Elko making case to join White Sox with recent stretch

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tim Elko doesn’t look at his 2025 Triple-A Charlotte statistics, although he should, because they are as impressive across the board as any Minor Leaguer currently working.

Opposing teams understand the great prowess with which the 6-foot-3, 250-pound first baseman is swinging the bat. It was evident during a 5-3 victory for the Knights in 11 innings Tuesday night at Truist Field, when the Memphis hurlers attacked Elko with offspeed offerings, including 11 sliders in his first three trips to the plate and 16 overall.

To Elko’s continued credit, there wasn’t much chasing among his single, run-scoring double with a 108 mph exit velocity, per Statcast, and two walks over five plate appearances. It’s an adjusted approach developed with the White Sox in the offseason and one the 26-year-old has followed stridently.

“Yeah, for the most part. You will have your games here and there where you aren’t seeing it well, but I’ve done a pretty good job improving it,” Elko told MLB.com prior to Tuesday’s victory. “I’ve been really trying to focus, to make sure I have good pitch selection.

“I want to be aggressive in the zone. But I want to make sure I’m swinging at the right pitches.”

Factoring in two more hits and a walk from Wednesday afternoon's 12-11 victory, Elko is now batting .348 with a 1.101 OPS, 10 home runs and 23 RBIs. If the White Sox don’t bring him to the Majors soon, the rest of the International League might chip in to have Elko stop punishing their respective hurlers.

And as great as Elko’s results have been through 31 games, his high character and clubhouse persona dwarf those lofty numbers. He’s a special individual, with the one-time Ole Miss stalwart proving to have special talent.

The White Sox have veteran Andrew Vaughn in their first base/designated hitter role, where he has been for the past two seasons of his five-year career. For a team frequently playing matchups offensively, it’s tougher to carry both the right-handed bats of Vaughn and Elko.

Vaughn and Elko have worked together during big league Spring Training, with the equally affable Vaughn sharing helpful information with Elko, who is just one year younger. Even with his 2-for-4 showing in Tuesday’s brutal walk-off loss to the Royals and having reached base in 13 straight games, Vaughn still has been a -1.2 bWAR player early this season. But Elko certainly doesn’t want success at Vaughn’s expense.

“Obviously, I would never wish any ill on him or anything,” the even-keeled Elko said with a bit stronger tone. “I hope that he continues to get better and do his thing. I know he will. He’s a great player. He’s a great guy. Super nice, down to earth. So just excited for him and hoping that he gets back to himself.

“[Individual] attention is kind of whatever. I try not to focus on that. I try to focus on playing with my teammates and enjoying each day. Trying to do the best I can to help us win. The attention stuff, the outside noise, really doesn’t matter. Just going out and playing every day and trying to do the best I can.”

That one day at a time, team first approach preached by Elko is the same message he delivered during a Zoom call last Friday when he was selected as the organization’s Minor League Player of the Month. It’s who he is and what he believes.

Charlotte manager Sergio Santos wasn’t exactly pleading Elko’s big league case when asked by MLB.com Tuesday. Santos, being an honest, straightforward leader, also wouldn’t divert his true feelings as to whether Elko is Major League ready.

“If he got called up to the big leagues, he’s a guy I wouldn’t worry about,” Santos said. “He’s a very good defender at first base. He can hit.

“He’s cleaned up some of the stuff that he needed to work on last year. He’s more of a complete hitter now and he’s an amazing clubhouse guy. I have no control over the when but if they do ask me, I think he’s ready.”

Someday soon, that promotion will come for Elko. He admits to visualizing the moment but won’t let it overwhelm his game view.

“You don’t want to make it too big in your head where you psych yourself out a little bit,” Elko said. “It’s definitely fun to imagine. Sometimes I visualize that or think about it.

"Again, it’s still just baseball. You get up there and it’s the same game so try not to make it too much more than what it is.”