Note: We will have companion podcasts all week for our season wraps for each affiliate, so look out over on the right rail on Tuesday for our South Atlantic League champion Winston-Salem Dash season wrap podcast!
The Winston-Salem Dash finished 73-58 (.557) in the regular season, good for fourth out of 12 teams in the South Atlantic League. The Dash went 38-28 in the first half and 35-30 in the second half, and somewhat ironically it was their weaker part, the five-over second half, that punched their ticket for the postseason. The Dash got off to a fast start, going 15-9 in April and never finishing worse than .500 in any month. Among teams in the Sally, Winston-Salem ranked second in OPS (.822) and runs scored (826). Although the Dash ranked eighth in ERA (4.98) and runs allowed (727), their run differential (+99) was third in the South Atlantic League.
The Dash pulled off an massive upset over Bowling Green (82-48) in the Division Series, beating them two games to zero; among 120 teams in the full-season minors, only three teams finished with a better record than the Hot Rods.
Incredibly, W-S was not finished, as it faced Greensboro in the Championship Series; somehow despite sporting a phenomenal 82-50 record that ranked in the Top 10 of all minors teams this year, the Grasshoppers were merely the third-best club in the Sally.
Not that it mattered to the Dash: In Game 1 of the title series, Winston-Salem scored eight runs in the second to propel themselves to a 15-8 victory. Since this was another best-of-three series, suddenly the Dash were one win away from taking the cake. Game 2 was an entirely different type of matchup, but once again, the Dash found a way to bring home the win by a score of 2-0. Just like that, the Dash had won the South Atlantic League Championship, and given that the Barons entered this season with back-to-back titles, this marks the third season that a White Sox affiliate has won it all.
Starting with the Top 30 White Sox prospects who got serious playing time with the Dash, we will start with the South Side Sox and MLB No. 2 White Sox prospect, infielder Caleb Bonemer. Bonemer, 20, opened the season with Winston-Salem, where he performed admirably. Bonemer slashed .238/.381/.556 (139 wRC+) in 61 games. On top of that, Bonemer stole 10 bases in 13 attempts (76.9%). To top it off, Bonemer proceeded to post a .261/.379/.545 (140 wRC+) slash line in 71 games for the Barons. No matter how we slice it, this was another sizable step forward for Bonemer, who plays shortstop, third base, and he even got some reps in center field at the tail end of the season. Bonemer’s performance with the Dash was strong enough to get him onto the South Atlantic League All-Star team.
Infielder Javier Mogollón, 20, MLB’s No. 12 White Sox prospect and No. 25 at South Side Sox, also made a big impact with the Dash. Mogollón started the season with Kannapolis, where he slashed .257/.357/.442 (112 wRC+) in 57 games. After being promoted to Winston-Salem on July 28, Mogollón made even more of an impact, slashing .268/.385/.487 (122 wRC+) in 34 games to wrap up the regular season. Mogollón, who plays second base and shortstop, added a bullet point to his resume in the postseason. Mogollón launched a clutch, three-run homer to tie the game with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the Division Series against Bowling Green (82-48). The Dash proceeded to win that game in the 10th. In addition, Mogollón hit a two-run triple in Game 2 to help complete the sweep. On paper, Mogollón’s defense should be a strength moving forward, as MLB Pipeline grades his run tool at 60, his arm tool at 55, and his field tool at 50.
In 111 games, all with the Dash, shortstop Kyle Lodise, 22, slashed .230/.380/.440 (118 wRC+). Like Bonemer and Mogollón, Lodise was part of a strong infield that reached base quite often. Lodise also swiped 42 bases in 51 attempts (82.4%), as he was a major threat after reaching base. Lodise is MLB’s and South Side Sox’s No. 13 White Sox prospect, and he is living up to the hype since the White Sox drafted him in the third round in 2025.
Outfielder George Wolkow, 20, was also with the Dash for the entire season, and he provided some pop. Wolkow, MLB’s No. 14 White Sox prospect and at No. 15 with South Side Sox, went to Downers Grove North High School in the greater Chicago area. Wolkow slashed .239/.317/.446 (95 wRC+), and he led the team with 22 homers and 100 RBIs. Wolkow also swiped 15 bases, although he was caught seven times for a success rate of 68.2%, slightly below the cutoff that indicates an attempt is worth the risk. Wolkow’s main issue is his strikeout rate, which was 32.1%, an area to work on as he advances through the system.
Center fielder Ely Brown, 22, was great at getting on base and causing mayhem afterward. Brown slashed .275/.399/.372 (113 wRC+) in 113 games, all with the Dash. Brown also went 26-for-35 (74.3%) on stolen base attempts, as he showed that he has plenty of speed. While he doesn’t project to hit for much power, Brown’s high on-base skills paired with a 55-grade glove in center field make him an intriguing profile moving forward. Brown closes the season as MLB’s No. 21 White Sox prospect. In the preseason he ranked as the No. 99 White Sox prospect with SSS, an indication that we were caught sleeping on Brown, but also that he made a significant rise in 2026.
Ryan Burrowes, 22, played 88 games with the Dash before being promoted to Birmingham for his final 36 games. Burrowes, MLB’s No. 23 White Sox prospect and No. 42 before the season with SSS, excelled with Winston-Salem, slashing .261/.379/.421 (115 wRC+) and going 34-for-43 (79.1%) on stolen base attempts. Burrowes primarily plays shortstop, although he also got playing time at second base and third base this summer. In a smaller sample size, Burrowes struggled with the Barons, slashing .228/.329/.283 (74 wRC+), but he has a relatively high floor, thanks to his speed and defensive ability.
Infielder Colby Shelton, 23, is MLB’s No. 24 White Sox prospect and ranked No. 44 before the season with SSS. Although he spent most of the season with the Barons, it is important to highlight Shelton’s contributions to the Dash. Mainly a second baseman who also plays shortstop and third base, Shelton could not be stopped during his 31 games with the Dash. He slashed .339/.464/.661 (184 wRC+) in the early going to help the Dash get off to a fast start to the season. Shelton proceeded to slash .211/.289/.434 (88 wRC+) with the Barons, although he did pick up the pace down the stretch after struggling early on after the promotion.
Although the Dash had many MLB Top 30 prospects on the hitting side, they were much lighter with the arms. The only Top 30 prospect with at least 25 innings with the Dash was reliever Mathias LaCombe, 24. LaCombe was dominant during those 25 innings, posting a 2.88 ERA and a 3.54 FIP, striking out 12.60 per nine innings. LaCombe is MLB’s No. 18 White Sox prospect (No. 21 preseason with SSS), and although his ERA was 6.27 in 18 2/3 innings with Birmingham, his FIP (4.10) was much better. LaCombe actually climbed all the way up to Triple-A Charlotte by the very end of the season, an indication of the esteem the organization has for him.
Roch Cholowsky, 21, is likely someone you have heard of. Cholowsky, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft, made his professional debut, but he only played nine games. In that limited sample, Cholowsky slashed .167/.326/.333 (81 wRC+). Although the overall slash line in the small sample was subpar, Cholowsky had a 15.2% walk rate and a .185 BABIP, as luck was not on his side. Plus, at some point Roch injured his wrist with the Dash, which likely impacted his production and led to him getting shut down for the season early. Nonetheless much of Cholowsky’s value stems from his defense at shortstop, where his elite glove cemented his status as the top overall pick.
Unranked right-hander Jake Curtis, 24, served as the undeniable MVP of the Winston-Salem pitching staff. Curtis is outside MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 White Sox prospects but made a large impact, and he spent the vast majority of the season with the Dash. In 80 1/3 innings with Winston-Salem, Curtis posted a 3.14 ERA and a 3.16 FIP. Control was a large part of his success, as Curtis only walked 1.37 batters per nine innings, and he only allowed 0.74 homers per nine innings. Considering the South Atlantic League average ERA hovered around 5.04 (even if skewed somewhat by Asheville’s 7.39 mark), Curtis’s production went a long way.
Although Curtis was the most valuable pitcher overall, unranked (by MLB, but held in high esteem by South Side Sox, at No. 26 overall) left-handed pitcher Grant Umberger, 24, was on fire in the postseason. In the regular season, Umberger posted modest numbers in 120 2/3 innings, all with the Dash, as he had a 4.70 ERA and a 4.88 FIP. However, Umberger was extremely valuable in the playoffs, where he had two starts, and he was magnificent in both of them. Against Bowling Green, Umberger picked up 11 strikeouts while only allowing one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings in the series clincher. Unbelievably, Umberger topped that in Game 2 against Greensboro, when he allowed three hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings. In that game, Umberger also struck out 11, as he finished the postseason with a 0.64 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and three walks. What a way to wrap things up.
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