White Sox Weekly Minor League Update: Week 10

Just to start this week, here are the White Sox prospects in All-Star Games so far.

Here are updates from Rick Hahn:

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Charlotte Knights

Patrick Leonard: .158 BA, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K

Matt Skole: .190 BA, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Dustin Garneau: .083 BA, 1 HR, 0 BB, 5 K

Casey Gillaspie: .067 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K

Michael Kopech: 6 IP, 3.01 FIP, 15.00 K/9, 7.50 BB/9

Jordan Stephens: 4 IP, 8.59, 6.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Carson Fulmer: 11 IP, 5.61 FIP, 6.55 K/9, 4.09 BB/9

Thyago Vieira: 2 IP, 0.34 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9 ***MVP of the Week***

Tyler Danish: 5 IP, 6.34 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 7.20 BB/9

Aaron Bummer: 2 IP, -0.66 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Thyago Vieira is one of the last surviving prospects on the 40-man roster in Charlotte. He has not allowed a run since May 24 and has not allowed a walk since May 28. Since May 24, Vieira has a 2.95 FIP, with a 7.04 K/9 and a 3.52 BB/9. For an 80 graded fastball on FanGraphs, Vieira should have more strikeouts, but he has been able to induce weaker contact. The walks will always be there for Vieira, but they have gone down in recent weeks. So far in 2018, Vieira’s FIP and xFIP are much improved from last season with the Seattle Mariners, thus he should be in line for a promotion with the Sox. Jeanmar Gomez may be the next call-up if a bullpen arm is injured, but Vieira and Michael Kopech are the best prospects left in Charlotte.

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Birmingham Barons

Danny Mendick: .154 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Eloy Jimenez: .222 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K

Jameson Fisher: .125 BA, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K

Seby Zavala: .250 BA, 3 R, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K

Zack Collins .231 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 13 K

Dane Dunning: 11 ²⁄₃ IP, 1.95 FIP, 11.57 K/9, 3.09 BB/9 ***MVP of the Week***

Jordan Guerrero: 4 IP, 6.49 FIP, 4.50 K/9, 2.25 BB/9

Spencer Adams: 6 IP, 2.99 FIP, 4.50 K/9, 1.50 BB/9

Ian Hamilton: 3 IP, 2.16 FIP, 6.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9, 1 save

Spencer Adams is starting to look like a top prospect again. Adams never had trouble with his command, but he was getting hit hard. But over his last three starts, he has only allowed one run and has walked only three batters in 21 innings pitched. The K-rate will never be there, but over this hot streak Adams has a left-on-base percentage (LOB%) of 87.5% despite a K-rate of just 19.2%. Though BABIP can be used as an indication of “luck,” it is more reliable as a measure of the type of contact allowed. Over the last 21 innings, Adams’ BABIP against is .217; tack that on with the LOB% and it seems like Adams is inducing weaker contact. He also has not allowed a home run, which has doomed him in the past. Hopefully, Adams can put together a month of success to get him back on track as a future big-leaguer.

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Winston-Salem Dash

Joel Booker: .273 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

Micker Adolfo: .313 BA, 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K

Alex Call: .250 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K

Luis Alexander Basabe: .176, BA, 1 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K

Blake Rutherford: .429 BA, 5 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

Zach Remillard: .318 BA, 3 HR, 4 R, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K ***MVP of the Week***

Dylan Cease: 6 IP, 7.44 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Bernardo Flores: 7 IP, 5.01 FIP, 5.14 K/9, 2.57 BB/9

Jimmy Lambert: 3 IP, 8.77 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 9.00 BB/9

Matt Foster: 3 IP, 0.41 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, 2 saves

Zach Remillard forced his way on to the big board this week. Remillard is an afterthought in this stacked Winston-Salem lineup, but he provided big pop this week with three homers, one of which was a grand slam. He is easily having his best season as a professional, with a slash line of .273/.333/.461 and a wRC+ at 121. It is easy to say this week is a fluke, and to an extent it is, but Remillard has improved. His BB% has almost doubled, and he is getting better contact. His fly ball rate is up, but he is also not pulling the ball as frequently. Since he was drafted, his pull numbers have fallen each year, to where they now sit at 43.4% Compared to last years, he is now hitting the ball about 3% more to center and about 2% more to the opposite field. He is just now learning to take what the pitcher gives him. This not saying Remillard is a guy to watch, but he is just another player showing positive results, which bodes well for Chris Getz and his staff.

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Kannapolis Intimidators

Tate Blackman: .409 BA, 2 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K ***MVP of the Week***

Craig Dedelow: .304 BA, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K

Laz Rivera: .333 BA, 3 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 11 K, 1 SB

Luis Gonzalez: .192 BA, 3 R, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K

Justin Yurchak: .333 BA, 6 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K

Evan Skoug: .250 BA, 1 BB, 8 K

Luis Curbelo: .318 BA, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K

Luis Robert: .304 BA, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

Lincoln Henzman: 6 IP, 1.98 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 1.50 BB/9

John Parke: 7 IP, 1.48 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Blake Battenfield: 6 IP, 5.32 FIP, 6.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9

Tyler Johnson: 1 IP, -0.53 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9, 1 save

Sorry Tate Blackman, Luis Robert is here. After coming back from his injury, through six games, Robert is slashing .304/.360/.391. There is not enough information to analyze Robert’s time in Kannapolis, but he is certainly hitting the ball well. One-quarter of his batted balls are line drives, even though 50% of his batted balls are grounders. However, Robert has not hit an infield fly yet. He is going to the opposite field 6% more than last season. It could be a sign of growth as a hitter but, again, it is too early to tell. Kannapolis seems like it will be a brief assignment for Robert, so his real growth will come in Winston-Salem.

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DSL White Sox:

Jefferson Mendoza: .222 BA, 2 BB, 1 K

Jerrick Francees: .250 BA, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K

Omar Martinez: .320 BA, 6 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

Jose Rodriguez: .400 BA, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 SB ***MVP of the Week***

Hector Acosta: 4 ¹⁄₃ IP, 4.15 ERA, 1 BB, 7 K

Francisco Benitez: 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1.42 ERA, 4 BB, 7 K