2026 White Sox Affiliate Preview: Dominican Summer League (Rookie).
The Dominican Summer League affiliate of the White Sox will be comprised mostly of new international signees from the current signing period that officially opened on January 15th. While a few of the primary performers from last year’s squad have advanced stateside to play in Arizona, there are still some holdovers from last season who will repeat in the Dominican Summer League. Play will begin on June 1st, 2026 as the White Sox will host the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Black in the opener. The league runs until Tuesday August 18th.
The affiliate finished 29-26 last year in 4th place. The Dominican Summer League is played with an eight division format and the league is controlled by Major League Baseball. The divisions are: Central, East, North, Northwest, South, Southeast, Southwest and West. The White Sox play in the Southwest Division with the Giants Orange, Pirates Black, Diamondbacks Black, Blue Jays Blue, Cubs Red and Mariners.
Many of the clubs in the Dominican Summer League deploy two teams and the White Sox are headed in that direction as well. It’s one of the primary reasons why the organization is in the process of building a new premium facility. The White Sox made a $12 million investment on a new state of the art facility that will replace their current one in Boca Chica. It’s expected to open later this year.
The 2026 club is comprised of 20 pitchers, four catchers, six infielders and four outfielders. Out of 34 players on the roster, the majority are members of the most recent international class. Statistics shouldn’t be heavily relied upon but meaningful indicators of future performance can often be found. Age, loud tools and positional value are all factors that can help players stand out in the league.
Wellington Morrobel returns as manager of complex operations and Carolina Santos is the manager of administration. Anthony Núñez is serving as the field manager of the DSL club and he’s flanked by JC Sanner as pitching coach and Moisés Núñez as hitting coach. Sanner is an interesting addition to the pitching staff. Carlos Chavez will be an assistant pitching coach and Guillermo Reyes will coach the infielders.
Rigaberto Silverio will be the development coach with Gustavo De La Cruz serving as the trainer. Neftali Diaz, Carlos Javier and and Fran Batista will be tasked with assisting in those roles. Miguel Pérez is the video coordinator while Pablo Frías and Ruben Benavides will be the educators.
Catcher Fernando Graterol and outfielder Sebastián Romero hail from Venezuela and they were regarded as the top signings in the White Sox’s 2026 international class. Dominican right hander Roderick Ramirez is also turning heads early on in the Dominican Republic. These are all players to watch for this upcoming season.
Outfielders
- Hector Hernandez (17)
- Orlando Patino (18)
- Sebastian Romero (17)
- Stiwarts Valdez (17)
Sebastián Romero is a 6-2, 175 pound outfielder who profiles in center field. The White Sox signed the Venezuelan for $1.5 million in January and he’s ranked as the #19 overall prospect in the system for MLB Pipeline. The 17-year-old made consistent contact as an amateur player and he needs to add strength. Romero has the potential to hit 15-20 homers annually though with solid speed and athleticism.
Stiwarts Valdez is a 6-4, 200 pound toolshed. The Dominican outfielder possesses size, right-handed power and speed. There is bat speed and big power with plus run times in this profile but he’s also an aggressive switch-hitter with swing and miss present in his game.
Orlando Patino was a highly regarded Venezuelan addition from the 2025 class who was originally slated to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 6-2, 190 pounder received 42 at-bats in the DSL last year before missing the rest of the season with an injury. 5-10 150 pound left-handed hitter Hector Hernandez was a low dollar signing from January and he rounds out this outfield mix.
Infielders
- Felix Lebron (17)
- Samuel Luis (17)
- Dionys Medina (18)
- Hector Paulino (17)
- Nestor Perez (19)
- Carlos Vielma (16)
17-year-old Dominican Felix Lebron is a guy the organization is extremely high on. The 6-0, 175 pounder is a quick-twitch athlete with plus speed, good hands and a plus arm. Jesse Borek of MLB.com called him a “late bloomer” who has earned Noelvi Marte comparisons and David Keller brought the infielder up unprompted as well.
Vielma is a 16-year-old who received $400K out of Venezuela and he plays shortstop and hits left-handed. Luis was highlighted by David Keller earlier this year and he’s already a good defender with speed as a 5-9 155 pound 17-year-old. Hector Paulino repeats the DSL after 24 games last year and Dionys Medina and Nestor Perez are both big infielders who will debut this season.
Catchers
- Ronald Cardozo (17)
- Fernando Graterol (17)
- Diego Natera (18)
- José Suárez (17)
Graterol received the largest bonus in the White Sox’s international signing class after inking for $1.6 million. The 17-year-old has big raw power, bat speed and strength and simple right-handed swing. The 6-1, 185 pounder out of Venezuela is an average runner with a strong arm behind the plate but he must improve his overall defensive skills behind the dish. Graterol possesses a power over hit profile and MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #26 overall prospect in the system currently.
Cardozo is a Venezuelan that the White Sox signed for $375K. The 6-5, 200 pounder shows a power over hit profile with advanced receiving skills and a plus arm. The 17-year-old Venezuelan has grown substantially in recent years. Diego Natera is a 5-10, 190 pounder who posted a .415 OBP last year. Suarez is another 17-year-old Venezuelan who signed in the most recent period.
Pitchers
- Beinol Adon (17, RHP)
- David Colmenares (18, LHP)
- Franchel Crisostomo (17, RHP)
- Jhoriel De La Cruz (18, RHP)
- Alexander De Los Santos (17, RHP)
- Juan Felix (17, RHP)
- Oriel Fortuna (20, RHP)
- Ander Guzman (18, RHP)
- Ronald Kelly (17, RHP)
- Erlyn Lauriano (17, RHP)
- Yordany Marte (16, RHP)
- Juan Martinez (19, RHP)
- Albert Munoz (17, RHP)
- Hansel Pinales (18, RHP)
- Roderic Ramirez (17, RHP)
- Enmanuel Rodriguez (16, RHP)
- Yoneiber Rodriguez (19, RHP)
- Christopher Romero (16, LHP)
- Jefferson Timaure (17, RHP)
- Natanael Valerio (19, RHP)
Roderic Ramirez is the most highly regarded pitcher from the club’s most recent international signing class. The 6-3, 200 pounder was originally slated to sign with the San Diego Padres but he ultimately chose the White Sox instead for $400K. The Dominican righty is throwing a mid 90’s fastball that should be in the high 90’s in short order. Ramirez also throws a slider and changeup with a good delivery.
Reports have been promising the Dominican Republic and the organization has high hopes for the 17-year-old. Franchel Crisostomo was seen as a dark horse in the class by Francys Romero and the 6-2, 165 pounder gets his fastball up to 92 mph with a quality changeup already. He has starter potential and the White Sox signed him out of the Dominican Republic for $350,000.
After the signing class was announced, David Keller highlighted Yordany Marte and Jefferson Timaure as well. Marte is a former outfielder from the Dominican Republic with athleticism and a 92 mph heater. Timaure has drawn comparisons to Carlos Carrasco and hails from Venezuela. 18-year-old Ander Guzman also signed out of Mexico while Ronald Kelly makes his way to the Dominican Republic from Colombia.
It’s difficult to know which pitchers profile as starters or relievers but splitting them by countries of origin is much easier. Beinol Adon, Alexander De Los Santos, Juan Felix, Erlyn Lauriano and Enmanuel Rodriguez were all recent additions to the organization from the Dominican Republic and they all throw with the right hand.
6-0, 172 pound southpaw Yoneiber Rodriguez hails from Venezuela. David Colmenares is a 6-0, 170 pound lefty from Venezuela as well. Christopher Romero is a 16-year-old southpaw who stands 6-3, 187 pounds from the Dominican Republic. Oriel Fortuna and Nataneal Valerio are both on the roster but listed on the 60-day injured list currently.
Albert Munoz is a 6-2, 160 pound righty from the Dominican Republic and he threw in 17 Dominican Summer League games last season. Hansel Pinales is a 6-4, 190 pound right hander from the Dominican Republic who also threw in 15 games in 2025.
