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White Sox Minor League Update: August 7, 2021

The “Big 3” at the top of the Arizona order, including two 2021 draft choices, have nice nights

By Brett Ballantini
Wes Kath has yet to have a professional game without a hit.
Sean Williams/South Side Sox

Give Birmingham credit tonight, in that their lousy hitting was consistent: One hit in the first four innings, one hit in the second four innings, before going bananas and doubling right up with a hit in the ninth as well.

But overall, a very, very hard-luck loss for Taylor Varnell, who now sits at 1-2 in Double-A despite carrying a 2.77 ERA. Varnell is doing nothing so far to prove that his success with Winston-Salem to start the season was a product of being old for the level, as he shut down a tough Mississippi team on one run and two hits over six innings. Hat-tip to Zach Muckenhirn and Caleb Freeman for holding the Braves to nada over the last third of the game as well.

Birmingham could easily have won or sent this game to extras, as the modest three hits were complemented by six walks, and two of the hits were doubles. But the right combination never clicked. Six starters had 0-fers in the game, but the worst 0-fer was a team shame: 0-for-8 with RISP.

Poll

The Barons lost a nail-biter, 1-0, on Saturday. Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 94%
    Taylor Varnell: 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 6 K
    (80 votes)
  • 4%
    Zach Muckenhirn: 2 IP, H, 3 K, 30 pitches/26 strikes
    (4 votes)
  • 1%
    Tyler Neslony: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, K, LOB
    (1 vote)
85 votes total Vote Now

Poll

The Barons lost a nail-biter, 1-0, on Saturday. Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 96%
    Romy González: 0-for-4, 2 K, 3 LOB
    (60 votes)
  • 1%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 0-for-4, 2 LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 1%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-3, K, 3 LOB, SAC
    (1 vote)
62 votes total Vote Now

Rough night for (some) Carolina baseball; like Charlotte, the Dash were rained out on Saturday night.

It was a classic Kelley vs. Kelly battle, as the Good Guys Jared Kelley took on Antoine Kelly of the Mudcats.

The good news for Kannapolis: Kelley started and did pretty well, with just one run on four hits over four innings, with a walk (three wild pitches) and two Ks, chiseling his ERA under 7.00 for the season. More good news? Almost the entire bullpen did well in relief of Kelley, backing him to the tune of six hits two runs (one earned), two walks and eight Ks over seven innings.

But this one went 12 innings, and Karan Patel inherited a 4-3 lead in the 12th and in the course of 10 pitches gave up a single and a game-losing, three-run homer, blowing the save and taking the loss.

But this loss isn’t just on Patel; the Kanny batters had some very mixed results. Sure, 10 hits and six walks were nice. But check out that clutch contact: 3-for-25 with RISP, which is are total chances and a percentage I’ve not seen before. And contributing to that? An extraordinary 20 strikeouts, a full quarter of them from Chase Krogman, in the form of a platinum sombrero.

Poll

The Cannon Ballers lost a 12-inning heartbreaker, 6-4, on Saturday. Who was the Kannapolis MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 10%
    Theo Denlinger: IP, 2 K, 16 pitches/11 strikes
    (6 votes)
  • 74%
    José Rodríguez: 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, BB, 2 LOB, CS
    (41 votes)
  • 12%
    Anderson Comas: defensive replacement in 12th, only player to not leave a runner on base in the game
    (7 votes)
  • 1%
    DJ Gladney: 1-for-3, 3 BB, 2 K, 3 LOB, E
    (1 vote)
55 votes total Vote Now

Poll

The Cannon Ballers lost a 12-inning heartbreaker, 6-4, on Saturday. Who was the Kannapolis Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 1%
    Wilber Sánchez: 1-for-6, R, 4 K, 5 LOB, 2 SB
    (1 vote)
  • 3%
    Caberea Weaver: 1-for-5, R, K, 8 LOB, CS
    (2 votes)
  • 55%
    Chase Krogman: 0-for-5, 5 K, 5 LOB
    (30 votes)
  • 38%
    Karan Patel: 0 IP, 2 H, 3 R/2 ER, HR, BLOWN SAVE, LOSS
    (21 votes)
54 votes total Vote Now

Ronaldo Guzman has had a rough first month of Stateside play, but he put it together pretty nicely on Saturday, with three hits and a run over four innings, and five strikeouts against two walks. Guzman put Arizona in position for the win, and win it did.

In addition to terrific pitching from the entire ACL staff, the top third of the order showed out tonight, with Colson Montgomery getting a hit leading off, his first professional hit, coming in his second game. Wes Kath, who did crack a safety in his first game, doubled that up in his second. Sandwiched in-between was the early Arizona MVP this season, Misael González with two hits to push his average to .311 and OPS nearly to four figures. This Big Three carried the offense tonight.

Oh yeah, check out that gametime temp.

Poll

The ACL White Sox got a chilly win on Saturday. Who was their MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 56%
    Misael González: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K
    (41 votes)
  • 22%
    Wes Kath: 2-for-4, R, RBI
    (16 votes)
  • 6%
    Ronaldo Guzman: 4 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K
    (5 votes)
  • 2%
    Taylor Broadway: IP, 2 K, WIN in his professional debut
    (2 votes)
  • 11%
    Dry heat: 106 degrees at first pitch
    (8 votes)
72 votes total Vote Now

Poll

The ACL White Sox got a chilly win on Saturday. Who was their Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 3%
    Logan Glass: 0-for-4, 2 K, 2 LOB
    (2 votes)
  • 9%
    Adam Hackenberg: 0-for-3, BB, 2 GIDP, LOB
    (5 votes)
  • 81%
    Benyamin Bailey: 0-for-4, 4 K, LOB
    (43 votes)
  • 5%
    Erick Bello: IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
    (3 votes)
53 votes total Vote Now

Guillermo Cuevas was a strikeout machine today, racking up seven in three innings. Unfortunately, Cuevas ran into trouble in a uniquely-DSL third inning. After two strikeouts, the lefty gave up back-to-back triples to push home a run, followed by a steal of home.

A typically torpid offensive effort from his offense meant that three runs spotted Seattle would be more than enough. The Sox could muster just five singles and one run in the game.

Poll

The DSL White Sox lost, 4-1, on Saturday. Who was their MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Roberth Gutierrez: 0-for-1, 2 BB, K, LOB, E
    (0 votes)
  • 38%
    Alberto Bernal: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 LOB
    (13 votes)
  • 61%
    Manuel Veloz: 2 IP, BB, 2 K
    (21 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Poll

The DSL White Sox lost, 4-1, on Saturday. Who was their Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 12%
    Alvaro Aguero: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (4 votes)
  • 69%
    Ricardo Aguilar: 0-for-3, 2 K, 2 LOB, 0-for-3 CS
    (23 votes)
  • 18%
    Guillermo Cuevas: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 7 K, LOSS
    (6 votes)
33 votes total Vote Now

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