Despite slow start, this prospect is confident: 'Still getting better'

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- George Wolkow exudes confidence.

It’s not the sort of confidence characterized as arrogance. It’s more about having an unwavering desire to fulfill vast potential.

Wolkow's confidence hasn’t waned, even with his 2025 average sitting at .198 with a .604 OPS for Single-A Kannapolis. After all, the left-handed-hitting outfielder -- and No. 10 White Sox prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- went deep for a third straight game in a 5-2 win Friday.

“If I end the year batting .100, I’m still going to be the same confident player,” Wolkow told MLB.com recently at Atrium Health Ballpark prior to an afternoon contest. “There are ups and downs throughout the year. It’s early, and at the end of the day I’m still learning. I’m still getting better. You've got to be confident in a game like this.

“Every day is a new day. [I'm] not taking any day for granted, any time in the gym, any cage session. And really just taking all the failure right now and learn from it. It still is early in my career, so I think getting upset and pouting is not going to help me right now. Face the adversity and learn from what I’m doing wrong at the plate and continue to show up every day with a good attitude, ready to get better.”

Wolkow’s present stat line looks slightly different from his ’24 campaign. With stops in Arizona and Kannapolis in 2024, the 6-foot-7, 239-pound outfielder launched 13 home runs with 56 RBIs and an .808 OPS, to go with nine stolen bases, 158 strikeouts and 47 walks.

In ’25, through 32 games and 116 at-bats, Wolkow has four home runs with 20 RBIs and 41 strikeouts against 13 walks. But his 13 stolen bases in 13 attempts already represent a career high, reinforcing Wolkow’s talk of untapped speed dating back to Spring Training.

“I feel like I can run,” Wolkow said. “Last year, I never had a green light, so I wasn’t really pushing it on the bases. This year coming out on a team that can run, having [manager Chad Pinder] trust us to do our thing, it’s definitely been a lot of fun.

“Baserunning is something I can bring to the table and add to my game, especially right now when I’m not getting doubles and triples. If I get on base with a single or a walk, being able to extend it a base or two, it helps the team out.”

At 19 and not turning 20 until Jan. 11, 2026, the native of Downers Grove, Ill., is an extremely talented work in progress. Part of that progress is dealing with the difficulties of baseball, struggles which are slightly easier to manage for the first time at the Minor League level.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth in his response to some of those lineouts,” said Pinder, who played 553 games in the Majors and is in his first year managing overall with Kannapolis. “At the beginning of the season, it was a little bit reactionary. I’m starting to see, ‘OK, if we line out, we are responding.' That’s still a good at-bat and over the longevity of a season, hopefully more of those are going to fall than not.

“It's really hard as a hitter to learn and realize what you can and can’t control, especially at that age, especially at this level. You are in a position where you feel like you really have to do it to keep moving. Kind of owning his process and starting to see that, and George is a fantastic guy in the clubhouse.

“Extremely hard worker. In the outfield, he’s been fantastic, fantastic in center field. Super athletic, can run. There’s some bright spots of his game that are really flourishing. And the longer this season goes, I really believe those numbers on the hitting side will even out if he continues to do what he’s doing now.”

A similar belief is held by Wolkow, whose confidence stays high through the tough times.

“I’m just really trying to break the success and failure down into the process,” Wolkow said. “If I get out at the plate, did I swing at the right pitches? Did I execute on the right pitches? If I hit a line drive at 110 mph, and the guy catches it, rather than going into the dugout and being visibly upset, understand I won the process there.

“Early on, it’s definitely tough just because everybody wants to get off to a hot start and you see the stats up on the board and being one of the guys batting .130, I don’t want to be one of those guys. It's trying to break it down into the process.”