Shelton's move to 1B, strong offensive AFL showing should help push toward Majors

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.

CHICAGO – The Arizona Fall League defensive switch for Colby Shelton didn’t garner as much attention as Caleb Bonemer, his recent teammate with Glendale and during the 2026 regular season within the White Sox system.

Maybe it’s because Bonemer, who is the No. 2 White Sox prospect and No. 27 overall, per MLB Pipeline, had already moved from infield to outfield for Double-A Birmingham in late August. But playing 10 games at first base in Arizona for Shelton, 23, should only help the No. 23 White Sox prospect’s Major League push.

“If you can play a bunch of positions, someone can find a way into the lineup for you. The more positions you play, it can’t hurt you,” Shelton told MLB.com after his AFL stint. “I definitely wasn’t perfect at it.

“I definitely learned some new stuff, whether I was in the wrong spot on a wrong count or with the outs or I wasn’t in the right spot for a lefty hitter in the shift or a righty hitter in the shift. So just learning that part, and then it wasn’t anything too crazy. Just getting my feet wet over there.”

Shelton was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 Draft by the White Sox out of the University of Florida. He previously played shortstop, third base and second base over Minor League stops at Single-A Kannapolis, High-A Winston-Salem and Birmingham.

During the 2026 campaign, Shelton’s first full year within the White Sox organization, he slashed .339/.464/.661 with seven home runs, 13 doubles and 29 RBIs over 140 plate appearances with the Dash. That robust performance earned Shelton a promotion to Birmingham, where his average dropped, but his power supply continued via 17 homers, 21 doubles and 53 RBIs.

“Attention stuff,” said Shelton of what he learned from the Birmingham struggles. “The pitchers just know how to pitch a little bit better or more around the zone, and they can pitch to your weakness. Just learning how to attack a game plan against certain pitchers and stick to it.”

His eventual exit from Arizona came on a high note, as Shelton won the AFL Hitter of the Week for Oct. 26 to Nov. 1. Shelton finished the week 6-for-13 with 12 RBIs, four extra-base hits, a robust 1.640 OPS and 14 total bases. He became the first player since at least 2005 to record four RBIs in three consecutive games in the Fall League, adding on to this impressive run with a grand slam against the Javelinas on Oct. 29.

These results reinforced a point made by Bonemer about Shelton, in that when his friend gets on a run at the plate, he can get as hot as anyone playing the game. The process for these results was explained by Aaron Hill, Shelton’s hitting coach with Birmingham and Glendale.

“One, he's just got to be on time. Two, he's got to get his ‘A’ swing off,” Hill told MLB.com’s Jesse Borek in Arizona on Shelton. “When he's not worried about swinging and missing, he's not worried about getting beat on the pitch -- it's like, ‘Dude, go get your pitch. Go get your ‘A’ swing off. Everything's gonna take care of itself.’

“He puts himself in better positions when he’s on the hunt as opposed to just on the defense and it’s great when he’s locked in like that. Trust me, in Montgomery this year [from July 22-25], I mean this man had four or five hits every game [it felt like], everything on the line in the gaps, in the air. It was fun to watch when he’s getting going. When he’s hot, ain’t nobody hotter than him.”

Making good swing decisions sat at the heart of Shelton’s AFL success.

“Swinging at the right ones, taking the wrong ones. Capitalizing on the mistakes, doing some damage,” Shelton said. “The game is a lot easier when you are swinging at the right ones, taking the wrong ones and then not missing the ones over the middle of the plate.

“When I’m not worrying about swinging at the perfect pitch and then just hunting for something over the middle of the plate, it almost makes me swing at batter pitches. Being on the hunt instead of being in between … everything is slowed down, and I’m doing damage on the pitches over the middle of the plate.”

An extended solo car trip from Arizona to Florida took Shelton into the offseason. There were no stretching hot streaks for this two-day journey, with rest breaks, phone calls to friends and podcasts along for the ride. Shelton will be working out at Summers Method Performance Center in Florida to get ready for the ’27 campaign.