Every player's first professional homer is special, but Clay Burdette’s first career roundtripper was one for everyone to remember.
The White Sox prospect raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in Single-A Kannapolis’ 9-5 victory over Fredericksburg on Thursday at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.
The 2026 seventh-round pick's evening started slowly. Burdette was hitless in his first three at-bats as he lined out sharply to center field in the second inning, drew a walk in the fourth, and grounded into a fielder's choice in the fifth.
The outfielder’s night at the dish took a turn for the better in the seventh. Ahead in the count, 2-1, against right-hander Trevor Moore (Nationals), Burdette stayed on a slider over the outer third and sent a sinking liner into right that snuck under the glove of a diving Cristhian Vaquero.
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"Uh-oh, that's past him. Burdette might have a chance to round the bases here," Fredericksburg media relations manager Luke West Poley said while doing play-by-play on the broadcast.
With the ball rolling into the right-field corner, Burdette turned on the jets and motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
While the 22-year-old possesses 55-grade power, which helped him swat a career-high 17 homers in his final season at Xavier, Burdette’s true calling card is his 60-grade speed. During his final two seasons on campus, the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder tallied a combined 23 stolen bases.
Burdette's had a bit of a rough introduction to the pro game, batting .226 with 10 runs, six RBIs and four steals over 15 games.
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An inside-the-park homer for a first career homer is rare, but not unheard of. The last time the feat was accomplished in the Minors was Justin Trimble (Astros) on May 28, 2025. The most recent player to circle all the bases for the first time as a big leaguer without the ball leaving the yard was organization mate Sam Antonacci on April 21.