Some draft chatter from Nick Hostelter via Scott Merkin:
From the esteemed Nick Hostetler on the White Sox No. 3 pick: "We’ve probably got 6 right now we would feel very, very comfortable in taking ... The big thing is of those six, getting the top three in order."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 22, 2019
Hostetler on potentially taking a catcher at No. 3 with Zack Collins and Seby Zavala in place: "Sure. Regardless of what position they play, whether it’s a catcher and we have Zack and Seby, whether it’s a shortstop and we have TA, whether it’s a second baseman ...
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 22, 2019
More Hostetler: "... when we took Nick Madrigal, we are going to take the best player regardless of the position."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 22, 2019
Gwinnett Stripers 9, Charlotte Knights 1
D.J. Peterson goes YARD!
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) May 23, 2019
: @laurawolffphoto pic.twitter.com/nUpfuvYpoF
Adam Engel: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K (.146 BA, .441 OPS)
Danny Mendick: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.277 BA, .820 OPS)
Daniel Palka: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K (.299 BA, 1.066 OPS)
Seby Zavala: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K (.214 BA, .717 OPS)
Joel Booker: 1-for-3, 0 BB, 1 K (.217 BA, .598 OPS)
Colton Turner: 4 1⁄3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (5.34 ERA, 1.62 WHIP)
Zach Thompson: 1 1⁄3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (8.20 ERA, 1.88 WHIP)
Matt Foster: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K **MVP** (4.85 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)
This one, well, did not go well. After three good innings from Colton Turner, he began to unravel in the fourth inning. He allowed three runs off a homer to Alex Jackson but was able to stop any further damage, getting the next three outs. DJ Peterson attempted to claw back with a solo homer in the fifth, but that was the only run the Knights could muster, and the score only got worse. While only recording one out in the fifth, Turner allowed two runs as he turned the ball over to Zach Thompson. However, Thompson ran into trouble as well. In his one-plus innings pitched, Thompson allowed five runners one base; four of them came around to score, and three runs were earned. Matt Foster came in to keep the game at a reasonable blowout, doing well in mop-up duty in the 9-1 loss.
Chattanooga Lookouts 8, Birmingham Barons 6
And Luis Basabe follows with a two-RBI triple!
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) May 23, 2019
The White Sox No. 7 prospect comes through to tie it up at 2-2!#BuiltInBham | #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/LruvQlX6NI
Luis Robert: 2-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (.273 BA, .857 OPS)
Luis Basabe: 2-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K **MVP** (.206 BA, .539 OPS)
Luis Gonzalez: 0-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (.226 BA, .602 OPS)
Gavin Sheets: 1-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (.245 BA, .635 OPS)
Laz Rivera: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K (.220 BA, .546 OPS)
Bernardo Flores: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (3.17 ERA, 1.03 WHIP)
Zack Burdi: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (6.35 ERA, 1.85 WHIP)
It was not the best day for Bernardo Flores, but the bats, surprisingly, picked him up and got him off the hook for the loss. The Barons scored their first six runs in the third and forth innings. Luis Basabe drew first blood when he tripled home two runs to tie the game at two. Luis Gonzalez would drive in Basabe on the next at-bat to give Birmingham the lead. The next inning, the Barons got three more runs via an Alfredo Gonzalez double, a Ti’Quan Forbes run off of a wild pitch, and Basabe RBI single. After four innings, it was 6-2, Barons.
However, Flores’ struggles continued. He allowed a two-run home run in the fifth inning to cut the lead to two. After the fifth, he was done for the day after Chris Okey tagged him for Okey’s second homer of the day. Flores’ struggles seeped into the next pitcher, Zack Burdi. With Okey up again, he crushed a three-run homer and just like that, the Barons were down, with all allowed runs coming off three home runs by Okey. The Lookouts would add one more run, another homer — but not by Okey this time. The damage was done, as Burdi & Co. blew a four-run lead.
Winston-Salem Dash 4, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 3
Walk Off WIN in the 10th for @WSDashBaseball!!!! Way to Go, @Zachyflat7!! @SouthSideSox pic.twitter.com/MXbfOVUw6E
— Tiffany (@TiffW96) May 22, 2019
Nick Madrigal: 1-for-5, 1-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (.265 BA, .692 OPS)
Steele Walker: 0-for-0, 0 BB, 0 K (.177 BA, .631 OPS) (left the game in the fourth)
Zach Remillard: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K **MVP** (.318 BA, .822 OPS)
Lincoln Henzman: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (5.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP)
Good Lincoln Henzman was back in this one for the Dash. He threw seven innings that only took 90 pitches (64 strikes). He was able to keep the ball on the ground, with seven ground outs compared to four flies. Those grounders came in handy, as the Dash defense had three double plays on the day. This makes two straight quality starts after Henzman allowed six runs in each of his two starts before May 17th.
Meanwhile, on the hitting side, there was not a lot of action until the eighth inning.
Steele Walker was hit by a pitch in the first inning and did not return for his second at-bat. For a while, Tyler Frost’s sacrifice fly was the only run production the Dash had, but they were clutch in the final three innings. In the eighth, Craig Dedelow drove in Zach Remillard to tie the game 2-2 with a single. In the ninth, Jordan George hit his second home run of the year to tie the game at three. In the 10th, Remillard singled home Nick Madrigal to walk off the 4-3 win.
Kannapolis Intimidators 2, Hagerstown Suns 1
Ian Dawkins: 1-for-4, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (.343 BA, .855 OPS)
Lenyn Sosa: 1-for-4, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (.222 BA, .574 OPS)
Romy Gonzalez: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.284 BA, .773 OPS)
Luis Curbelo: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 0 K (.196 BA, .584 OPS)
Johan Dominguez: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K **MVP** (2.05 ERA, 1.59 WHIP)
Runs came early, not really often, but definitely early for the I’s. Alex Destino drove in Ian Dawkins for the first run in the first inning, but the Suns struck right back in the bottom of the inning. Then, Lenyn Sosa scored off of a wild pitch in the third inning, and that was that.
Johan Dominguez took control of the Suns and fired six innings of no-earned run baseball. He did allow five hits, but they were all singles. He lowered his ERA to a blissful 2.05. The bullpen took Dominguez’s lead and continued the pitching dominance. Lane Ramsey and Vince Arobio combined for three perfect innings to close out the 2-1 win.