the everyday conversation gets a little harder to dismiss.
Umberger Has Figured Something Out in Winston-Salem
Grant Umberger (A+, LHP, Rank: 49) entered 2026 with a career ERA of 2.56 at Low-A and one forgettable High-A start under his belt. The step up to Winston-Salem full-time looked like it might expose the command and secondary concerns that have always sat underneath his rotation profile, and for stretches of the season it did: he carries a 4.74 ERA across 104.1 innings with 15 home runs allowed on the year. But the last five starts have looked like a different pitcher. This week he threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three, running his last-30-day ERA down to 1.42 across 25.1 innings. Over that five-start stretch, his whiff rate has jumped to 29.5 percent and his strike rate has climbed to 47.4 percent, both meaningful improvements over his season-long figures.
Umberger is a 50-grade fastball left-hander with a usable slider, a changeup, and a curve that sits below-average. The projection has always been a back-end starter or swingman, and the season ERA does not change that. What the last month does suggest is that he has found a more workable version of his sequencing. His 2025 season at Low-A, a 2.56 ERA across 102 innings with 113 strikeouts, showed he can pile up innings without getting lit up when his execution is consistent. The 2026 step back in results made sense given the level jump, but a 1.42 ERA over five late-season starts at High-A, combined with a sub-1.00 WHIP over that stretch, points to real in-season adjustment rather than luck. He is 24, so the development clock is ticking, but a left-handed arm who can eat innings, limit damage, and produce a 29 percent whiff rate at High-A still has a path to the back of a big-league rotation or a multi-inning relief role. The White Sox need to see if this version of Umberger shows up in 2027.
Quick Hits
- Kyle Lodise (A+, SS, Rank: 11) · went 7-for-28 with a double, two home runs, and six RBI, drawing five walks against 11 strikeouts. The power has been the story of his last 30 days: he is slashing .284/.433/.617 with seven home runs, four doubles, and 22 RBI across 104 plate appearances in that span, all while running a 35.9 percent swing rate that is among the most disciplined in the system. The 20 walks against 35 strikeouts over that stretch underscore a zone approach that is generating real damage without requiring him to expand. His 38 stolen bases on the season add another layer to a profile that is growing more interesting by the week. I'd take the over on his current 45 hit tool grade given how he has been hunting his pitch and punishing it when he gets it.
- George Wolkow (A+, OF, Rank: 15) · drove in 8 runs on 7 hits, with all three extra-base knocks leaving the yard. His 21 home runs on the season rank among the top totals in the White Sox system, which is what a 60-grade power tool is supposed to produce. The tradeoff is real: Wolkow is swinging at 51.6 percent of pitches on the season with a 63.7 percent contact rate, a combination that has produced 156 strikeouts across 498 plate appearances. He is 20 years old with a bat-speed profile that could be special if the contact ever stabilizes, but the gap between his raw power and his hit tool grade remains the central question around his development.
- Jeral Perez (A+, 3B, Rank: 14) · collected 7 hits and drove in 3 runs in 23 plate appearances, adding two doubles and two home runs. The week is notable because his season-long struggles at Double-A Birmingham, a .180 average in 248 plate appearances there, made the return to High-A look like a reset rather than a step back. At Winston-Salem this year he is slashing .253/.372/.409 in 188 plate appearances with a 72.9 percent contact rate and a 43.8 percent swing rate that reflects a patient, controlled approach. His bat speed and quick hands project to carry the profile if the swing decisions stay sharp; the question is whether those gains survive another extended look at Double-A pitching.
- Samuel Zavala (AA, CF, Rank: 24) · had 5 hits and drew 4 walks in 19 plate appearances, adding a double and a home run. His last-30-day numbers at Birmingham are his best stretch of the season: a .288 average, a .397 on-base percentage, and a .530 slugging mark across 78 plate appearances with four home runs. His season walk rate remains a carrying tool, with 69 free passes in 419 plate appearances at Double-A, and the recent power spike gives some optimism that the 40-grade power tool has room to move.
- Ryan Galanie (AAA, 3B, Rank: 32) · went 6-for-18 with a homer and 5 RBI, drawing two walks and taking a hit by pitch. His last-30-day line at Triple-A Charlotte reads .308/.396/.551 with five home runs and 17 RBI across 92 plate appearances, continuing a season that now shows 20 home runs and a .540 slugging percentage across 399 combined plate appearances. He is a quad-A profile on paper, but 20 homers at his age with those slugging numbers forces some organizational consideration, even in a cup-of-coffee context.
- Ryan Burrowes (AA, SS, Rank: 22) · went 6-for-21 with a double and a homer, driving in 4 runs while drawing a walk. The 40 stolen bases on his combined season line remain the most distinctive thing about his profile, and his 75.1 percent contact rate on the year suggests the bat-to-ball skills are functional even when the results are modest. His last 30 days at Birmingham, a .253 average with a .346 on-base percentage, reflect a player who is managing Double-A without fully breaking through.
- David Sandlin (AAA, RHP, Rank: 13) · was sharp in his latest Triple-A outing, going 5.1 innings without allowing an earned run, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out six. His 2.14 ERA across 46.1 innings at Charlotte this season stands in stark contrast to his big-league numbers, a 6.93 ERA across 24.2 innings with the White Sox. The four-seamer that sits 97-to-101 and the hard slider in the upper 80s play in Charlotte; the command inconsistencies that inflate walk totals get punished more at the big-league level. His projection as a setup reliever makes sense given the stuff, but the walk rate will have to tighten before that role becomes reliable.
- Fernando Graterol (RK, C, Rank: 38) · had 4 hits in 21 plate appearances, including a double, a triple, and 4 RBI, drawing 4 walks and taking a hit by pitch. He is 17 years old and slashing .318/.464/.561 over his last 30 days in the Dominican Summer League, with a 60-grade arm and enough bat speed to generate legitimate power from behind the plate. The contact rate at 51 percent on an aggressive 54.4 percent swing rate is the developmental concern to watch as pitching gets smarter, but the raw tools here are worth tracking.
- Peyton Pallette (AAA, RHP, Rank: 18) · was placed on the 7-day injured list on August 18. His form in the two weeks leading up to the placement was rough: 6 earned runs in 4.2 innings across four appearances, a 11.57 ERA in that window. His season ERA at Charlotte sits at 3.71 through 26.2 innings, so the underlying body of work is not a disaster, but he heads to the IL at a difficult time in the calendar.
- Tyler Schweitzer (MLB, LHP, Rank: 33) · was recalled by Chicago on August 14. He has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the organization this season, posting a 2.59 ERA across 24.1 innings at the big-league level against a 4.22 ERA in 49 innings at Charlotte. His walk rate and strikeout numbers at the majors are modest, but a sub-3.00 ERA in a White Sox bullpen context earns the look.
- Lucas Gordon (AA, LHP, Rank: 53) · returned from the 7-day injured list on August 18 after being activated by Birmingham. In his first appearance back, he threw 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out four and walking two. His season ERA at Double-A sits at 5.13 across 107 innings with 115 strikeouts, and getting back on the mound in August keeps his workload viable heading into the offseason.