ROSTER MOVE: May 11#WhiteSox sign LHP Ross Detwiler and assign him to the #CLTKnights.
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) May 11, 2019
Welcome to #UptownCLT, Ross! pic.twitter.com/7C21yRRWb0
#Dodgers trade catcher Travis d’Arnaud to the #Rays and outfielder Paulo Orlando to the #WhiteSox for cash considerations. Read more on the moves: https://t.co/jcuGAOyPfU pic.twitter.com/GBEgPmiCRz
— True Blue LA (@truebluela) May 10, 2019
Congrats to @Blake_Bfield2, who has earned his first promotion to the Double-A @BhamBarons!
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) May 10, 2019
As a corresponding move, the @whitesox have signed Jorgan Cavanerio (@JCavanerio18) and placed him on our roster. pic.twitter.com/3M8yVMiLAX
Michael Hickman has been promoted to @KnightsBaseball!
— Kannapolis Intimidators (@Intimidators) May 9, 2019
Congratulations Michael! pic.twitter.com/2KDdTCKvFX
Congratulations to Evan Skoug on his promotion to @WSDashBaseball !
— Kannapolis Intimidators (@Intimidators) May 7, 2019
Good luck in Winston-Salem! pic.twitter.com/N3C7AAShHS
Another kid we host just got promoted. I told y’all there was a correlation! Congrats Konnor Pilkington.
— Dan Victor (@slydanno70) May 11, 2019
Micker Adolfo also having another lelbow surgery. #WhiteSox OF prospect should be ready to go in spring training
— Scot Gregor (@scotgregor) May 13, 2019
Charlotte Knights
That's how you start!
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) May 7, 2019
The Knights bat around in the first! With his second at-bat of the inning, @dmendick01 hits a two-run homer to left, his sixth of the year, to give Charlotte an 8-0 lead. #NextSox
It's the Knights' biggest offensive inning of the season! pic.twitter.com/nkisWjd3UZ
Zack Collins: .167 BA, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K (on 7-day IL, concussion)
Danny Mendick: .318 BA, 2 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 SB ***MVP of the Week***
Daniel Palka: .333 BA, 2 HR, 6 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K
Adam Engel: .200 BA, 1 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K
Joel Booker: .385 BA, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Ian Hamilton: 2 2⁄3 IP, 1.43 FIP, 10.12 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Matt Foster: 3 IP, 3.02 FIP, 12.0 K/9, 6.0 BB/9
Thyago Vieira: 3 1⁄3 IP, 6.68 FIP, 16.2 K/9, 8.1 BB/9
Carson Fulmer: 3 IP, 4.02 FIP, 12.0 K/9, 9/0 BB/9
Caleb Frare: 1 1⁄3 IP, 12.68 FIP, 13.5 K/9, 6.75 BB/9
Zach Thompson: 4 IP, 8.18 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Jose Ruiz: 2 IP, 0.68 FIP, 13.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Dylan Cease: 3 2⁄3 IP, 4.50 FIP, 7.36 K/9, 7.36 BB/9
To some, it might be surprising how often Danny Mendick already has been the MVP of the Week in Charlotte. To others, it is surprising he is still in AAA. Right now, Mendick has a 115 wRC+, a respectable number considering he would be primarily a second baseman in MLB. Just an FYI, Jose Rondon currently sports an 81 wRC+ and Yolmer Sanchez has a 71 wRC+ in Chicago, food for thought White Sox front office. Mendick has picked up right where he left off in AAA last year. His walk and strikeout rates are slightly higher, but the BABIP and ISO have increased at a better rate. Currently, his ISO is at .195, which is fifth-best among second basemen in the International League (min. 100 PA). Mendick’s BABIP, which has increased 17 points compared to last season, corresponds with a 26-point batting average increase. Those stats are not without concern, though. With a 19.4% HR/FB rate, that would be almost 10% higher than Mendick’s previous career mark, but again, there is always the caveat of the new baseball. The more concerning thing is the fly ball rate, which has dropped 5%. With a new ball, that drop hasn’t been detrimental, but, obviously, with better pitchers in MLB, it could matter.
Birmingham Barons
.@cleansheets24 just hit this one out of the state of Tennessee.
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) May 12, 2019
It's the third HR of the season for the @whitesox No. 18 prospect!#BuiltInBham | #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/wznWsFLSKT
Gavin Sheets: .444 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB ***MVP of the Week***
Laz Rivera: .267 BA, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K
Luis Gonzalez: .316 BA, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
Blake Rutherford: .158 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Luis Robert: .071 BA, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
Luis Basabe: .083 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K 1 SB
Hunter Schryver: 1 1⁄3 IP, 3.18 FIP, 0.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Zack Burdi: 3 2⁄3 IP, 4.55 FIP, 12.27 K/9, 12.27 BB/9
Alec Hansen: 2 IP, 7.18 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 13.5 BB/9
Kodi Medeiros: 4 2⁄3 IP, 9.82 FIP, 9.64 K/9, 5.79 BB/9
Bernardo Flores: 6 IP, 2.68 FIP, 4.5 K/9, 1.5 BB/9
Jimmy Lambert: 5 IP, 3.18 FIP, 5.4 K/9, 3.6 BB/9
Blake Battenfield: Just promoted to AA, no appearances yet.
Gavin Sheets has had an odd year so far. He has basically had two very good weeks of baseball and the rest, well, not very good. Though he did hit his third home run of the year on May 11, Sheets has not been driving the ball well enough to induce extra-base hits. Before that homer, Sheets’s last XBH came on May 2, before that, it was April 21. In total, he has five XBH on the year compared to 24 singles, for a .091 ISO — not a good mark for a first baseman. The problem lies in the available batted ball data. First, over half of Sheets’s batted balls are grounders (52.7%), which is not a mark that will lead to extra-base hits, especially for batters without good speed. The second spot is the pull rate, which is at 41.3%. Though it is good that Sheets is showing good plate coverage and is hitting the ball the other way, it is not good contact, or at least, not hard-hit contact over the wall or into the gaps. With a 93 wRC+ so far this season, Sheets seems to have longer way to go to see AAA right now.
Winston-Salem Dash
.@Zachyflat7 continues to swing a hot bat!
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) May 12, 2019
He extends his hitting streak to seven by stroking a run-scoring single in the fourth.
We lead 1-0 going into the fifth against Down East. pic.twitter.com/xHhtKlPg6J
Nick Madrigal: .136 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 SB
Zach Remillard: .556 BA, 1 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K ***MVP of the Week***
Steele Walker: .235 BA, 3 R, 7 BB, 5 K
Codi Heuer: 3 IP, 4.64 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 6.0 BB/9
Lincoln Henzman: 10 IP, 6.34 FIP, 6.3 K/9, 3.6 BB/9
Apologies to Zach Remillard and his outrageous week, but Konnor Pilkington is moving his way up to High-A after a stellar start in Kannapolis. The 2018 3rd round pick leaves the I’s with a 1.62 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and much better command than what he showed last season after being drafted. With a minimum of 30 innings pitched, he had the third-best ERA and fifth-best K/9 in the South Atlantic League. Pilkington was just too good for the SALLY and he proved it, as batters had a .132 BA against him, tops in the league by 32 points. It was not as conventional a run as other dominant pitchers because Pilkington allowed 13% more fly balls than grounders, but the contact was week. First, 30% of those fly balls never left the infield. Second, a pull rate in the low 40% indicates batters did not get around on Pilkington’s pitches. A+ ball is obviously harder, but if Pilkington’s time in Single-A provides any indication, the young hitters are going to have a tough time. A side note, the 2018 draft class now has their first three draft picks in Winston-Salem, a new level to keep an eye on.
Kannapolis Intimidators
Gunnar Troutwine: .143 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Ian Dawkins: .556 BA, 1 HR, 8 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 SB ***MVP of the Week***
Corey Zangari: .077 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
Bryce Bush: .222 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K
Luis Curbelo: .136 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 12 K
Lenyn Sosa: .296 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
Romy Gonzalez: .333 BA, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K
Bennett Sousa: 2 1⁄3 IP, 3.15 FIP, 7.71 K/9, 3.86 BB/9
Andrew Perez: 4 IP, 0.35 FIP, 18.0 K/9, 2.25 BB/9
Jonathan Stiever: 7 IP, 1.30 FIP, 1029 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Konnor Pilkington: 6 IP, 2.42 FIP, 12.0 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 (promoted to Single-A+)
Kade McClure: 7 IP, 3.01 FIP, 12.86 FIP, 1.29 BB/9
Relievers tend to be overlooked, especially at this low of a level in MILB, but Andrew Perez has been special this season. Perez has taken huge steps in his second stint with the I’s, in just about every way. His K-rate has jumped 10% and his BB-rate is down 2%. His FIP has taken a drastic fall all the way to 2.67, and the contact he lets up seems to be very weak, which is actually much better for Perez than normal. He has a .292 batting average against with a .440 BABIP, as most batted balls are going to the opposite field, and on the ground. This is especially important because Perez has allowed at least one hit in every appearance and multiple hits in nine of his 11 games. That makes his 84.5% left-on-base rate even more impressive. The hits should stop falling eventually, as the batted ball data indicates, but Perez has done very well keeping runners from scoring — an important measure for any pitcher, especially a late-inning reliever.