Charlotte Knights
You can find us stocking up on @MichaelKopech5 jerseys at the Chicago Sports Depot. pic.twitter.com/YCXSnhdjAT
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 19, 2018
IT'S HAPPENING: @MichaelKopech5 is coming to Chicago!
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 19, 2018
Tuesday night vs. Minnesota, #NextSox becomes #WhiteSox. Get your now: https://t.co/oZQDCOjWFz pic.twitter.com/JWTnilYuYQ
Charlie Tilson: .273 BA, 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
Ryan Cordell: .240 BA, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 SB
Eloy Jimenez: .259 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Jose Rondon: .200 BA, 1 HR, 0 BB, 7 K
Seby Zavala: .200 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 9 K
Michael Kopech: 6 IP, 0.82 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9 ***MVP of the Week***
Carson Fulmer: 3 1⁄3 IP, 6.02 FIP, 5.40 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Spencer Adams: 6 IP, 3.82 FIP, 4.50 K/9, 4.50 BB/9
Jordan Guerrero: 5 IP, 3.12 FIP, 12.60 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Ryan Burr: 4 1⁄3 IP, 2.63 FIP, 6.23 K/9, 2.08 BB/9
Ian Hamilton: 3 IP, 4.32 FIP, 15.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
The second wave of prospects is coming , starting with Michael Kopech, and he deserves it. Kopech overcame his control struggles of May and June to turn in seven straight brilliant starts. In six of his last seven starts, he pitched in six or more innings. In those 44 innings, he only walked four batters and struck out 59. That is a 31.60% K/BB rate, which has helped him earn a 1.94 FIP over that stretch. More surprising is that he has gotten unlucky at times, with a .340 BABIP, but he was able to mitigate the damage with a 85.8% LOB rate. Over the weekend on 670 The Score with Bruce Levine, Kopech talked about how much his breaking balls and changeup have progressed since the beginning of the year. He said that he could throw those pitches and be confident about the result at any count, which is a sign of true development. Kopech has said he was ready, and he is now getting a shot to prove it, Tuesday should be fun.
Birmingham Barons
In his best start as a Baron, @kodi_medeiros was fantastic!
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) August 19, 2018
His final line:
8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 105 pitches/67 strikes
Brian Clark comes in to a 1-1 game, T9. #NextSox pic.twitter.com/mKSlnw7SVw
Joel Booker: .400 BA, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Luis Basabe: .391 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 SB ***MVP of the Week***
Alex Call: .130 BA, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K
Zack Collins .231 BA 1 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K
Dylan Cease: 1 IP, 3.41 FIP, 27.00 K/9, 18.00 BB/9
Kodi Medeiros: 8 IP, 5.41 FIP, 3.38 K/9, 3.38 BB/9
Matt Foster: 3 IP, 4.41 FIP, 0.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, 1 Save
Jose Ruiz: 3 IP, 1.41 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9, 1 save
It seems like the pundits and scouts were right: Kodi Medeiros will probably be a reliever. But he first needs to walk fewer hitters. Even in what was his best start with the Barons, this past week, he did not show electric stuff; he was more lucky, if anything, because he had a .174 BABIP and left every single runner stranded. It is impressive, but unsustainable — and that’s why the FIP was far higher than his ERA. At the very least, Medeiros will finish up as a starter this year, but he has shown to be an underachiever at that position. Since his arrival from Milwaukee, Medeiros has a 6.56 FIP with 7.97 K/9 and a paltry 6.20 BB/9. That has left Medeiros with a haunting 4.4% K/BB rate. All of this is happening even with a 51.9% ground ball rate and a pull percentage less than 40%, so it does not seem like Medeiros is allowing hard contact. However, with a 22.2% HR/FB rate, when there is hard contact, it leaves the yard. Basically, Medeiros is a lefty Spencer Adams who walks too many people and gets burned. Maybe we should appreciate Adams a little more.
Winston-Salem Dash
.@Zachyflat7 hit a 2⃣-run homer, @NickMadrigal_3 had 2⃣ RBIs, Alec Hansen threw and our bullpen tossed 6⃣ strong innings as part of a 4-3 win over Wilmington.
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) August 18, 2018
We've now won 7⃣ straight at home.
Here were the highlights... pic.twitter.com/P6VAy4SkE9
Luis Gonzalez: .444 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K ***MVP of the Week***
Nick Madrigal: .222 BA, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Laz Rivera: .111 BA, 0 BB, 5 K
Gavin Sheets: .176 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Luis Robert: .167 BA, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 SB
Blake Rutherford: .136 BA, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Alec Hansen: 3 IP, -0.63 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Tyler Johnson: 2 2⁄3 IP, 0.37 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Lincoln Henzman: 3 IP, 4.03 FIP, 6.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9
On a team overloaded with top prospects and depth, Luis Gonzalez has proven to be the best of the bunch, as he leads the Dash with a .325 batting average and rounds out his slash line with a .379 OBP and a .540 slugging percentage, with a whopping 155 wRC+ since his promotion to High-A. His walk rate is at a good 8.3%, but the K-rate is truly impressive, falling nearly 8% with the Dash, to 16.7%, while hitting with more power. Gonzalez is pulling the ball nearly 50% of the time but because of his plate approach, he still is going away on almost 30% of his batted balls. He is hitting more fly balls and more line drives than ever before, which in turn, means his fewest ground balls. What makes his stint in Winston-Salem even more impressive, is that while his HR/FB rate is down 6%, he is hitting more home runs. He also has nearly the same BABIP (.364) with the Dash as he did in Kannapolis, but is hitting 25 points higher. Gonzalez was a big riser in mid-season prospect rankings and should continue to climb.
Kannapolis Intimidators
Here it is! Tyler Frost’s walk off in the 10th! pic.twitter.com/wlGCyx9LzD
— Kannapolis Intimidators (@Intimidators) August 16, 2018
Ian Dawkins: .357 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K ***MVP of the Week***
Steele Walker: .263 BA, 5 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Ramon Beltre: .278 BA, 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
Luis Curbelo: .059 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 9 K
Andrew Perez: 2⁄3 IP, 9.45 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 13.50 BB/9
Bennett Sousa: 2 2⁄3 IP, 1.20 FIP, 10.12 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Great Falls Voyagers
The playoff-bound @gfvoyagers open a three-game weekend series at Idaho Falls tonight. First pitch at Melaleuca Field is set for 7:15. pic.twitter.com/HGSC12zIYu
— Great Falls Voyagers (@gfvoyagers) August 18, 2018
Lenyn Sosa: .214 BA, 4 R, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K
Romy Gonzalez: .143 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 2 SB
Gunnar Troutwine: .364 BA, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K ***MVP of the Week***
Bryce Bush: .320 BA, 4 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Jason Bilous: 3 IP, 2.75 FIP, 12.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9
Konnor Pilkington: 2 IP, 1.42 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 0.000 BB/9
Davis Martin: 3 IP, 1.75 FIP, 12.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Jonathan Stiever: 3 IP, 2.42 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 6.00 BB/9
Codi Heuer: 3 IP, 4.75 FIP, 3.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9
AZL White Sox
Camilo Quinterio: .190 BA, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K
Luis Mieses: .292 BA, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K ***MVP of the Week***
Cabera Weaver: .133 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K
Lency Delgado: .154 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 SB
Brayan Herrera: 10 IP, 3.77 FIP, 7.20 K/9, 3.60 BB/9
Zack Burdi: 2 IP, 1.67 FIP, 18.00 K/9, 4.50 BB/9
Hunter Kiel: 1 IP, 5.17 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 9.00 BB/9
DSL White Sox
Jose Rodriguez: .333 BA, 5 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 5 SB ***MVP of the Week***
Sidney Pimentel: .091 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K
Francisco Benitez: 1 IP, 1.51 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Luis Rodriguez: 4 2⁄3 IP, 7.79 FIP, 7.71 K/9, 9.64 BB/9
Cristofer Melendez: 6 IP, 2.17 FIP, 10.50 K/9, 1.50 BB/9
Wilber Perez: 5 IP, 2.51 FIP, 7.20 K/9, 0.00 BB/9