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White Sox Weekly Minor League Update: Week 22

As the regular season winds down, the Sox place three teams in the playoffs

By Darren Black
Deep Thoughts: What should White Sox fans make of an up-and-down year for Zack Collins?
Birmingham Barons

Charlotte Knights: No Playoffs

Charlie Tilson: .148 BA, 4 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

Ryan Cordell: .280 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Eloy Jimenez: .296 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K ***MVP of the Week***

Seby Zavala: .111 BA, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Carson Fulmer: 4 1⁄3 IP, 4.95 FIP, 6.23 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Spencer Adams: 14 IP, 4.05 FIP, 5.14 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Jordan Stephens: 10 2⁄3 IP, 6.99 FIP, 7.59 K/9, 4.22 BB/9

Jordan Guerrero: 6 IP, 3.50 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 3.00 BB/9

Chalk it up to multiple injuries this year, or maybe he just might not be a 2018 type of baseball player, but this season was not what fans wanted to see from Charlie Tilson. The hit tool was not there; yes, he had singles, but in today’s game a .289 and .292 slugging percentage with a .028 ISO will not cut it. In his limited amount of time in the majors, Tilson only had a 14.6% hard hit rate and a 44.9% soft hit rate — that’s not a lot of good contact from Tilson. The speed seemed to still be there, as he was 12-of-15 in stolen base attempts, but on FanGraph’s speed score, Tilson was at 2011 and 2013 career lows. Usually, a prospect should be granted some time to recover after an injury season and that goes double for Tilson, who had two straight years of season-ending injuries. But 2019 will be Tilson’s age-26 season, so time is not on his side.

Birmingham Barons: No Playoffs

Joel Booker: .233 BA, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 SB

Luis Basabe: .190 BA, 4 R, 6 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

Alex Call: .250 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 11 K

Zack Collins .143 BA, 2 R, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K

Kodi Medeiros: 8 1⁄3 IP, 3.12 FIP, 10.80 K/9, 6.48 BB/9

Bernardo Flores: 12 IP, 2.36 FIP, 4.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9 ***MVP of the Week***

Matt Foster: 2 IP, 2.36 FIP, 4.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9

Jose Ruiz: 3 IP, 12.70 FIP, 0.00 K/9, 15.00 BB/9

Zack Collins had a very strange, up-and-down year. His walk rate was about the same as it has been in his career (a slight decrease), but the K-rate increased slightly as well. Collins increased his batting average from last year, but showed considerably less power. Even with all of that, he still had a 128 wRC+ for the year. When Seby Zavala got the promotion to Charlotte, it was clear Collins was still far behind as a catcher. Does he have the power and bat to be a first baseman? Can he even make a smooth transition to a new position? Time will only tell, but his bat should improve next year if he returns to his 2017 swing form. His line drive rate skyrocketed this year in AA, to 24.4%. That means fewer fly balls and therefore, fewer home runs. Collins still showed he can hit the ball well, with a 44.6% pull rate, and still go the other way (25.5%), but for Collins, power is what separates him from other catchers. He needs to go back to being a fly ball hitter.

Winston Salem Dash: Five-Game Playoff Series starts Wednesday

Luis Gonzalez: .333 BA, 10 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K

Nick Madrigal: .400 BA, 6 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 4 SB ***MVP of the Week***

Laz Rivera: .304 BA, 2 HR, 4 R, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

Gavin Sheets: .300 BA, 1 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K

Luis Robert: .222 BA, 6 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 SB

Blake Rutherford: .321 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

Alec Hansen: 6 2⁄3 IP, 5.16 FIP, 12.15 K/9, 13.50 BB/9

Tyler Johnson: 4 IP, 2.61 FIP, 6.75 K/9, 2.25 BB/9, 2 saves

Lincoln Henzman: 7 IP, 3.21 FIP, 2.57 K/9, 1.29 BB/9

Nick Madrigal has a full 26 games in Winston-Salem, so naturally, lets make some grand predictions. No, not really but Madrigal had an impressive run. Sure, he did not walk much (4.7%), but once Madrigal gets more comfortable in a professional setting, his walk rate should improve. What is truly impressive, given the amount Madrigal swings, is that he only struck out five times total in 2018. Madrigal will end with a slash line of .306/.355/.347, with six stolen bases out of nine attempts alongside an ISO at .041 with the Dash. Overall, his season should be categorized as a success, but next year and 2020 are the real seasons to start evaluating 2018 picks.

Kannapolis Intimidators: Three-game playoff series starts Wednesday

Ian Dawkins: .235 BA, 4 BB, 4 K

Steele Walker: .103 BA, 2 R, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 12 K

Tate Blackman: .294 BA, 3 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K ***MVP of the Week***

Ramon Beltre: .344 BA, 4 R, 7 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K

Luis Curbelo: .206 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K

Andrew Perez: 6 2⁄3 IP, 3.17 FIP, 9.45 K/9, 5.40 BB/9

Bennett Sousa: 6 2⁄3 IP, 3.02 FIP, 8.10 K/9, 1.35 BB/9

Great Falls Voyagers: Three-game playoff series starts Friday

Lenyn Sosa: .286 BA, 7 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K

Romy Gonzalez: .192 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K

Amado Nunez: .465 BA, 2 HR, 5 R, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K ***MVP of the Week***

Bryce Bush: .133 BA, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K

Jason Bilous: 3 IP, 7.65 FIP, 3.00 K/9, 12.00 BB/9

Davis Martin: 6 IP, 2.82 FIP, 13.50 K/9, 4.50 BB/9

Jonathan Stiever: 2 IP, 5.82 FIP, 0.00 K/9, 4.50 BB/9

Konnor Pilkington: 4 IP, 3.07 FIP, 9.00 K/9, 2.25 BB/9

Codi Heuer: 6 IP, 2.65 FIP, 12.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9

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