White Sox Minor League Update: July 31, 2019

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Charlotte Knights 9, Durham Bulls 6

Luis Robert: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K (.351 BA, 1.134 OPS)
Zack Collins: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K (.271 BA, .873 OPS)
Yermin Mercedes: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K (.305 BA, 1.005 OPS) **MVP**
Danny Mendick: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.275 BA, .813 OPS)
Hector Santiago: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (4.50 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)

A big win for the Knights started out with a big home run from who should be a White Sox soon, Luis Robert. In the first inning, Robert unloaded for a 475-foot home run to dead center to put the Knights up by one. It was his sixth home run of the year in Triple-A. After that, Robert was a bit of a non-factor with the bat, but other Dash hitters who should be in majors had Hector Santiago’s back (the veteran was tagged for six earned in five innings). Zack Collins was one. He collected the only double of the night for Charlotte, which drove in one run. Another kind of catcher, Yermín Mercedes (who played first tonight) found his power again. With what already was his 10th home run of his limited time with the Knights, Mercedes added to the early lead that Robert started. Thankfully, the Knights established a big lead with a six-run fourth, and after Santiago was lifted Charlotte’s bullpen was able to lock it down for a three-run win.

Birmingham Barons 10, Montgomery Biscuits 6 (10)

Luis Basabe: 3-for-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB,0 K (.247 BA, .650 OPS)
Blake Rutherford: 1-for-6, 0 BB, 3 K (.251 BA, .650 OPS)
Gavin Sheets: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.275 BA, .764 OPS)
Luis Gonzalez: 3-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K (.244 BA, .661 OPS) **MVP**
Tyler Johnson: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
Kodi Medeiros: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (5.37 ERA, 1.62 WHIP)
Codi Heuer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (2.65 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)

The Barons were the comeback kids tonight, as they were down by four just after the first inning. After Tanner Banks struggled in the first and Birmingham boasted an almost-dormant offense until the eighth inning, the Barons somehow won. To start, they scored two runs in the third inning thanks to RBIs from Luis González and Gavin Sheets — but then squat for four innings. In the eighth, Damek Tomscha got the power surge started with a solo home run to bring the Barons within two, and then the familiar names who have struggled mightily this season showed out. With one out in the ninth and one runner on, Luis Basabe hit his second home run of the year, tying the game 5-5, and on to extras it went. González did not want the game to last much longer. With two runners on in the 10th, González crushed a pitch and just like that, the Barons were up by three. They would add two more insurance runs, but the big damage was done, as a five-run lead was only closed by one.

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Winston-Salem Dash 3

Steele Walker: 2-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (.267 BA, .760 OPS)
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K (.500 BA, 2.750 OPS) **MVP**
Jorgan Cavanerio: 7 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (2.95 ERA, 1.47 WHIP)
Andrew Perez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (1.59 ERA, 1.41 WHIP)

Just one game in and already making a big impact; it was just in a loss for Andrew Vaughn. That’s a very Chicago White Sox thing to do, so at least he is getting some practice in. Vaughn provided the only offense in a game where the Dash bats were silent. Jorgan Cavanerio was in for seven innings despite allowing 10 hits, which seems like a way to give some rest to the bullpen in an early afternoon game. The inning Cavanerio left was the inning the Dash finally got on the board, the seventh, when Vaughn hit a three-run bomb. A lot of firsts in that one swing for him in Winston-Salem. Steele Walker also had a pretty good game. He had a couple of hits, both singles, and scored on that home run from Vaughn. Andrew Perez “closed” out the game with two shutout innings, as he continues to dominate High-A hitting in the early going.

Columbia Fireflies 3, Kannapolis Intimidators 0

Ian Dawkins: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K (.308 BA, .773 OPS)
Lenyn Sosa: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.232 BA, .614 OPS)
Camilo Quinterio: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K (.229 BA, .664 OPS)
Johan Dominguez: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (3.21 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) **MVP**

A bit of a stinker here for the I’s. The offense could not get anything going. They only had three hits, one of which was an extra-base hit by Romy González. They also only walked once compared to nine strikeouts. Kevin Folman was fine in his start; he went five innings and allowed three runs, deserving better in terms of run support. But the bullpen stole the show for Kannapolis. They were led by Johan Dominguez’s three innings, and Wyatt Burns finished up the game with an inning of work. Those four innings were highlighted by no hits allowed and in Dominguez’s case, three perfect innings.

Billings Mustangs 3, Great Falls Voyagers 1

Harvin Mendoza: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K (.326 BA, .951 OPS)
Lency Delgado: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (.305 BA, .809 OPS)
Luis Mieses: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.272 BA, .720 OPS)
Avery Weems: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (1.37 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) **MVP**

Another stinker here, but for a much different reason. Though the Voyagers scored just one lonely run thanks to an RBI from Lency Delgado, they missed cashing in on ample opportunities. No, it does not come in the form of a poor batting average with RISP, as it was .333 today, but 10 hits need to drive in more than one run. Of those 10, nine were singles and clearly, that did not help. Meanwhile, Avery Weems, the White Sox’s sixth round pick in this past year’s draft, just keeps dominating. He threw five shutout innings in this game to lower his ERA to 1.37 in the Pioneer League and 1.31 overall. He has been a welcome surprise so far, especially coming from the college crop, as most of the top talent were out of high school. Unfortunately, he did not get run support in this one in the Great Falls loss.

AZL White Sox 7, AZL Brewers 1

Jose Rodriguez: 4-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (.300 BA, .866 OPS) **MVP**
Bryan Ramos: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (.276 BA, .806 OPS)
DJ Gladney: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 3 K (.297 BA, .853 OPS)
Logan Glass: 1-for-4, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (.200 BA, .511 OPS)
Joseph Jarneski: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (1.53 ERA, 1.16 WHIP)
Caleb Freeman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (3.72 ERA, 1.40 WHIP)

After four innings of stalemate, the AZL Sox finally broke through, but before that, Cooper Bradford was in session. He saw an unearned run cross the plate (it was because of his error so probably should be earned, but again I digress) and then fired three shutout innings to keep the AZL Sox in the game. Just in time, the offense arrived. It scored three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a Jose Rodriguez two-RBI single that extended the lead to 4-1. After that, it was all Sox, as they continued to shut down the Brewers while extending the lead by three. It was a successful day all around for the Sox organization, especially in Arizona. And hey, one of the new pitchers from the Nate Jones deal made his Sox debut today too, in the form of a scoreless inning for Joseph Jarneski!

DSL White Sox 2, DSL Blue Jays 1

Wilber Sánchez: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (.299 BA, .805 OPS) **MVP**
Ronaldo Guzman: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (3.07 ERA, 1.29 WHIP)

Another pitching duel for the DSL Sox, and again, courtesy of the 16-year-old wonder Ronaldo Guzman. Baseball America specifically highlighted him as a pitcher to watch for the DSL, and he keeps chugging along. He now has a 3.07 ERA after his four shutout innings against the DSL Blue Jays. He also has now struck out 60 batters in 41 innings — not too shabby. The bigger names had a break today (maybe getting called up to the States, with all the other movement?) so Wilber Sánchez stepped in nicely. With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh, Sánchez drove in the game-winning run in with a single, one of his three hits.