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 ¨C 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.¡±