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 – By age 21, George Wolkow could be a starting outfielder for the White Sox.
It’s a lofty goal, considering the left-handed power hitter turned 19 on Jan. 11 and finished the 2024 season at Single-A Kannapolis. But the native of Downers Grove, Ill., enjoys the challenge of being a teenager pushing for fulfillment of his lifelong dream.
“That would be pretty cool, and I have a lot of work to do. But I’m going to put the work in and try to make that happen,” Wolkow said Friday during SoxFest Live at the Ramova Theatre. “I want to debut as young as possible. I want to play as long as possible.
“So just being young doing that, it’s motivating. I really like being here today, being the youngest guy here, I wear that chip on my shoulder with pride. I love it.”
The 6-foot-7 Wolkow rose above the rest of the players moving about on Friday, aside from Noah Schultz, the White Sox No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 overall, who recently grew to 6-foot-10 in stature. Aside from being important pieces in this latest White Sox rebuild, this duo shares a local bond in connection to the team.
Schultz is from Oswego, Ill., located 45 miles from Rate Field in Chicago. Wolkow’s Downers Grove residence is 25.2 miles from the South Siders’ baseball home. This Chicago pride really was felt this weekend, with family and friends in attendance for the players’ first SoxFest appearances.
“Yeah, just knowing I have the chance to play in Chicago,” Wolkow said. “Growing up watching the team, going to games. Just being a fan of Chicago sports, knowing that I could potentially have a part in the White Sox turnaround, the comeback, what could be one of the greatest comebacks from the worst team to the best team.
“Going to the field every day, for a lot of people, it’s different. They are not from here. They are just with the organization and it’s business. At the end of the day, it’s still a business for me, but it’s also that little extra bit of motivation to know playing in Chicago does mean more.”
Chicago has been one of Wolkow’s prime offseason destinations. He’s been working out every day at a gym in the River West neighborhood. The club's No. 9 prospect also hits daily at Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports in Lockport, Ill.
There’s not a lot of breaks in Wolkow’s routine. Being young, he feels as if his window is now to put in the work and get better.
“I’m trying not to take any time for granted, make a lot of sacrifices knowing that the fun and all the off-the-field stuff like that will come down the road when I’m celebrating,” Wolkow said. “Overall, I just need to develop day by day. It’s easy to look at the big picture, but at the end of the day, if I could just continue to work on the little things, good things are going to come.
“For instance, the biggest knock on me is my strikeout rate. Say I cut that by 15 percent? I’d imagine that ups my home run count, ups my hit count. If I’m slugging and I’m getting on base, I’m helping the team win.”
Over 91 games and 335 at-bats between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League team and Kannapolis, Wolkow slashed .257/.357/.451 with 13 home runs, 56 RBIs, 18 doubles, nine stolen bases and the 158 strikeouts indirectly spoken of by the team’s seventh-round pick in the 2023 Draft. He could start ’25 at Kannapolis, but he is moving toward the Majors with youthful exuberance.
“A lot of learning. A lot of ups and downs,” said Wolkow of his ’24 campaign. “Last year I was really good at staying healthy all year, soaking up as much experience as I could. Really makes me excited for year two, just going through a lot of the learning experiences and having some failure to work through as well.
“Right now, I think just stay where my feet are day by day and continue to find something little to get better at every day. Over time, I’ll get to where I need to be.”