White Sox Minor League Update: July 2, 2019

Durham Bulls 8, Charlotte Knights 2

Donn Roach: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (L, 2-4)
Zach Thompson: 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 1 WP
Adam Engel (CF): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 CS **MVP**
Danny Mendick (2B): 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
Matt Skole (1B): 1-for-4, 1 K
Seby Zavala (C): 1-for-3, 1 K, 1 HBP
Jacob Scavuzzo (RF): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K
Ryan Goins (SS): 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

The Knights picked up 10 hits but only two runs as they dropped to 46-38 on Tuesday. Donn Roach had a good start to the year for Charlotte in 2018, then signed in Japan midway through the season, then returned to the Sox on a minor league deal at the end of the year. He’s struggled since returning, and this is his first quality start all season. Zach Thompson, who gave up two runs total in 14 ⅓ innings in June, has already more than doubled that output on July 2.

Adam Engel was on base four times, with a single, double, and two walks. He led the game off with a double, his eighth, and scored on a Danny Mendick single. In the seventh, Ryan Goins, who had two hits, singled in Jacob Scavuzzo but was thrown out at second base. In 72 games this season, primarily at second base but some at shortstop, Goins is batting .321/.408/.521.

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Tennessee Smokies 6, Birmingham Barons 3

Lincoln Henzman: 4 ⅓ IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (L, 2-3)
Alec Hansen: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Luis Robert (CF): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB, 1 outfield assist
Nick Madrigal (2B): 1-for-4, 1 CS
Blake Rutherford (DH): 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Gavin Sheets (1B): 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Luis González (RF): 0-for-3, 1 BB
Nate Nolan (C): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E **MVP**

The Barons just didn’t score as many runs as the Smokies did, and that’s a poor way to win a baseball game. Nate Nolan mashed his fourth home run of the year in the fifth inning, scoring Joel Booker. Luis Robert singled and stole his 18th base in the eighth, scoring on a single, Gavin Sheets’s league-leading 53rd RBI. Blake Rutherford didn’t get a hit, but did walk, keeping his season OBP right at the cusp of .300. Nick Madrigal singled and ran himself out of the inning on a stolen base attempt. On the season, he’s been caught nine times and has been successful 26. He runs a lot, because he is very fast.

Lincoln Henzman, who has the world’s most poorly photoshopped headshot, had three straight good starts strung together after getting shelled in his first two with the Barons. This one may not rise to the level of “good,” but it could have been worse; he was removed in the fifth after giving up two singles, two walks, then two more singles to start the inning. Mauricio Cabrera pitched out of the jam with two strikeouts, and Alec Hansen walked none and allowed a leadoff triple to score in the eighth.

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Winston-Salem Dash 5, Down East Wood Ducks 4

Zach Lewis: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (W, 5-3)
Tyler Johnson: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Tyler Frost (RF): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
Steele Walker (CF): 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 K
Jameson Fisher (1B): 2-for-4, 2 R
Zach Remillard (SS): 1-for-4, 1 K, 1 E
Craig Dedelow (DH): 2-for-4, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 K **MVP**
Yeyson Yrizarri (3B): 1-for-3, 1 E

The Dash scored a precarious one-run victory over the Wood Ducks on Tuesday, courtesy largely of Craig Dedelow. He hits the ball very hard, and he hit a two-run triple in the fourth and a one-run single in the sixth. Tyler Frost also contributed at the plate with his eighth home run of the year. Frost has had several hot streaks this year, and seems to be embarking on another as his 10-game average sits at .318. Steele Walker uncharacteristically only had one hit, putting his season slash line at .275/.356/.421 yet potentially sending a mild ripple of panic through the Greater Winston-Salem Area.

Zach Lewis has now started three straight games after appearing in relief for seven straight before that. This was his best yet, the one run he gave up unearned after Yeyson Yrizarri’s 20th error. Tyler Johnson’s rehab stint appears to be continuing successfully. Andrew Perez, just 21 years old, appeared in his fourth game at the level and gave up his second and third earned runs. Jose Nin earned his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

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Kannapolis Intimidators 5, Rome Braves 4

Jason Bilous: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Kevin Folman: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP
Wilber Perez: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (W, 2-1)
Ian Dawkins (CF): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 K
Lenyn Sosa (SS): 3-for-5, 1 R
Alex Destino (DH): 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB
Bryce Bush (RF): 2-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 E **MVP**
Romy González (LF): 1-for-4, 1 2B
Corey Zangari (1B): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K

There was a lot going on in Kannapolis tonight. Jason Bilous threw 43 pitches in a three-run first. Kevin Folman gave up another run in the second, unearned on a Bryce Bush error, but settled down and kept the Intimidators in it with five very strong innings. Wilber Perez, who’s in his first season out of the DSL, after three in it, threw three hitless innings and got the win.

Despite three three-hit and two two-hit performances, the Intimidators only managed five runs, a feat only a White Sox farm team could accomplish. Bryce Bush hit his 11th double to score Ian Dawkins and Alex Destino in the third. Corey Zangari zanged one out of the ballpark in the fourth, and 18 of his 32 hits this season are for extra bases. Finally, in the ninth, Dawkins and Lenyn Sosa singled back-to-back, Destino walked to load the bases, and Bush hit his 12th double and second of the game to score both for the walk-off victory.

Dawkins picked up three hits, and despite a mini-slump is slashing .325/.388/.434 over 78 games. Sosa, also with three hits, still has an OBP of just .277, which is unbelievable because it seems like he’s on base at least once per game, and technically that could still be true. Destino, the final member of the three-hit club, has fought off a slump to bat .400 over his last 10 and raise his season line to .286/.367/.467.

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Billings Mustangs 5, Great Falls Voyagers 1

Sean Thompson: 6 ⅔ IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP (L, 1-2)
Rigo Fernandez: 1 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Kelvin Maldonado (SS): 1-for-4, 1 K
Luis Mieses (RF): 1-for-4, 1 R
Lency Delgado (3B): 2-for-4, 1 3B, 1 K, 1 SB **MVP**
Sam Abbott (1B): 0-for-3, 1 RBI, 3 K

It was a forgettable one for the Great Falls Voyagers, who managed just four hits and no walks in their 5-1 loss to the Billings Mustangs. They did strike out 13 times, though! Beyond the unluckyness of the number, 13 Ks is not an achievement to send a postcard home over. Sean Thompson gave up at least five runs for the third time in four starts. Rigo Fernandez began the long process of working off a one-inning, seven-run outing from June 28 with a scoreless inning and a third.

Lency Delgado was the star at the plate, hitting his first triple of the season and extending his hitting streak to six games. He also stole his first base. In the seventh inning, Luis Mieses singled to lead things off, then advanced to second on an error. Delgado singled him to third, then a Sam Abbott sacrifice fly scored Mieses for the lone Voyagers run of the game (to boldly go).

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Cleveland Indians Blue 10, AZL White Sox 8

Hector Acosta: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Sammy Peralta: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
James Beard (CF): 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
José Rodriguez (SS): 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K, 2 E
Andrew Vaughn (1B): 4-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K **MVP**
DJ Gladney (DH): 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
Bryan Ramos (3B): 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 E
Jonathan Allen (LF): 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
Victor Torres (C): 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 K, 2 E, 1 PB

The AZL Sox made seven errors! This is an unusually high number of errors, even for the rookiest of rookie leagues. Catcher Victor Torres (11th round, 2019) not only made two of them, he also had a passed ball. It’s almost surprising that six out of the 10 runs given up were earned.

Complementing the seven errors were four home runs, off the bats, respectively, of José Rodriguez (his fourth), first-round pick Andrew Vaughn (his first as a pro), DJ Gladney (the 17-year-old’s third), and James Beard (also his first). Vaughn added two hard doubles and, really, shouldn’t be in Arizona for much longer. Gladney is hitting .302/.350/.566 over 13 games. Bryan Ramos, another 17-year-old, picked up three hits and has a line of .349/.420/.535. It’s always hard to tell what will stick from these levels, but there’s definitely some exciting stuff happening.

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DSL White Sox 6, DSL Orioles 3

Dionicio Jiménez: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 E (W, 1-3)
Edgar Navarro: 3 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Anthony Espinoza (2B): 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Benyamin Bailey (LF): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Matthew Mercedes (1B): 2-for-3, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB **MVP**
Johnabiell Laureano (RF): 1-for-4, 1 R
Edwin Peralta (3B): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E
Roberth Gutierrez (CF): 0-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS, 1 E

A .500 record is within sight for the DSL White Sox, who sit at 13-14 after today’s victory over the DSL Orioles (booo, DSL Orioles). Like Rigo Fernandez with the Voyagers, Dionicio Jiménez is also working off a seven-run performance, and he hasn’t been as bad this season as his 4.67 ERA would indicate. In fact, this is his second five-inning, four-hit, zero-earned-run, one-walk performance in three starts. Edgar Navarro struck out seven in just under four innings, and Erick Perez picked up the one-out save, something I assume is the pinnacle of bullpen work.

The DSL Sox scored two runs in three bunches to pull out the win. In the fourth, Matthew Mercedes (.436/.511/.615) doubled in Anthony Espinoza. Benyamin Bailey (.395/.520/.487) also scored on a strikeout/wild pitch. In the seventh, Espinoza singled in Edwin Peralta and Wilber Sánchez (then stole second and third base). In the eighth, Peralta’s single scored Johnabiell Laureano (.349/.432/.518), and — this is just what the box score says — Roberth Gutierrez’s popup to first base scored Ruben Benavides.

They also made four errors! OK bye