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White Sox Minor League Update: July 27, 2021

Jake Burger is back in Charlotte and hitting homers, while Luis Robert is there with him to begin the final stop of his rehab stint

By Darren Black
Luis Mieses keeps his hot streak going, with a homer in the Kannapolis win.
Krista Jasso/Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

The score may show a blowout at 14-5, but it was close, honestly, until the top of the ninth inning. The main note, however, is that Luis Robert is up in Charlotte, as he moves closer to the end of his rehab assignment. He did reach base twice today, via a walk and HBP.

For the other guys, it was alright. Jake Burger, who was optioned for Eloy when he was activated, is back to hitting homers in Charlotte.

Those were the first two runs of a four-run fourth, which gave Charlotte a brief lead. The pitching was not great overall, and it was 5-4 Jumbo Shrimp by the sixth. Alex McRae started and did well for three innings, but he allowed more two runs and was pulled from the game. The guy who replaced him, Lane Ramsey, did not do well, and that’s when the Knights lost the lead for the rest of the game.

Both bullpens settled down until the ninth inning, when Jacksonville put up nine runs to put the game away and then some. Jace Fry allowed the first, Danny Dopico allowed five more without getting an out, and then Ofriedy Gómez had the final three. It was not pretty by the end.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Jake Burger: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (79 votes)
  • 2%
    Matt Reynolds: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Connor Sadzeck: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
81 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 94%
    Danny Dopico: 0 IP, 5 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 K
    (67 votes)
  • 4%
    Ofriedy Gómez: 2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (3 votes)
  • 1%
    Lane Ramsey: 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
71 votes total Vote Now

The Barons out-hit Rocket City, but with a poor start from Taylor Varnell and bad hitting with runners in scoring position, they go down, 5-2.

Varnell was only able to get four outs today, after a fabulous debut his last time out. He allowed six base runners and three runs. Unfortunately, Félix Paulino came in and gave up two runs in the next inning to put the Barons down four. Romy González and Yolbert Sánchez both had good games, which is a good thing to remember from a loss. Somehow, Sánchez kept his .500 batting average at Birmingham after going 2-for-4 today. González is responsible for both RBIs with one of his two singles, this one was in the fifth to make it 5-2. Andrew Perez and JB Olson did give the Barons a chance to win. Perez went three scoreless innings with just one hit, and Olson pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The offense just couldn’t get it done.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 31%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K
    (19 votes)
  • 46%
    Romy González: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (28 votes)
  • 21%
    Andrew Perez: 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (13 votes)
60 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 77%
    Taylor Varnell: 1 1⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (41 votes)
  • 1%
    Félix Paulino: 2 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (1 vote)
  • 20%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 3 K
    (11 votes)
53 votes total Vote Now

Not a great game here for Winston-Salem, not good at all, and it got off to a bad start. After a scoreless first inning for Kaleb Roper, he proceeded to allow six runs the next two-plus innings. All six runs allowed came via a homer; actually, every single run scored by Greensboro came from homers. Of note, Roper allowed a grand slam in the third inning that put the Dash down, 6-0. Isaiah Carranza had the best outing among the pitchers, with two perfect innings to help steady the game for a bit. At that point, the Grasshoppers already had more runs than the Dash would end up having hits for the entire game.

Though the pitching wasn’t great with four homers allowed and eight runs total, getting shut out is not a pretty thing. However, Yoelqui Cespédes did get one of those hits, so at least the best prospect left in Winston-Salem did something. After that single, he stole his eighth base of the season.

Also notable: Luke Shilling, thought to be lost for the season after arm discomfort that seemed to indicate another TJS in the offing, threw a scoreless eighth, with two strikeouts.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 66%
    Isaiah Carranza: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
    (36 votes)
  • 33%
    Yoelqui Cespédes: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
    (18 votes)
54 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Kaleb Roper: 3 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K
    (43 votes)
  • 0%
    Gunnar Troutwine: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Luis Curbelo: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    Lenyn Sosa: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
44 votes total Vote Now

Kannapolis had a lead, and then it went away because of a four runs allowed by Yoelvin Silven. But Kannapolis tied it with a homer in the bottom of the ninth, and won the game in the 10th.

It was a wild game, that started out as a decent Jared Kelley start.

Kelley went three innings today, the last one being better than the first. He allowed two runs and struck out three. The best part of his day was probably the command, he only walked one, though he still got to three balls in counts a few times. Jesus Valles came in as the bulk guy after that and was very good. He threw five innings and only allowed one run. He gave the team the chance to retake the lead which Silven squandered.

The offense was not overwhelming, but it came up clutch and showed out when it counted. The CBs were 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position, in part due to a good amount of extra-base hits. Luis Mieses led the way with those: He hit a three-run homer, his sixth, and then his 11th double in Low-A. Samil Polanco came away with two hits as well, and scored on one of those Mieses RBIs.

The two biggest hits of the night, though, belong to Chase Krogman and Caberea Weaver. Krogman launched a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Meanwhile, Weaver collected his second hit of the night in the bottom of the ninth, a walk-off for the 8-7 win. Jordan Mikel was able to keep the zombie runner on second in the top of the 10th, thanks to two strikeouts.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 31%
    Jesus Valles: 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (14 votes)
  • 66%
    Luis Mieses: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
    (30 votes)
  • 2%
    Chase Krogman: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
45 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 97%
    Yoelvin Silven: 1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (34 votes)
35 votes total Vote Now

For consecutive games, Misael González had the best night in Arizona, as he hit his fourth homer of the year and second in two days. Thanks in part to that homer, the ACL Sox were able to come out on top.

The timely hitting in this game for the Sox was pretty good. They were 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and with two doubles along with two stolen bases, they generated runs. It also helps that González had that two-run homer and Logan Glass had a solo shot himself. Where the lineup did come up short were the strikeouts, with 18 total as each starter besides González had at least one K.

On the other hand, the pitching was not good for most of the game. Ronaldo Guzman and Homer Cruz went three innings each, and allowed seven total runs over the span. Guzman did not have any command, with four walks, while Cruz allowed two homers, including a grand slam. Once Erick Bello came in, the pitching settled down. He was able to strand a couple of inherited runners in the seventh inning, and then had a scoreless eighth and ninth for the seven-out save. It was his third save of the year, and his longest outing.

Poll

Who was the ACL MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Misael González: 3-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB
    (42 votes)
  • 0%
    Erick Bello: 2 1⁄3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
    (0 votes)
42 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the ACL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Ronaldo Guzman: 3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K
    (22 votes)
  • 2%
    Homer Cruz: 3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 K
    (1 vote)
  • 32%
    Wilfred Veras: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 3 K
    (11 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

The DSL Sox are back to .500, on a day where the pitching ruled the day. Guillermo Cuevas got the start and continued his hot start in the DSL. He had six shutout innings, along with six strikeouts. He is older for the DSL, but he has been more than impressive in his first two starts of the season. The bullpen was pretty good overall, except for one pitcher, Emerson Talavera, who allowed both runs in the game. Thankfully, the Sox already had a 4-0 lead at that point.

Where that lead came from, well, it started with Alvaro Aguero, who hit his first homer of the year to put the Sox on the board in the third inning. He went on to add a single to his hit total later in the day. The rest of the runs on the day were scattered along with the hits. They had seven in all, as well as four walks to help. Thankfully the pitching was as good as it was, or the 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position would be a bigger deal.

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Guillermo Cuevas: 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 K
    (34 votes)
  • 2%
    Alvaro Aguero: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
    (1 vote)
35 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 57%
    Emerson Talavera: 1 IP. 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (16 votes)
  • 42%
    Alberto Bernal: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K
    (12 votes)
28 votes total Vote Now

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