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White Sox Minor League Weekly Update: Week 18

The big names keep doing big things, especially in the outfield as Luis Robert, Luis González, and Steele Walker dominate

By Darren Black
Forging ahead: Steele Walker is back in a groove after hitting better than .500 last week.
@whitesox

Charlotte Knights — 3 1⁄2 GB for the IL wild card

Yermin Mercedes: .150 BA, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K
Nick Madrigal: .182 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0
Zack Collins: .292 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Danny Mendick: .304 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Luis Robert: .370 BA, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K **MVP of the Week**
Matt Foster: 2 2⁄3 IP, 4.02 FIP, 3.37 K/9, 3.37 BB/9

Birmingham Barons — 4 1⁄2 GB in SL North Division

Gavin Sheets: .240 BA, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K
Luis González: .429 BA, 3 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K **MVP of the Week**
Luis Basabe: .350 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K
Blake Rutherford: .227 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K
Alec Hansen: 3 2⁄3 IP, 3.81 FIP, 12.27 K/9, 9.82 BB/9
Tyler Johnson: 3 IP, 2.60 FIP, 12.0 K/9, 6.0 BB/9
Codi Heuer: 2 2⁄3 IP, 2.89 FIP, 6.75 K/9, 3.37 BB/9
Kodi Medeiros: 2 1⁄3 IP, 1.55 FIP, 7.71 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Blake Battenfield: 8 1⁄3 IP, 6.99 FIP, 5.4 K/9, 4.32 BB/9
Lincoln Henzman: 3 2⁄3 IP, 3.27 FIP, 7.36 K/9, 4.91 BB/9

Winston-Salem Dash — 1 1⁄2 GB in the CL Southern Division “Wild Card”

Steele Walker: .565 BA, 1 HR, 7 R, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 SB **MVP of the Week**
Andrew Vaughn: .200 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Andrew Perez: 4 IP, 0.90 FIP, 11.25 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Jacob Lindgren: 4 IP, 0.65 FIP, 15.75 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Bennett Sousa: 3 2⁄3 IP, 1.22 FIP, 9.82 K/9, 0.00 BB/9
Jonathan Stiever: 5 IP, 1.00 FIP, 16.2 K/9, 1.8 BB/9
Konnor Pilkington: 6 IP, 2.07 FIP, 10.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9
Kade McClure: 6 IP, 5.23 FIP, 6.0 K/9, 1.5 BB/9

Kannapolis Intimidators — 4 1⁄2 GB in the SALY Northern Division

Camilo Quinteiro: .000 BA, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Ian Dawkins: .304 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 SB
Alex Destino: .308 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K **MVP of the Week**
Lenyn Sosa: .136 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Davis Martin: 5 IP, 3.11 FIP, 12.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9
Jason Bilous: 6 IP, 2.84 FIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9

Great Falls Voyagers — 3 GB in PL North Division

Harvin Mendoza: .278 BA, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Caberea Weaver: .300 BA, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Lency Delgado: .222 BA, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K
Luis Mieses: .222 BA, 1 HR, 0 BB, 5 K
Dan Metzdorf: 4 IP, 4.42 FIP, 13.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Karan Patel: 4 IP, 6.42 FIP, 4.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Avery Weems: 5 IP, 2.97 FIP, 5.4 K/9, 0.0 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**

We have gone through just about every player in the non-rookie leagues, so let’s take a closer look at some of the youngin’s this time out, starting with Harvin Mendoza. He has been with the White Sox organization since 2016 and is still just 20. The lefty first baseman had always done well at each stop and showed good plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills, but no power — which is a problem for a first baseman. His highest ISO before 2019 was just .105, and he only hit two career homers in 164 games, neither of which came in 2018. So here comes 2019, new level and league — and apparently a new Mendoza. The plate discipline is still good, and a .319 batting average so far is a career high, but he is now showing power, and quite a bit of it. He currently has five homers, 18 extra-base hits, and a .215 ISO. That is enough to keep an eye on going forward as he leaves the rookie leagues.

On the pitching side, it is clearly Avery Weems, who is on his second rookie league team so far. The sixth round pick in 2019 is 22 and has been dominating this season. The lefty has a 1.14 ERA in 39 1⁄3 innings so far between the AZL and the Pioneer League. He has shown good strikeout potential while avoiding walks. Weems has an 11.21 K/9 and a 1.6 BB/9 this season, which is fantastic. The most “off” thing about Weems so far is that he is doing exponentially better as a professional compared to his time in college. He had a 7.15 ERA along with a 6.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 at Arizona this season. Maybe the Sox saw something and he was fixed, or Arizona is really bad at developing pitchers. Whatever the case, the early returns are promising.

AZL White Sox — 3 1⁄2 GB in AZL Central Division

DJ Gladney: .125 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 13 K
José Rodriguez: .375 BA, 1 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SB **MVP of the Week**
James Beard: .143 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 SB
Logan Glass: .125 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Caleb Freeman: 1 IP, 0.36 FIP, 18.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9

José Rodriguez is entering his second season in the White Sox organization, and he mirrors some of Mendoza’s improvements. The 18-year-old middle infielder is another contact hitter that has now found some power. His early plate discipline numbers are not great, but Rodriguez is 18, so that’s expected to some extent. His batting average has improved slightly, into the .290s, but the power surge is real. Rodriguez went from a .110 ISO in the DSL last season to a .237 ISO this season. Now, some of those doubles are turning into homers, as he has a case of the Gavin Sheets, but more home run power is never a bad thing — especially from the middle infield.

With Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist not pitching for AZL, Caleb Freeman is the big name here. He was a 15th round pick who signed for $150,000, with $25,000 of that counting against the bonus pool. He has done all right so far in his 9 2⁄3 innings pitched: 3.72 ERA with a 13.03 K/9, which is also a lot better than what he ever did in college. However, his control issues (5.59 BB/9) have come over from college, so the WHIP and FIP are not as impressive. Still, Freeman is young, and the White Sox spent some extra money to pry him out of school, so he is a reliever to keep an eye on.

DSL White Sox — 8 GB in DSL Baseball City Division

Benyamin Bailey: .222 BA, 4 R, 4 BB, 5 K
Yolbert Sánchez: .222 BA, 3 R, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Elijah Tatís: .000 BA, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K
Anthony Espinoza: .250 BA, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Ronaldo Guzman: 4 IP, 2.19 FIP, 13.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**

The two DSL standouts are obvious, Benyamin Bailey and Ronaldo Guzman. Both are doing fantastic things at such young ages, but always with the caveat that they are in the DSL. Bailey is walking (22.5% which is a absurd number that will not carry over) more than he strikes out (16.5%) while hitting .340. He currently has a .500 OBP and a 172 wRC+. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is fantastic despite being a year younger. He has a 3.07 ERA and is striking out 33.7% of the batters he faces. Guzman walks batters at a higher rate — but he’s 16, cut him some slack. Both have been good enough to earn promotions as soon as this season, but definitely will start next season in the AZL.

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