Daniel Palka


Daniel Bennett Palka is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox.

Career

Palka attended Greer High School in Greer, South Carolina. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 19th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign with the Phillies and attended Georgia Tech, where he played college baseball. In 2011 and 2012, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was the West division MVP of the league's all-star game in 2012. After his junior year, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Palka made his professional debut with the Missoula Osprey and was later promoted to the Hillsboro Hops. He played for the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2014 and the Visalia Rawhide in 2015. After the 2015 season he played in the Arizona Fall League.

Minnesota Twins

On November 10, 2015, Palka was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Minnesota Twins for Chris Herrmann. He started 2016 with the Chattanooga Lookouts and was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings in July. Palka finished 2016 with a combined.254 batting average, 34 home runs and 90 RBI's between both clubs. The Twins added him to their 40-man roster after the season. In 2017, he played for Rochester, posting a.274 batting average with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 84 games.

Chicago White Sox

He was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox on November 3, 2017. Palka was called up to the Major Leagues on April 24, 2018, and made his major league debut the next day. Palka led the 2018 Chicago White Sox with 27 home runs and finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He began the following season on a 0-32 slump before snapping it on April 17, 2019. He was sent down the following day.
On November 21, 2019, Palka was designated for assignment by the White Sox. He was outrighted to AAA on November 25.

Samsung Lions

On July 29, 2020, Palka left the White Sox organization to sign with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization.