Tim Elko and Grant Taylor named White Sox Minor League Players of the Month

CHICAGO – Class AAA Charlotte infielder Tim Elko has been named the Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Month for March/April, while Class AA Birmingham right-hander Grant Taylor has been named Pitcher of the Month as voted by a panel of Chicago-area media members.

Elko, 26, recorded a .367/.448/.711 (33-90) slash line with four doubles, nine home runs, 20 RBI, 12 walks, 18 runs scored and a 1.159 OPS over 25 games with Charlotte in March/April. He reached base safely in 23 of his first 25 games, hitting safely in 21 of those contests. Elko homered eight times in a span of 10 games from April 16-27.

Elko, 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, led the minors in March/April in slugging percentage, tied for the lead in home runs and ranked fourth in OPS and total bases with 64. He also ranked among Class AAA leaders in slugging percentage (1st), home runs (T1st), OPS (2nd), batting average (4th), total bases (4th) and on-base percentage (5th).

Elko, who was selected by the White Sox in the 10th round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, leads all minor leagues since 2023 with 339 hits, is tied for the lead with 199 RBI and ranks second with 568 total bases.

Taylor, 22, went 0-1 with a 0.79 ERA (1 ER/11.1 IP), .111 opponents average (4-36) and 14 strikeouts (11.12 per 9.0 IP) over four starts with Birmingham in April. Three of his four starts were scoreless efforts, and he currently owns a 6.1 scoreless IP streak over his last two outings. Taylor has yet to allow a run on the road, tossing 9.0 scoreless IP with nine strikeouts in three road starts.

Taylor, 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, is rated by MLB.com as No. 7 prospect in the White Sox system. He originally was selected by the Sox in the second round of the 2023 draft.