White Sox Weekly Minor League Update: June 14-20

Charlotte Knights (16-24 - 11.5 GB)

WEEKLY MVP
Tim Beckham .526 BA, 6 HR, 7 XBH, 10 R, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K

Seby Zavala .000 BA, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K
Luis González .200 BA, 2 XBH, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 SB
Gavin Sheets .313 BA, 1 HR, 3 XBH, 4 R, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 2 K
Blake Rutherford .133 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Jake Burger .381 BA, 2 HR, 5 XBH, 4 R, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Hunter Schryver 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Kodi Medeiros 1 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Zack Burdi 1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K (called up to MLB)
Jonathan Stiever 5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 10.13 ERA, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Jimmy Lambert 4 IP, 4.50 ERA, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Reynaldo López 4 ²⁄₃ IP, 5.79 ERA, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K
Jace Fry 3 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2.70 ERA, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Tyler Johnson 2 IP, 9.00 ERA, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K (returned from rehab assignment)

Tim Beckham, wow! In just five games last week, Beckham hit six (six!) homers. In fact, all six came in four straight games. He had to settle for a 2-for-4 night, with a double, in that fifth game. He was clearly not excited about getting passed up for a promotion after Nick Madrigal went down for the season. However, Beckham’s overall season has not been as good, it took a six-homer and .526 batting average week to bring up his wRC+ in Triple-A to above-average right now. He has a .293 ISO, which will not stay, but but he also has a .259 BABIP, which should rise. If this week has said anything, it’s that Beckham will probably get a shot in the majors this season. The overall good that has happened in Charlotte for Beckham is that his plate discipline has improved compared to his time in the majors back in 2019. His strikeouts are down about 9%, while walks are about the same. This is even more notable when you factor in that Beckham did not play in competitive games for the entire 2020 season. His bat probably isn’t six homers in five games hot, but if not playing in 2020 was a reason for his slow start, it is something to keep an eye on as the Sox try and find bats.

MVP Ranks

Gavin Sheets (54.5)
Tim Beckham (28.9) (jumped 25.5 points onto this list in one week, surely a record)
Jake Burger (27.9)
Mike Wright (27.8)
Mikie Mahtook (14.2)
Marco Hernández (12.7)
Adam Engel (12.1)

Cold Cat Ranks

Reynaldo López (-25.3)
Matt Tomshaw (-14.9)
Jonathan Stiever (-13.8)
Félix Paulino (-12.8)
Ryan Burr (-12.6)
Nate Nolan (-11.0)
Seby Zavala (-11.0)
Zack Burdi (-10.9)
Connor Sadzeck (-10.1)

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Birmingham Barons (23-18 - TIED)

WEEKLY MVP
Ti’Quan Forbes .353 BA, 1 XBH, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 BB, 7 K

Micker Adolfo .136 BA, 1 XBH, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 11 K
Romy González .238 BA, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 2 SB
Konnor Pilkington 5 IP, 3.60 ERA, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Jason Bilous 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 0 BB, 9 K
Andrew Perez 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Bennett Sousa 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Kade McClure 8 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5.40 ERA, 6 H, 2 BB, 8 K

Ti’Quan Forbes has quietly had a very good season, but he is in a spot where he does not get the recognition he deserves. Micker Adolfo takes all the top prospect hype, while Romy González is the new guy on the scene with the power bat taking the other headlines. Forbes’ bat is not as flashy, with a .153 ISO and just three homers, but his .290/.345/.355 slash line is still very good. Forbes will have to live and die by BABIP, and it’s at .398 right now — unsustainable, but he is taking full advantage of it so far. Forbes is a ground ball hitter, but he is getting more power in general compared to his time in Birmingham back in 2019. His ISO is up, along with the HR/FB rate, and his pull percentage has skyrocketed. Forbes is on track to have a career high in homers, and doubles as well. Though he does seem to be hitting the ball harder due to the increase of pulled batted balls, there are some signs it may not last beyond the very high BABIP. Forbes’ walk rate has been cut in half, and he currently has a career-high K-rate. His batted-ball profile (grounders-line drives-fly balls) is nearly identical to his 2019 season as well, which should mean the rate Forbes is hitting homers should fall, too. Again though, he is pulling the ball more, which is an indicator of harder-hit balls. Thankfully, we have a couple more months of games to figure out which way Forbes’ season will go as the numbers start to stabilize.

MVP Ranks

Konnor Pilkington (27.7)
Kade McClure (20.5)
Ti’quan Forbes (18.6)
Jason Bilous (14.8)
Carlos Pérez (14.1)
Blake Battenfield (13.9)
Ofriedy Gómez (12.9)
Félix Paulino (11.8)
Micker Adolfo (11.2)

Cold Cat Ranks

Ian Dawkins (-32.7)
J.B. Olson (-22.2)
Alec Hansen (-19.0)
Craig Dedelow (-16.1)

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Winston-Salem Dash (20-22 - 8 GB)

WEEKLY MVP
Evan Skoug .273 BA, 1 HR, 3 XBH, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K

Yolbert Sánchez .190 BA, 2 R 1 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K
Lenyn Sosa .409 BA, 2 XBH, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Luis Curbelo .077 BA, 1 XBH, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Yoelqui Céspedes 0-for-6, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (cleared up the visa Issues and played two games)
Bryce Bush Did not play (shoulder injury)
Caleb Freeman 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Evan Skoug was a high draft pick who got over-slot money back in 2017, when the White Sox were drafting catchers or signing international catchers left and right. Skoug was supposed to be one of the better ones, but he just has not lived up to that hype. He had major strikeout problems coming out of college, but people raved about his leadership and he did have good power and a good walk rate. In short, Skoug was a three-true-outcome player. This season, the power is not really there and his draft luster is gone, but he has improved. He is slashing .196/.333/.333 (very much a Yasmani Grandal slash line!) and Skoug’s strikeout rate would be a career low. The walk rate is near his normal right now (14.3%) which makes the lower K-rate look better. The power Skoug had in college has not translated to his professional career, so a .196 BA is not great, but at least his plate discipline looks like it has improved. Skoug needs to get the ball in the air more often, as a 50% ground ball rate for a hitter like him should not be sustainable, and if it is, that is a big problem. Skoug already seems to be an organizational catcher, as he got called up to play for Seby Zavala when Zavala was hurt. But if Skoug’s plate discipline improvements are real, maybe he can be a guy to watch out for again.

MVP Ranks

Johan Dominguez (27.5)
Taylor Varnell (22.7)
Jason Bilous (19.6)
Davis Martin (16.9)
Ian Dawkins (16.2)
Luis Curbelo (15.8)
Evan Skoug (14.4)
Travis Moniot (12.1)

Cold Cat Ranks

Lázaro Leal (-21.8)
Duke Ellis (-19.8)
Wilber Perez (-17.1)
Lenyn Sosa (-16.6)
Cooper Bradford (-14.6)
Bryce Bush (-12.2)

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (11-30 - 14.5 GB)

WEEKLY MVP(s)
Bailey Horn 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 9 K
Luis Mieses .462 BA, 1 HR, 4 XBH, 3 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K

James Beard: .167 BA, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SB
José Rodríguez .267 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SB
Bryan Ramos .333 BA, 4 HR, 6 XBH, 6 R, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
DJ Gladney .176 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 9 K
Chase Krogman .091 BA, 1 XBH, 2 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 9 K
Lency Delgado .222 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K
Andrew Dalquist 4 IP, 4.50 ERA, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K
McKinley Moore 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Yoelvin Silven Did not pitch
Matthew Thompson Did not pitch
Jared Kelley Did not pitch (on the IL)

Bailey Horn was talked about more in depth last week, and is now a back-to-back Kannapolis MVP. Since he was featured, there is not much else to add, besides how well he pitched in his start last week. Horn had everything going for him, and only allowed one hit over five shutout innings. Again, if any pitcher is getting a promotion this season among the top prospects, it should be Horn, and he proved why again last week.

Luis Mieses, on the other hand, had a breakout week, and he has not been talked about much unless it has to do with him having a poor start to his season. Mieses started out in Winston-Salem but was demoted after not really doing well at all. He only had a 51 wRC+ in High-A ball and that trend continued through his first week in Kannapolis. This past week, though, Mieses got it all together, slashing .462/.462/.692 with a homer. Mieses showed power and cut down on his strikeouts, but it is easier competition. It was pretty clear Mieses’ assignment to the Dash was a bit too much, and the toolsy prospect has a long way to go in his professional career. Hopefully he can get back on track with easier competition.

Bryan Ramos was not voted MVP this week, but he had a very notable one and it would be remiss to ignore it and his improvements. The 13th-rated prospect according to MLB Pipeline hit four homers this past week. After a very slow May start, he has a 162 wRC+ in June as he and many other Kannapolis prospects are starting to right the ship, and an important time — a month before the trade deadline.

MVP Ranks

José Rodríguez (54.6)
DJ Gladney (20.5)
Chase Krogman (17.6)
Luis Mieses (17.1)
Bailey Horn (14.6)
Bryan Ramos (14.4)

Cold Cat Ranks

Marcus Evey (-22.5)
Yoelvin Silven (-15.2)
Garvin Alston Jr. (-13.8)
Rigo Fernández (-11.0)
Jared Kelley (-10.2)

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White Sox Organizational All-Stars

Catcher Carlos Pérez, Birmingham Barons
First Base Gavin Sheets, Charlotte Knights
Second Base Bryan Ramos, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Third Base Tim Beckham, Charlotte Knights
Shortstop José Rodríguez, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (**Offensive MVP** by 0.1 vs. Sheets)
Left Field Mikie Mahtook, Charlotte Knights
Center Field Chase Krogman, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Right Field Luis Mieses, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Designated Hitter Jake Burger, Charlotte Knights

Bench (3B) DJ Gladney, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Bench (1B-3B) Ti’quan Forbes, Birmingham Barons
Bench (3B) Luis Curbelo, Winston-Salem Dash
Bench (C) Evan Skoug, Winston-Salem Dash
Bench (2B) Marco Hernández, Charlotte Knights
Bench (CF) Adam Engel, Charlotte Knights
Bench (OF-1B-2B) Travis Moniot, Winston-Salem Dash

Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Jason Bilous, Birmingham Barons (**Pitching MVP**)
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Mike Wright, Charlotte Knights
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Konnor Pilkington, Birmingham Barons
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Johan Dominguez, Winston-Salem Dash
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Taylor Varnell, Winston-Salem Dash

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Kade McClure, Birmingham Barons
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Davis Martin, Winston-Salem Dash
Left-Handed Relief Pitcher Bailey Horn, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Blake Battenfield, Birmingham Barons
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Ofriedy Gómez, Birmingham Barons

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South Side Sox Writer Standings