Sam

Antonacci

It’s the second homer of the season for Antonacci, and the first of his MLB career to actually leave the park; his first was an inside-the-park shot. The 23-year-old has done a solid job at the top of the Chicago lineup, and while there isn’t much power in his bat, his .278/.379/.381 slash is certainly not without merit.

Antonacci entered Sunday tied for 16th in stolen bases since being called up from Triple-A. He was also tied for 25th in runs scored and 29th in OBP during that span. His contact skills and propensity to reach base via HBP have fueled his high run total when batting atop Chicago’s lineup against righties. The one aspect of his track record that has yet to translate is his walk rate, which routinely sat in the double digits in the minors. There’s still plenty of time for that to improve as he settles in at the big-league level.

Antonacci’s first three-hit game as a major leaguer came last week against Minnesota. Now he has a four-hit game versus the same team. He’s batting .291/.383/.391 with one homer and eight steals through 45 games as a major leaguer.

Meidroth will get a chance atop Chicago’s lineup to face Tigers lefty Framber Valdez with rookie Sam Antonacci hitting ninth. It looks like a matchup-based decision since Antonacci has excelled out of the leadoff spot since being moved there earlier this month. Meidroth has been on a heater at the dish recently, batting .300 (9-for-30) with two homers in his last seven games.

Antonacci’s contact-oriented approach has allowed him to fit seamlessly atop Chicago’s lineup since moving into the leadoff spot earlier this month. The 23-year-old top-of-the-order table-setter is slashing .339/.406/.403 with three RBI and four steals in 18 games since the start of May.

Like fellow left-handed hitters Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters, Antonacci will take a seat with left-handed Kris Bubic toeing the slab for the Royals. Randal Grichuk will start in his place in left field and bat cleanup for the White Sox on Thursday evening.

The White Sox managed just one hit in Logan Gilbert’s six innings of work. Antonacci has now hit leadoff against six consecutive right-handers, a favorable lineup slot ahead of Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery. The White Sox are lined up for six games this week, five of which project to be righties.

Antonacci finds himself in the leadoff spot for the second time since being called up back on April 15. The 23-year-old rookie’s contact-oriented approach seems tailor-made for a top-of-the-order role moving forward. He’s slashing an impressive .255/.361/.431 with one homer and nearly as many walks (five) as strikeouts (six) through 17 games. The move to the top of the order behind Chicago’s biggest run-producing threats is a significant lift to his fantasy appeal.

Antonacci came up with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth and laced a line drive down the right field line for a game-tying triple. The 23-year-old now has five RBI and a .225/.347/.425 slash line in his 15 big league games. Surprisingly, he has not stolen a single base and has actually been caught stealing twice. He’ll need to start swiping bags if he’s going to have much fantasy value.

Antonacci went 2-for-5 with his first career home run, which was of the inside-the-park variety, during Tuesday’s win over Arizona. The 23-year-old contact-oriented rookie has gone 4-for-21 with just one strikeout in six games since being called up from Triple-A last week. Tanner Murray is in left field on Wednesday night with lefty Eduardo Rodriguez toeing the rubber for the Diamondbacks.