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White Sox Minor League Update: July 3, 2021

How many starters in the org had a bad day? If you guessed four of five, you win a sad prize

By Brett Ballantini
Anderson Comas had a monster day, leading a monstrous ACL White Sox offensive effort.
Great Falls Voyagers

For those hoping that a battery of Reynaldo López and Yermín Mercedes would excel in a desperate attempt to save their White Sox lives (if not their 40-man roster spots), skip down to B-ham.

Mercedes caught in first game back in Charlotte, as the White Sox suspend Seby Zavala behind glass, in case he’s needed in case of Yasmani Grandal calf emergency. Perhaps because there were no pregame burgers available, perhaps because this is going to be a sustained fall, Mercedes went 0-for-4 with three Ks, and just 1-for-3 in catching base stealers — and that an attempt of third base. López, well, he was terrible tonight and no shock, he’s had one quality start and one start of better than 3.60 ERA all season. It took the once-promising righty 93 pitches to record 10 outs. With an 8.73 ERA in Triple-A and fading fast, López is a candidate to be launched out of the organization, bigtime. That we may have to wait until September to see it — the money is as good as spent, anyway — will make for a painful few months.

Mercedes’ poor night was more representative of the offense (understandable given the losses now of big boppers Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger) than López’s was of the pitching. Charlotte managed just four hits and one walk, with Zach Remillard the only member of the lineup playing as if defying a sleeping potion. The bullpen, particularly the brief and scoreless outings of Will Carter and Danny Dopico, fared significantly better than tonight’s starter.

Poll

Who was the Charlotte MVP in Saturday’s 8-2 loss vs. Norfolk?

This poll is closed

  • 82%
    Zach Remillard: 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR, BB
    (47 votes)
  • 3%
    Will Carter: 2⁄3 IP, K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Danny Dopico: 1⁄3 IP, BB, K
    (0 votes)
  • 14%
    Tanner Banks: 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K, HR
    (8 votes)
57 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Charlotte Cold Cat in Saturday’s 8-2 loss vs. Norfolk?

This poll is closed

  • 75%
    Reynaldo López: 3 1⁄3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, HR, 2 WP, LOSS
    (48 votes)
  • 1%
    Tyler Johnson: IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
    (1 vote)
  • 23%
    Yermín Mercedes: 0-for-4, 3 K, 2 LOB, 1-for-3 CS
    (15 votes)
  • 0%
    Blake Rutherford: 0-for-3, 2 K, 2 LOB
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, K, E
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Marco Hernández: 0-for-3, 2 K, LOB
    (0 votes)
64 votes total Vote Now

In tonight’s category of One of These Things Is Not Like the Other, Konnor Pilkington also buried his ballclub with a bad start tonight. Ironically, if López were to be released, Pilkington would be on the short list to replace him in Charlotte.

Anyway, let’s rewind back from some unidentified point in the future to July 3, a date that Konnor would like to wipe off of his game log, as it was arguably a rougher game than López’s: two homers, six earned, four walks, taking 84 pitches to retire 11 batters.

B-ham had actually tied this game early, 2-2 in the third, courtesy of a two-run double from Carlos Perez. But the Lookouts offense would not relent, putting the game away in the middle innings against Pilkington and first man up Peter Tago.

Offensively, the Barons had their chances, with eight hits paired with six walks. However, just one other hit was for extra bases (a Laz Rivera double) and the club was a little sluggish with runners on.

Poll

Who was the Birmingham MVP in Saturday’s 10-4 loss to the Lookouts?

This poll is closed

  • 34%
    Bennett Sousa: IP, H, 2 K, 12 pitches/10 strikes
    (16 votes)
  • 4%
    JJ Muno: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 LOB, SF, picked off 1st
    (2 votes)
  • 13%
    Carlos Perez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B, 2-for-3 CS
    (6 votes)
  • 39%
    Ti’quan Forbes: 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K, 2 LOB
    (18 votes)
  • 8%
    Laz Rivera: 1-for 3, 2B, BB, 2 LOB
    (4 votes)
46 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Birmingham Cold Cat of Saturday’s 10-4 loss to the Lookouts?

This poll is closed

  • 86%
    Konnor Pilkington: 3 2⁄3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HR, LOSS
    (37 votes)
  • 0%
    Peter Tago: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, K, WP
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Romy González: 1-for-4, BB, 3 K, 2 LOB, CS
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Zack Granite: 1-for-5, R, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 9%
    Micker Adolfo: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, 2 LOB, GIDP
    (4 votes)
  • 4%
    Zach Muckenhirn: IP, H, K, all three of Tago’s inherited runners scored
    (2 votes)
43 votes total Vote Now

A super-weird game for Winston-Salem, headlined by another weird start. Note it was a weird start, not a bad one. After 10 pitches and three up, three down in the first from Johan Dominguez, home plate umpire Tyler Witte ejected Dominguez before the second inning got started, apparently due to the use of foreign substances. Dash manager Ryan Newman got so hot, he was ejected as well. Dash 0, Drive 0, Ump Show 2 was the score through one inning.

But from there, things ran smoothly for W-S. Dan Metzdorf got hit up a bit as the emergency relief for Dominguez, but spaced out six hits and a walk over 4 1⁄3 innings to earn his third win and stay perfect on the season. Cooper Bradford and Sal Biasi, both of whom have had some struggles this season, combined to finish things off with 11 outs of four-hit, one-walk, three-K ball.

Contrasting the Barons tonight, Winston-Salem made their sparse hits (just six) count, among them two doubles and two homers. It was another game where the Dash did just enough on offense to earn a win, and remarkably they are still within spitting distance of .500 rolling the dice as such.

Poll

Who was the Winston-Salem MVP in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Greenville?

This poll is closed

  • 35%
    Luis Curbelo: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, K
    (16 votes)
  • 2%
    AJ Gill: 2-for-4, RBI, 2B, K, LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 46%
    Dan Metzdorf: 4 1⁄3 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 2 K, WIN
    (21 votes)
  • 4%
    Cooper Bradford: 2 2⁄3 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K, HOLD
    (2 votes)
  • 11%
    Ryan Newman: ejected in 2nd after backing Dominguez
    (5 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Winston-Salem Cold Cat in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Greenville?

This poll is closed

  • 30%
    Johan Dominguez: IP, 10 pitches/6 strikes, ejected for illegal substances before the 2nd inning
    (13 votes)
  • 34%
    Travis Moniot: 0-for-4, 2 K, 3 LOB
    (15 votes)
  • 34%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 0-for-4, K, LOB
    (15 votes)
  • 0%
    Ian Dawkins: 0-for-4, K, LOB
    (0 votes)
43 votes total Vote Now

Sorry to be the bearer of bad start tidings, but technically this is a fourth straight baddie, as Drew Dalquist couldn’t escape the third inning tonight in Kannapolis.

At least the Cannon Ballers bristled up and made a game of it, facing down a 7-0 deficit after four with double-crookeds in the sixth and seventh to draw within 7-6. Glance back up at the line score and see that things didn’t go too well from there.

Jordan Mikel was the culprit late, roughed up for three digits in his one inning of work. And Brandon Jenkins had no sense of the plate tonight, trying to hold the line in the ninth but throwing 15 off the plate in 23 pitches, three walks and a wild pitch on his tab.

The mouthwatering middle of the CBs order (Bryan Ramos, DJ Gladney and Luis Mieses) weren’t too much for slugging tonight, but did procure seven of the club’s 12 hits tonight and two of three doubles. But 1-for-10 RISP indicates rather strongly that though marks were on the table, Kanny couldn’t cash ’em in.

Oh, and manager Guillermo Quiroz was tossed in the seventh, making a clean sweep of Single-A mentors manhandled out of the game on Saturday.

Poll

Who was the MVP in Kannapolis’ 11-6 loss to the RiverDogs on Saturday?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Frander Veras: IP, H
    (0 votes)
  • 15%
    Bryan Ramos: 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, K
    (6 votes)
  • 28%
    DJ Gladney: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, K, LOB
    (11 votes)
  • 56%
    Luis Mieses: 3-for-5, R, RBI, K
    (22 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cold Cat in Kannapolis’ 11-6 loss to the RiverDogs on Saturday?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Daniel Millwee: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K, PB, E, 1-for-3 CS
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Samil Polanco: 1-for-5, R, 2 K, 2 LOB
    (0 votes)
  • 86%
    Drew Dalquist: 2 2⁄3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, LOSS
    (33 votes)
  • 2%
    Marcus Evey: 2 1⁄3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 7%
    Jordan Mikel: IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K
    (3 votes)
  • 0%
    Brandon Jenkins: IP, H, ER, 3 BB, WP
    (0 votes)
38 votes total Vote Now

Hey, dig it, Dilmer Mejía did not follow today’s pattern of dump starts, throwing five delicious innings of four-hit, scoreless ball, with no walks and nine Ks. Dilmer would’ve earned his first win with the ACLs if not for a bad outing from Karan Patel, who blew the save and threw the eventual win to prep-school villain Cam Beauchamp. Beauchamp didn’t pitch well at all, but that’s what pre-school villains do, vulture wins from innocent former Dash arms like Dilmer Mejía.

The Arizona boys could afford to punt the late-inning pitching today because the offense was electric, 14 hits all told and gobs of extra base knocks (four two-baggers, two four-baggers). Anderson Comas, Sam Abbott, Wilber Sánchez and Jefferson Mendoza, take a bow, you mutilated the ACL Dodgers today.

Poll

Who was the ACL White Sox MVP in Saturday’s 10-6 win over the Dodgers?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Wilber Sánchez: 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, K, LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    Sam Abbott: 2-for-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, 3 K, 2 LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Jefferson Mendoza: 2-for-3, 2 R, BB, 2B, 0-for-1 CS
    (0 votes)
  • 41%
    Anderson Comas: 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, K, LOB
    (14 votes)
  • 52%
    Dilmer Mejía: 5 IP, 4 H, 9 K
    (18 votes)
  • 0%
    Pauly Milto: IP, H, 2 K
    (0 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the ACL White Sox Cold Cat in Saturday’s 10-6 win over the Dodgers?

This poll is closed

  • 54%
    Karan Patel: 1⁄3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB, K, HR, BLOWN SAVE
    (19 votes)
  • 2%
    Bryce Hutchinson: 1⁄3 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, K
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Cam Beauchamp: 1 1⁄3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K, WIN
    (0 votes)
  • 42%
    Elijah Tatís: 0-for-5, 4 K, 3 LOB
    (15 votes)
35 votes total Vote Now

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