White Sox OF prospect Adam Engel named Fall League MVP

White Sox outfield prospect Adam Engel was named Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League after winning the league’s batting title with a .403 average and also leading the AFL in on-base percentage (.523) and slugging (.642).

A 2013 19th-round pick from Louisville, Engel is the Sox’ 17th-ranked prospect according to MLB.com. He is the first White Sox to win the award, which was won by Cubs prospect Kris Bryant in 2013.

“It feels good to have hard work pay off,” Engel said during a conference call with Chicago media last week. “I’m a big believer if you get the right information from the people around you and you really work at it, you give yourself a chance to have success. It’s been good to see that success while I’ve been out here. It’s been a confidence builder and it just confirms that I’m getting the right information. It feels good and hopefully I can carry this out into next year.”

Engel, 23, posted a .251/.335/.369 slash line at Class A Winston Salem in 2015. In 608 plate appearances he hit seven homers, 23 doubles and nine homers and drove in 43 runs. A leadoff man, he stole 65 bases in 76 attempts.

He will begin the 2016 season at AA Birmingham, said Nick Capra, White Sox director of player development.

“Obviously, as everybody knows, it’s been kind of a pitching-oriented organization since I’ve been here,” Capra said, “and it’s nice to see some of the position players we have drafted here in the last couple of years come to the forefront. It gives us the opportunity to develop them and hopefully have the chance to get to the big leagues and hopefully win at that level.”