There are 21 former Charlotte Knights players in the MLB playoffs. Here’s who they are

When the minor-league season began, the Chicago White Sox brain trust wasn’t sure if Charlotte Knights’ first baseman Gavin Sheets would hit for enough power to further his pro career.

But Sheets, 25, crushed the ball from Day 1 in Charlotte. So much so, the former Wake Forest standout and White Sox 2017 second-round draft pick had three call-ups to the big-league club this season, hammering 11 home runs, eight doubles and 34 RBIs over 54 games.

Sheets has become an integral part of the White Sox and he’ll be on the roster — and likely in the lineup — when the team opens its best-of-five ALDS series in Houston on Thursday. MLB playoffs begin Tuesday and Wednesday with wild-card games, followed by first-round games Thursday and Friday.

But Sheets isn’t an exception. The 2021 White Sox are a homegrown team, with the bulk of its squad developed in its minor-league system. Seventeen players of the team’s 26-man active roster played for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate — the Knights. In addition, four members of two other playoff teams, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, are former Knights.

Gavin Sheets, RF, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2021)

The White Sox added several players with MLB experience to the Knights’ roster this year to provide depth to the big-league club, but Sheets’ hot bat forced him to the front of the call-up line. His regular-season success guarantees an important post-season role for the lefty slugger.

Luis Robert, CF, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2020)

After defecting from Cuba in 2016 and joining the White Sox one year later, Robert zipped through the minor leagues, playing at three different levels in 2019, including 47 games with the Knights. He dominated Triple-A pitching, smashing 16 home runs, 5 triples and 10 doubles in his brief stay in Charlotte. Robert suffered a serious hip injury early in May of this year and was thought to be lost for the season. But he returned to Chicago on Aug. 9 and has been sensational.

Eloy Jimenez, LF, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2018)

When the Cubs were making their World Series push in 2017, they traded two of the top prospects in baseball, Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, to the White Sox for MLB pitcher Jose Quintana. Jimenez moved quickly through the minor leagues, spending just 55 games in Charlotte in 2018, where he hit .355 with 12 homers. Like Robert, Jimenez also suffered a serious (shoulder) injury earlier this year and was expected to miss much if not all of the season. But Jimenez returned July 26 and is a fixture in the middle of the White Sox batting order.

Yoan Moncada, 3B, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2017)

Moncada was considered one of, if not the top prospect in baseball when he was traded from the Boston Red Sox in 2016 for White Sox pitcher Chris Sale. Moncada opened 2017 in Charlotte, where he posted solid numbers, before a mid-July promotion to Chicago. He has steadily improved and this year was among the team leaders in hits and walks.

Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2016)

Anderson was selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2013 draft. He spent the first two months of the 2016 season with the Knights before an early June call-up to Chicago, where he has thrived. Anderson led the White Sox in hits and runs this year, and is the team’s offensive catalyst from his lead-off spot.

Zack Collins, C, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2019)

A first-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2016, Collins was assigned to Charlotte for the start of the 2019 season, where he enjoyed excellent results before joining the White Sox in June. He is a backup catcher and his postseason role is that of a pinch hitter.

Adam Engel, OF, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2016-19)

Engel was taken by the White Sox in the 19th round of the 2013 draft. He bounced back and forth between Charlotte and Chicago from 2016-19 before sticking with the White Sox full-time. He lost much of 2021 to injury but is healthy for the playoffs.

Leury Garcia, Utility, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2015-16)

Garcia was acquired in a trade with the Rangers and spent a large portion of 2015-16 with the Knights, where he was among the team leaders in batting average. With an ability to play infield and outfield, Garcia is a key reserve for the White Sox.

Lucas Giolito, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2017)

Another shrewd trade acquisition by the White Sox, this time from the Washington Nationals, Giolito was 6-10 with the Knights in 24 starts in 2017. The former first-round draft pick joined the White Sox in August 2017 and has been in the starting rotation ever since, with 42 wins, including 11 this season.

Dylan Cease, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2019)

Cease was a part of the trade with the Cubs that also brought Eloy Jimenez to the White Sox. In 2019, Cease was 5-2 in 15 starts with the Knights before his July 3 call-up. He had a breakout 2021 season, with 13 wins and 226 strikeouts in 165.2 innings.

Michael Kopech, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2017-18)

Kopech, a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2014, was part of the trade that also brought Moncada to Chicago in 2016. The hard-throwing right-hander made 27 starts for the Knights in late 2017 and 2018, with impressive results. Season-ending arm surgery in late 2018 curtailed his career, prompting the White Sox to move him to the bullpen this year to minimize his workload. But he’ll play an important relief role for the White Sox in the postseason.

Aaron Bummer, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2017-19)

Drafted by the White Sox in the 19th round in 2014, Bummer, a lefty, appeared in 39 games with the Knights in 2017-19. But it was in 2019 when he dramatically improved and is now an important late-inning reliever for the White Sox.

Ryan Burr, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2018, 2021)

Burr was acquired in late 2017 and pitched briefly for the Knights as a reliever in 2018 and again this year. He lost 2019-20 to arm surgery. Healthy again, Burr had a solid year for the White Sox this season, appearing in 34 games, all but one out of the bullpen. He is likely to be used in lower-leverage situations in the playoffs.

Matt Foster, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights, 2019, 2021)

A 20th-round selection by the White Sox in 2016, Foster appeared in 37 games with the Knights in 2019 as a reliever, with terrific results. He continued to pitch well out of the bullpen in 2020 with the big-league club before regressing this year. It is unclear if he will be on the postseason roster.

Reynaldo Lopez, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2017, 2021)

Lopez was picked up along with Giolito in a 2016 trade with the Nationals. He made 22 starts with the Knights in 2017, and was solid, as he was in 2018 as a member of the White Sox starting rotation. But he struggled in Chicago in 2019-20 and was demoted to the Knights to open the 2021 season. His poor pitching continued in May and June of this season before he finally regained his form and worked his way back to the White Sox, though he’ll likely have a minimal role in the postseason.

Carlos Rodon, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2014, 2015)

Rodon is an example of yet another adept White Sox draft selection. Taken in the first round of the 2014 draft out of N.C. State, Rodon made just three starts in Charlotte in late 2014 and two more in early 2015 before becoming a mainstay of the White Sox rotation. He lost 2019 and much of 2020 to arm surgery but has rebounded brilliantly this year with a record of 13-5.

Jose Ruiz, P, White Sox (Charlotte Knights 2019)

Ruiz, 26, was claimed off waivers by the White Sox in 2017. He split 2019 between bullpens in Charlotte and Chicago, with mixed results. He has been much more effective this year and figures to be included on the postseason roster.

Eduardo Escobar, 2B/3B, Brewers (Charlotte Knights 2011)

Signed by the White Sox out of Venezuela in 2010, Escobar, 32, played 137 games for the Knights in 2011 before being traded to Minnesota one year later. He was acquired by the Brewers at this year’s MLB trade deadline and is an important bat in the Milwaukee lineup.

Omar Narvaez, C, Brewers (Charlotte Knights 2016)

The White Sox acquired Narvaez, 29, in 2013. He played 41 games for the Knights in 2016 before being promoted to the big league club. Narvaez was traded to Seattle in 2018 and a year later to Milwaukee, where he is among the league’s better hitting catchers.

Avisail Garcia, RF, Brewers (Charlotte Knights 2013)

Garcia, 29, joined the Knights in 2013 after he was acquired in a trade. But his stay in Charlotte was brief — after eight games, he was promoted to the White Sox, where he played for six years. With 29 home runs this year, Garcia is a key run producer in the Brewers’ offense.

Jose Rondon, Utility, Cardinals (Charlotte Knights 2018)

The White Sox picked up Rondon in a trade in 2018 and assigned him to Charlotte, where he hit 18 home runs in just 80 games. But he couldn’t take that power to the major leagues and the White Sox released him in 2019. He is a utility player on the Cardinals.

This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 12:30 PM.