Corey Julks Bio
Corey Christopher Julks (born February 27, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He is currently a free agent after most recently playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros. Julks has spent portions of his career at both the Triple-A and major league levels, working as a contact-oriented corner outfielder and run producer.
A 2017 draft pick of the Astros, Julks steadily climbed the minor league ladder before breaking into the big leagues in 2023. He has also been active in the minors at the Triple-A level with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys and the Charlotte Knights, producing power and stolen-base numbers that helped him return to MLB rosters on more than one occasion.
Early Life and Background
Corey Christopher Julks was born on February 27, 1996, and grew up in the Friendswood, Texas, area. As a youth player, he was coached by former major league relief pitcher Chuck McElroy. Through McElroy’s teams, Julks became friends with the coach’s son, Satchel, with whom he shared early baseball experiences that helped shape his approach to the game.
Julks attended Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, Texas, where he continued to develop as a position player. He later enrolled at the University of Houston and played college baseball for the Houston Cougars. During the summer of 2015, he expanded his amateur experience by playing collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League, a respected showcase for top college talent.
Path to Major League Baseball
In his junior season at the University of Houston in 2017, Julks started 57 games and batted .335 with nine home runs, 45 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases, a strong all-around line that put him on professional scouting boards. That performance was enough to convince the Houston Astros to select him in the eighth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. Julks signed with the organization rather than return to college, formally beginning his professional career.
His first assignment came with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Low-A New York-Penn League, where he batted .176 over 32 games. He then began the 2018 season with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Single-A Midwest League before earning a promotion to the Buies Creek Astros of the High-A Carolina League. Over 125 games that year, Julks hit .270 with 10 home runs and 62 runs batted in, showing the offensive consistency that defined his rise through the Astros’ system.
Corey Julks Career
Minor League Development (2017-2022)
Julks split the 2019 season between the Fayetteville Woodpeckers of the High-A Carolina League and the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Texas League, batting .256 with four home runs and 41 runs batted in over 107 games. He did not appear in a game in 2020 after the minor league season was canceled, but he returned to Corpus Christi in 2021, now a member of the Double-A Central, and slashed .287/.349/.491 with 14 home runs, 36 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases across 85 games.
The 2022 season brought Julks his first extended look at Triple-A, as he was assigned to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys of the Pacific Coast League. Over 130 games, he compiled a .270/.351/.503 slash line with 31 home runs, 89 runs batted in, and 22 stolen bases, a power-and-speed breakout that pushed him to the doorstep of the major leagues.
Houston Astros Debut (2023)
On March 28, 2023, the Astros announced that Julks had made the club’s Opening Day roster, his first selection to a Major League Baseball roster, and the team selected his contract on March 30. He made his MLB debut on March 31 against the Chicago White Sox, starting as the designated hitter. In his first at-bat, Julks singled off Lance Lynn for his first major league hit, an early sign of the contact skills that had defined his minor league resume.
Julks’ rookie season included several signature moments. On April 12, he hit his first major league home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates off Rich Hill in a 7-0 Astros win, and his ninth-inning single on April 23 versus the Atlanta Braves drove in the go-ahead run in a 5-2 victory. He added his first major league grand slam on June 5 against the Toronto Blue Jays and starter Alek Manoah, sparking an 11-4 win, and on July 4 he collected his first career four-hit game to lead the Astros past the Colorado Rockies 4-1 at Minute Maid Park. In 93 games during his rookie campaign, Julks batted .245/.297/.352 with six home runs, 33 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases.
Chicago White Sox Era (2024-2025)
Julks was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to begin the 2024 season, and on May 10, 2024, he was designated for assignment by the Astros. Five days later, on May 15, 2024, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for minor leaguer Luis Rodriguez and was subsequently optioned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. In 66 games with Chicago that year, Julks slashed .214/.275/.306 with three home runs, 14 runs batted in, and five stolen bases.
The White Sox designated Julks for assignment on December 21, 2024, and he cleared waivers before being sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte on January 8, 2025. With Charlotte in 2025, Julks slashed .295/.373/.470 with 10 home runs, 46 runs batted in, and 13 stolen bases over 87 appearances. The White Sox selected his contract on August 1, 2025, returning him to the active roster, but he went 3-for-8 in four appearances before being designated for assignment on August 12. He cleared waivers, was sent outright to Charlotte on August 14, and rejoined the active roster on September 23, going hitless in four at-bats across two final appearances. On October 13, he was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Charlotte, and on October 15 he elected free agency.
Detroit Tigers Organization (2026)
On January 22, 2026, Julks signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers, giving him a new organization after electing free agency. The deal was a minor league agreement, which signaled that he would compete for a chance to return to the major league roster through spring training and the early months of the season.
Driving Style and Strengths
Julks is a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder and designated hitter who has consistently produced a mix of contact, power, and stolen-base output across the minor leagues. His best statistical seasons have come at the higher levels of the minors, where he has shown the ability to drive the ball for extra bases while remaining active on the base paths, an offensive profile suited to lineup depth at the corner outfield or DH spots.
Notable Events and Milestones
Highlights from Julks’ career include his first major league hit off Lance Lynn on Opening Day 2023, his first home run off Rich Hill, and his first grand slam off Alek Manoah later that same season. He also recorded his first four-hit game on July 4, 2023, and later returned to a major league roster with the White Sox in both 2024 and 2025 after productive Triple-A stretches at Charlotte.
Corey Julks Career Highlights
Julks’ career to this point has featured steady offensive production across multiple levels of professional baseball, with his most consistent power-speed seasons coming in 2021 and 2022 at Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land. His MLB career opened with a 2023 rookie campaign in which he batted .245/.297/.352 with six home runs, 33 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases across 93 games for the Astros.
He added 66 major league games with the Chicago White Sox in 2024, slashing .214/.275/.306 with three home runs, 14 runs batted in, and five stolen bases, and made six more major league appearances with the club across the 2025 season. Through the 2025 season, Julks’ career MLB line stood at .234 with nine home runs and 48 runs batted in.
Corey Julks Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Julks’ connection to professional baseball began at a young level through his youth coach, Chuck McElroy, a former major league relief pitcher. Through that coaching relationship, Julks developed a friendship with McElroy’s son, Satchel, who also played on the same youth teams, giving him an early connection to a household with deep big league ties.
Personal Life
Julks is an American professional baseball player who has spent the bulk of his career in the Houston and Chicago organizations. Public details about his broader personal and family life beyond his early connection to the McElroy family are limited.
2025 Season Performance
Julks spent most of the 2025 season with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, where he was one of the lineup’s most productive hitters. In 87 appearances for Charlotte, he slashed .295/.373/.470 with 10 home runs, 46 runs batted in, and 13 stolen bases, a strong bounce-back line after a difficult 2024 major league campaign. That production earned him a return to the White Sox active roster on August 1, when the club selected his contract from the minor league side.
His major league opportunities in 2025 were limited, as he appeared in only six games for Chicago and went 3-for-12 overall, with his final two appearances coming after the White Sox re-added him to the roster on September 23. After the season, the White Sox removed him from the 40-man roster on October 13, sent him outright to Charlotte, and Julks elected free agency on October 15, ending his White Sox tenure.
Looking ahead, the 2025 season closed with Julks back on the open market, and he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers on January 22, 2026, setting up a new opportunity in a different organization. His combination of left-handed power, on-base skills, and stolen-base instincts could give him a path back to a major league role if he produces in the Tigers’ system.