White Sox Minor League Update: May 18, 2018

To start off, some injury news around the farm system today.

Not many updates on Zack Burdi’s Tommy John surgery recovery have been issued until now. Today, we learned that Burdi has been throwing in bullpen sessions, and apparently has changed up his delivery. Now, whether this a result of his surgery or a precaution to avoid more elbow problems, we do not know. However, some telling things from Rick Hahn, including the fact that he does not seem to expect Burdi to pitch on a team this season.

Kevin Escorcia is not a big name, and he is not even the biggest name in the Kannapolis bullpen — that honor goes to Tyler Johnson. However, Escorcia has put up quite the start to his season: His FIP is 2.83 with a K/9 of 12.42 and a BB/9 of 2.70.

Ricardo Pinto has not been good this season, but he is on the 40-man roster. He ended 2017 as a reliever, and so the Sox organization needed to stretch him out this season in Winston-Salem in order to shift him to a starting role. However, he left the Dash with a 6.72 FIP, and then left Charlotte with an injury at a 7.39 FIP. His injury may have been more about his performance than an actual injury.

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Charlotte Knights 1, Columbus Clippers 0

Jose Rondon: 1-for-3, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SB

Charlie Tilson: 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K

Kevan Smith: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K

Casey Gillaspie: 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Michael Kopech: 7 IP, 2 H 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K **MVP**

Michael Kopech bounced back, and then some. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and even had some fun with Melky Cabrera. Kopech was able to strike out Cabrera twice, though Cabrera singled in his final at-bat. Kopech’s previous two starts totaled 6 ¹⁄₃ innings and a 9.39 FIP. In large part due to an increase in walks to 11.37 BB/9. In Kopech’s seven shutout innings, he only walked two batters, earning him an 83 game score. Thanks to Kopech, the Knights only needed one run in the first to win the game, off of an RBI single from Charlie Tilson. Tilson is hitting .286 over the past two weeks, with only four strikeouts in 36 plate appearances. With Nicky Delmonico out for up to six weeks with a broken hand, Tilson may be on his way up.

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Montgomery Biscuits 8, Birmingham Barons 0

Tito Polo: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB **MVP**

Zack Collins: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Eloy Jimenez: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K

Seby Zavala: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K

Matt Rose: 1-for-3, 0 BB, 0 K

Jameson Fisher: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K

Dane Dunning: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

It was not a good one for the Barons. Dane Dunning was charged with three of the five runs that crossed the plate in the first two innings. Dunning was due to have a less than stellar start after tossing four games with a 3.15 FIP. His WHIP of 2.00 in this game is uncharacteristically high for Dunning, and that doomed him and the Barons in the first two innings (he had a 1.41 WHIP heading into the game). Tito Polo was the only candidate for MVP. He was the only hitter to reach base twice, and the only to have an extra-base hit (a double). Polo also extended his Southern League-leading stolen base total to 12 on the season.

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Winston-Salem Dash 6, Down East Wood Ducks 0

Joel Booker: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 SB

Luis Alexander Basabe: 3-for-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Blake Rutherford: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Micker Adolfo: 1-for-1, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K

Gavin Sheets: 1-for-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K

Yeyson Yrizarri: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 1 K

Dylan Cease: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K **MVP**

On Kopech Day, Dylan Cease may be overlooked, but he had a phenomenal outing. He went six innings, which he still needs to do consistently, but only walked two batters to help garner a 74 game score. Like Kopech, Cease was coming off a bad start, having allowed seven runs off of nine hits in only two innings. This time, he was able to keep hitters at bay only allowing two hits. Coming into the game, Basabe was slashing .100/.100/.100 for the week, and had a wRC+ of -.54. His regression back to the mean was bound to happen, but a 3-for-5 game and his first home run since May 3 were the first signs in weeks of hard contact.

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Kannapolis Intimidators