White Sox Minor League Monthly Update: June 2021

Charlotte Knights (20-28 - 11 ¹⁄₂ GB)

MONTHLY MVP
Tim Beckham .317 BA, 9 HR, 16 XBH, 18 R, 22 RBI, 7 BB, 22 K, 1 SB

Luis González Triple-A .189 BA, 2 HR, 5 XBH, 9 R, 7 RBI, 11 BB, 18 K, 4 SB (MLB 2-for-11, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K)
Gavin Sheets MLB 4-for-8, 1 HR, 2 XBH, 2 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (Triple-A .253 BA, 3 HR, 7 XBH, 14 R, 14 RBI, 9 BB, 15 K)
Blake Rutherford .148 BA, 1 HR, 4 XBH, 5 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 24 K
Jake Burger .354 BA, 4 HR, 14 XBH, 16 R, 20 RBI, 7 BB, 25 K
Hunter Schryver 8 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2.16 ERA, 8 H, 2 BB, 11 K
Kodi Medeiros 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 4.76 ERA, 3 H, 7 BB, 11 K
Jonathan Stiever 21 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5.91 ERA, 21 H, 4 BB, 23 K
Jimmy Lambert Triple-A 13 ²⁄₃ IP, 1.32 ERA, 8 H, 5 BB, 14 K (MLB 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 27.00 ERA, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K)
Reynaldo López 18 ²⁄₃ IP, 9.16 ERA, 30 H, 13 BB, 27 K
Zack Burdi MLB 6 IP, 6.00 ERA, 9 H, 3 BB, 3 K (Triple-A 3 ¹⁄₃ IP, 8.10 ERA, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K)
Tyler Johnson Triple-A 7 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2.45 ERA, 7 H, 6 BB, 9 K (High-A 1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K : Low-A 2 ²⁄₃ IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K)

Tim Beckham had a hell of a month, thanks to one unbelievable week. As the tweet said, over a 13 at-bat span, he hit six homers, very Kyle Schwarber-like. So far this season in Triple-A Beckham has a 113 wRC+, which is fine but still not enough to garner MLB interest. He has a .260 ISO, which would be a professional career high, and has an improved walk and strikeout rate that has helped him keep his OBP better than .300. While Beckham’s power skyrocketed in June, his plate discipline stayed near the same, which is a good sign that his cold start to the season may have been a result of not playing in competitive games since 2019. He clearly is not on the promotion table, as a lot of other players have gotten chances, but Beckham could still force the issue.

On the other end, this past month clearly laid out why the Sox promoted Gavin Sheets, a first baseman-turned-outfielder, instead of actual outfielders Luis González and Blake Rutherford. Both González and Rutherford had much better Junes, but their old struggles are back. González is walking quite a bit more than normal, but he’s also striking out more and not putting the bat on the ball well. For Rutherford, it is even worse: Not only has he still not discovered this power he was supposed to have, he is walking less, striking out more, and getting fewer hits in general. Rutherford has gone from Top 50 prospect in baseball to a possible, maybe even likely, DFA.

June MVP Ranks

Tim Beckham (41.7)
Jake Burger (30.8)
Matt Reynolds (17.1)
Gavin Sheets (13.2)
Mike Wright (12.9)
Jimmy Lambert (11.7)

June Cold Cat Ranks

Blake Rutherford (-31.0)
Reynaldo López (-28.2)
Matt Tomshaw (-25.2)
Zach Remillard (-16.7)
Seby Zavala (-10.1)

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Birmingham Barons (27-22 - 1 GB)

MONTHLY MVP
John Parke 22 IP, 4.09 ERA, 15 H, 8 BB, 17 K

Romy González .188 BA, 1 HR, 15 R, 8 RBI, 13 BB, 28 K, 8 SB
Micker Adolfo .227 BA, 6 HR, 14 XBH, 14 R, 16 RBI, 9 BB, 36 K, 1 SB
Konnor Pilkington 22 ²⁄₃ IP, 3.57 ERA, 8 H, 8 BB, 30 K
Jason Bilous 16 ²⁄₃ IP, 5.40 ERA, 13 H, 9 BB, 23 K
Andrew Perez 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5.68 ERA, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Bennett Sousa 8 ²⁄₃ IP, 1.04 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Kade McClure 22 IP, 4.09 ERA, 17 H, 9 BB, 21 K

Micker Adolfo probably had the best month of the top prospects in Birmingham, and he did not do that well outside of last week so it is no surprise they are now out of first place. So far this year, Adolfo has a 126 wRC+ and as I have said previously, he should be in Charlotte by now (or he should be used in trade talks to make the White Sox better sooner than later). Whatever the case is, he is having a fantastic year, especially because of the pop in his bat. He has a .280 ISO so far with a .513 slugging percentage. That is very good, and would stay good in Triple-A with a home ballpark in Charlotte that is much more hitter-friendly. However, Adolfo did not win enough votes though for MVP.

John Parke was not fantastic last month — none of the Barons players really were — but on the whole was pretty good. The lefty had four good outings (though one was just an inning), one average, and one bad. He has not been as good this season in Double-A compared to his time in 2019, but there are some improvements. Parke is striking out just about 8% more batters. His walks are up, too, but they are still pretty low and the increase in strikeouts pretty much negates it. Parke is still getting a lot of grounders (about 50% of batted balls), so he is still working as a typical, command-oriented left-handed pitcher. The downside in all of this is that Parke is 26, so older than an average Double-A pitcher. He has also been in the bullpen too, which could be the start of a new role. Parke should not be on any radar in terms of a trade piece or MLB prospect, but a role change to the bullpen is always something to watch.

June MVP Ranks

John Parke (14.1)
Kade McClure (13.4)
Joel Booker (12.3)
Ti’quan Forbes (10.7)

June Cold Cat Ranks

Alec Hansen (-19.6)
JJ Muno (-19.0)

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Winston-Salem Dash (23-27 - 11 GB)

MONTHLY MVP
Ian Dawkins .303 BA, 3 HR, 6 XBH, 8 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 13 K, 2 SB

Yolbert Sánchez .348 BA, 3 HR, 5 XBH, 10 R, 17 RBI, 7 BB, 15 K
Lenyn Sosa .350 BA, 3 HR, 10 XBH, 12 R, 17 RBI, 6 BB, 19 K, 2 SB
Luis Curbelo .187 BA, 3 HR, 11 XBH, 10 R, 9 RBI, 8 BB, 35 K
Yoelqui Céspedes .250 BA, 2 HR, 13 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 13 K, 2 SB
Bryce Bush Did not play (shoulder injury)
Caleb Freeman 9 IP, 6.00 ERA, 9 H, 7 BB, 10 K

Oddly enough, there were quite a few players for Winston-Salem that could have won MVP from the voters. Yolbert Sánchez had what was probably his best month in the White Sox organization at the plate, with a .348 BA. He did have three homers, but he mostly relied on singles. Lenyn Sosa had a similar month, but showed a bit more power, with double the amount of extra-base hits compared to Sánchez.

The actual winner of the MVP was Ian Dawkins, though. He started the year in Double-A but due to poor performance, he was sent back to the Dash to work things out. Dawkins seems to have done that. He has a 130 wRC+ right now with the Dash, as he has cut down on his strikeouts and is hitting the ball with more power. Now, that shouldn’t be a surprise, since Dawkins is now in High-A compared to Double-A, he is also 25 (soon to be 26), and is a few years older than what an average High-A player is. The theme of demoted players doing better is something that is prevalent in A-ball for the White Sox, and deciding where players should be placed heading into the year was difficult. There is one less MiLB team in the system now, and of course none of these players really played last season. Some could handle a more aggressive assignment, and others could not.

June MVP Ranks

Ian Dawkins (52.1)
Travis Moniot (19.2)
Yolbert Sánchez (18.6)
Lenyn Sosa (14.2)
Taylor Varnell (22.1)

June Cold Cat Ranks

Duke Ellis (-20.7)
Cooper Bradford (-20.6)
Lázaro Leal (-15.5)

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (15-34 - 14 GB)

WEEKLY MVP
Luis Mieses .267 BA, 3 HR, 9 XBH, 11 R, 18 RBI, 4 BB, 14 K

James Beard: .167 BA, 4 R, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 11 K, 2 SB
José Rodríguez .277 BA, 3 HR, 7 XBH, 18 R, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K, 8 SB
Bryan Ramos .250 BA, 6 HR, 15 XBH, 18 R, 20 RBI, 12 BB, 17 K, 5 SB
DJ Gladney .200 BA, 2 HR, 4 XBH, 6 R, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 20 K
Chase Krogman .191 BA, 4 HR, 6 XBH, 9 R, 8 RBI, 15 BB, 36 K, 1 SB
Lency Delgado .132 BA, 2 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 33 K
Harvin Mendoza .295 BA, 3 HR, 7 XBH, 14 R, 12 RBI, 12 BB, 17 K
Bailey Horn 20 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1.33 ERA, 15 H, 4 BB, 23 K
Andrew Dalquist 20 IP, 3.60 ERA, 17 H, 13 BB, 25 K
McKinley Moore 9 ²⁄₃ IP, 1.86 ERA, 6 H, 5 BB, 11 K
Yoelvin Silven 6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K (Has not pitched since June 9)
Matthew Thompson 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 15.88 ERA, 7 H, 10 BB, 9 K (Has not pitched since June 12)
Jared Kelley Did not pitch (on the IL)

Like Ian Dawkins, it took a demotion for Luis Mieses to find his stride at the plate, though it still is a disappointing time for a prospect who hasn’t found a way to put all the tools he has together. Because Mieses does not walk often and not enough pop in his bat, he relies on BABIP for his stats. It was all the way down at .163 in High-A and is now .269 in Low-A — that is the biggest difference for hime, along with fewer strikeouts. With all of that, Mieses is at a 101 wRC+, which is not spectacular but would be his best number of his pro career. Mieses is still young, at 21, but he has been with the White Sox since 2017 and has never realized his potential. Maybe he never will, but at least right now he is playing better.

So is another guy, Bailey Horn. The 2020 draft pick has really taken Kannapolis by storm in his first professional season. Though Andrew Dalquist did much better in June, Horn has been statistically the best starter for the Cannon Ballers. He has a 2.63 ERA this season with a FIP that is actually better, so Horn’s season has been legit. He has just under a 30% K-rate and a low walk rate (6.4%) that is a rarity among pitchers in Kannapolis. If any pitcher does get promoted from Low-A at some point this season, it should be Horn, because few others deserve it. [Pretty good prediction from Darren here, as pregame Thursday Horn was promoted to Winston-Salem.—Brett]

June MVP Ranks

Luis Mieses (28.1)
José Rodríguez (22.0)
Bailey Horn (15.9)
Bryan Ramos (10.7)

June Cold Cat Ranks

Marcus Evey (-20.3)
Ty Madrigal (-19.1)
Matthew Thompson (-15.3)
Tyson Messer (-11.5)
James Beard (-10.7)