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White Sox Minor League Update: September 17, 2021

You want hitting? We got hitting. You want pitching? We got pitching. You want implosions of both? Buddy,

By Julie Brady
Bryan Ramos went 3-for-8 with two triples over the evening’s doubleheader
Sean Williams/South Side Sox
Bulls/Knights linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher box score
Misc info

Box score link

Jimmy Lambert pitched well and so did the Knights bullpen, teetering a little (a lot) in the ninth but holding on for a victory against perhaps the best team in minor league baseball. Lane Ramsey, Anderson Severino, and Nik Turley combined for 3 ⅓ scoreless innings after Lambert went 4 ⅔, running into a laborious fifth extended by his own error but only giving up two runs total (one earned). Carl Edwards Jr. found himself playing with fire in the ninth, watching the Knights’ 5-2 lead slowly slip away. First it was two straight singles and a run-scoring force out making it 5-3, then a single, a base-advancing fly ball, and a wild pitch made it 5-4, but Edwards struck out Ryan Boldt on three pitches to seal it for Charlotte.

Ti’Quan Forbes went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple, scoring two runs. The fireworks really went off for Seby Zavala, who crushed a baseball probably harder than was strictly necessary for it to exit the ballpark. Mikie Mahtook and Marco Hernández were the proud owners of a run-scoring double apiece and Danny Mendick and Zach Remillard both hit RBI singles.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 76%
    Ti’Quan Forbes: 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, SB
    (53 votes)
  • 4%
    Danny Mendick: 2-for-4, R, RBI, K
    (3 votes)
  • 0%
    Seby Zavala: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K, E
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Mikie Mahtook: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Zach Remillard: 1-for-4, R, RBI, 3 K
    (0 votes)
  • 18%
    Jimmy Lambert: 4 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, WP, E
    (13 votes)
69 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 20%
    Micker Adolfo: 0-for-4, 2 K, outfield assist (2B)
    (13 votes)
  • 26%
    Jake Burger: 0-for-3, 2 K, HBP
    (17 votes)
  • 1%
    Blake Rutherford: 1-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 51%
    Carl Edwards Jr. (S): IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, K, WP
    (33 votes)
64 votes total Vote Now
Barons/Biscuits linescore game one
Batter box score
Pitcher box score, misc info

Box score link

Johan Dominguez has pitched very well for the Barons, only one really bad start among his seven, and this was one of his best, the 6’4” righty allowing only two runs in six innings to the Montgomery Biscuits. He walked nobody and struck out nine. It was doubleheader game one, so he left the team leading 3-2 with just one inning to go, but alas, the win would not be his or the Barons’; Caleb Freeman, who entered today with a 1.65 ERA in 16 ⅓ innings, gave up a single, double, walk, and single to tie the game before getting his first out, then allowed a walk-off single to the next batter. It was only the third time all year he allowed multiple earned runs in one outing.

Until then, it looked like just a handful of hits was going to win it, one of those being Yoelkis Céspedes’ first home run at the level in the second inning and another Tyler Neslony’s seventh dinger in the fourth. They even had something brewing in the top of the seventh when Céspedes singled to lead it off, but he was picked off/caught stealing for the first out of the inning. He had two hits total, as did Yolbert Sánchez. José Rodriguez didn’t get two hits, but he did get one, a double, his first time on base in two games played with the Barons.

Poll

Who was the Barons game one MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 51%
    Yoelkis Céspedes: 2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, K, PO/CS
    (36 votes)
  • 1%
    Tyler Neslony: 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI
    (1 vote)
  • 47%
    Johan Dominguez: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K
    (33 votes)
70 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons game one Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 91%
    Caleb Freeman (L, BS): ⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, 0 K
    (44 votes)
  • 2%
    Carlos Pérez: 0-for-3
    (1 vote)
  • 4%
    Lenyn Sosa: 0-for-3, K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-3
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    Xavier Fernández: 0-for-3, K
    (1 vote)
48 votes total Vote Now
Barons/Biscuits linescore game two
Batter box score
Pitcher box score
Misc info

Box score link

Doubleheader game two was much more apparently destined for disaster after an early outburst left the Barons trailing 6-2 and a later outburst saw them behind 9-5, with 9-6 the eventual final score. Starting pitcher Davis Martin had pitched very well in his first five games at the level, allowing four runs in his very first start but working on 16 straight scoreless innings since then with just seven hits and five walks allowed. Tonight, though, he backslid to his four-run ways, giving up that number in 2 ⅓ innings.

Declan Cronin, Alec Hansen, and Ofreidy Gómez all gave up at least one run each in relief—Hansen has been pitching only sporadically lately, this just his third appearance of the month. Entering today’s game, he had a five-game scoreless streak covering 6 ⅓ innings over which he’d walked four batters and struck out 15; today, he struggled a little more with control, walking two—both on full counts—allowing a single, balking, and throwing a wild pitch. Vince Arobio pitched a scoreless sixth.

Tyler Neslony was the standout at the plate, 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, a three-run dong in the seventh and his first since homering in doubleheader game one. Xavier Fernández and Mitch Roman also drove in runs and picked up two hits apiece. José Rodriguez went 1-for-4, giving him a hit in two out of three games played so far for the Barons.

Poll

Who was the Barons game two MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Tyler Neslony: 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI
    (49 votes)
  • 0%
    Xavier Fernández: 2-for-3, R, RBI, E
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Mitch Roman: 2-for-2, 2 R, RBI, E
    (0 votes)
49 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons game two Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 73%
    Davis Martin (L): 2 ⅓ IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K, WP
    (28 votes)
  • 13%
    Declan Cronin: ⅔ IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, K, WP, HBP
    (5 votes)
  • 2%
    Alec Hansen: IP, H, R, 2 BB, 2 K, WP, balk
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    Ofreidy Gómez: IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 7%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-4
    (3 votes)
38 votes total Vote Now
Tourists/Dash linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher box score
Misc info

Box score link

The trouble for the Dash all year has been their pitching and also their hitting, and both weaknesses were highlighted here. The team has been without a full starting rotation since roughly July when most of their rotation mainstays were promoted to Birmingham, so they’ve had little choice but to make heavy use of a bullpen that has not been able to hold up.

Today, it was reliever Cooper Bradford with the opening slot, and it started poorly—one run on two hits and a wild pitch in the first—and continued even worse, five straight batters reaching base (one on a fielder’s choice out) in the second before being relieved by Kevin Folman, bases loaded and nobody out. Folman allowed two straight singles to take care of each inherited runner, a double steal, and a two-run double before retiring the side, a seven-run second inning in total for the Tourists. Folman pitched a scoreless third and fourth before allowing another run in the fifth and giving way to Ty Madrigal in the sixth. Madrigal pitched 2 ⅓ innings, struck out four, and allowed four runs; like Bradford, he left with the bases loaded, and like Bradford, his relief allowed all three inherited runs to score, Jordan Mikel giving up a grand slam to his first batter faced. Mikel did, for what it’s worth, induce strikeouts for all four outs he pitched.

At the plate, the Dash scored four runs on four hits, including a pair of two-run home runs, a second-inning shot for Samir Dueñez and a seventh-inning one for Luis Curbelo, who retakes the team lead from Alex Destino with 22. Their other two hits were also both for extra bases, doubles by Harvin Mendoza and Alex Destino, but that and two walks were all they were able to muster.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 30%
    Samir Dueñez: 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, K
    (27 votes)
  • 4%
    Luis Curbelo: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 3 K, E
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Alex Destino: 1-for-4, 2B, R
    (0 votes)
  • 65%
    Harvin Mendoza: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K
    (59 votes)
90 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 91%
    Cooper Bradford (L): 1 ⅓ IP, 7 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 2 K, WP
    (31 votes)
  • 0%
    Kevin Folman: 3 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K, WP
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    Ty Madrigal: 2 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 4 R (3 ER), BB, 4 K, HBP
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Jordan Mikel: 1 ⅔ IP, H, R, 0 BB, 4 K
    (0 votes)
  • 2%
    Jeremiah Burks: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    Luis Mieses: 0-for-4, K
    (1 vote)
34 votes total Vote Now
Cannon Ballers/Fireflies linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher box score
Misc info

Box score link

The Cannon Ballers trailed 3-0 after one, held a tight 4-3 lead after three, then exploded for five runs in the sixth to take doubleheader game one from the Columbia Fireflies, 9-3. Misael Gonzalez started things off in a big way, the 20-year-old right fielder clubbing a three-run bomb in the second to score Jayson Gonzalez and Chase Krogman. They added that slight lead the next inning, AJ Gill doubling to score Bryan Ramos (and then immediately getting picked off second base; it happens to the best of us).

Then the sixth: Ramos tripled for the fifth time, then Gill followed it up by again scoring Ramos with a double; instead of getting picked off, he then scored when Jayson Gonzalez singled him in. A wild pitch and another Krogman single combined to put Gonzalez on third, in position to score when Misael Gonzalez singled in the next at-bat (Kannapolis leads 7-3). After Richard Garcia struck out for the first out of the inning, Wilber Sanchez walked to load the bases, and Caberea Weaver singled to score both Krogman and Misael Gonzalez. Things might have continued in that fashion after Shawn Goosenberg walked, but Ramos experienced in-game regression and grounded into a double play (it happens to the best of us). Ramos is on a particularly hot tear over the last week or so; he’s 11-for-26 with two doubles, three triples, a home run, and six walks against just three strikeouts. He’s rehabilitated his season line to .246/.350/.418 over 112 games played; it’s easy to forget sometimes that he’s just 19 years old.

Thanks to a rain delay, Kannapolis technically used seven pitchers to get through seven innings; fourth-rounder Brooks Gosswein got the start, his sixth and by far his worst. In a 34-pitch first (18 strikes), the Fireflies went walk-walk-double steal-RBI double-run scoring wild pitch-mound visit-run scoring wild pitch-single before Gosswein was able to retire three straight. Rigo Fernandez then entered to pitch the second right as the rain rolled in but didn’t get to face a single batter; by the time the delay was over, his time had passed and it was Everhett Hazelwood hours. Hazelwood, Haylen Green, Zach Cable, Theo Denlinger, and Gil Luna Jr. combined for six scoreless, two-hit innings; they walked none and struck out six.

Having Denlinger and Luna Jr. back-to-back like that doesn’t seem fair; both struck out two in a perfect inning each, leaving Denlinger with a 16.7 K/9 (29 strikeouts, 15 ⅔ professional innings) and Luna Jr. at 14.4 (23 strikeouts, 14 ⅓ innings).

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers game one MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 92%
    Misael Gonzalez: 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, K
    (35 votes)
  • 0%
    Bryan Ramos: 2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, GIDP
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Chase Krogman: 2-for-4, 2 R
    (0 votes)
  • 7%
    AJ Gill: 2-for-3, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, PO
    (3 votes)
  • 0%
    Caberea Weaver: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, K
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Jayson Gonzalez: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
38 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers game one Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 93%
    Brooks Gosswein: IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, K, 2 WP
    (28 votes)
  • 6%
    Richard Garcia: 0-for-3, K
    (2 votes)
  • 0%
    Adam Goosenberg: 1-for-3, BB, K, PO
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Wilber Sanchez: 1-for-2, BB, K
    (0 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now
Cannon Ballers/Fireflies linescore
Batter box score
Pitcher box score

Box score link

Kannapolis manhandled (Kannhandled?) the Fireflies in game two. Andrew Dalquist was absolutely dominant, pitching like a third-round draft pick as he threw five one-hit innings, walking three and striking out just one. It’s hard to say he’s pitched better all year. Martin Carrasco pitched the sixth and immediately ran into a roadblock in the form of a leadoff home run, doubling the Fireflies’ hit total,

The Ballers picked up one run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings, timely hitting all around. Wilber Sanchez experienced a walk-n-balk to lead off the third and Samil Polanco hit his 19th double to score him. In the fourth, DJ Gladney hit his seventh dinger of the year to lead off the inning. With two outs in the fifth, Polanco singled and Bryan Ramos hit his second triple of the day to drive him in.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers game two MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 97%
    Drew Dalquist (W): 5 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, K
    (41 votes)
  • 2%
    Samil Polanco: 2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Bryan Ramos: 1-for-4, 3B, RBI, E
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    DJ Gladney: 1-for-2, HR, R, RBI, K, HBP
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Chase Krogman: 2-for-3, 2B
    (0 votes)
42 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers game two Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 25%
    Adam Hackenberg: 0-for-4, K
    (8 votes)
  • 67%
    Anderson Comas: 0-for-3, 3 K
    (21 votes)
  • 3%
    Wilber Sánchez: 0-for-2, R, BB, K, E
    (1 vote)
  • 3%
    Caberea Weaver: 1-for-4, 2 K, CS
    (1 vote)
31 votes total Vote Now
ACL Sox/Rangers linescore
Batting box score
Pitching box score

Box score link

Fifth-round pick Tanner McDougal exited with an injury after facing just one batter and things did not improve much from there. Ronaldo Guzman struck out four over 2 ⅔ innings of unexpected relief but also allowed a two-run home run. Dilmer Mejia then entered for five innings of two-run ball over which he did not walk a batter but did strike out 10 batters.

The ACL Sox were no-hit until the seventh, one-hit until the eighth, and two-hit until the ninth, but nothing to show for any of it; Johnabiell Laureano was stranded on first after singling with two outs in the seventh and then Benyamin Bailey singled to lead off the eighth, but was caught stealing second base during the next at-bat. Colson Montgomery hit a two-out single in the ninth but was surrounded by strikeouts on all sides. Bailey was also the only other baserunner of the game after drawing a second-inning walk, only to be erased on an inning-ending double play. As a team, they struck out 15 times.

Poll

Who was the ACL Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 75%
    Dilmer Mejia: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 10 K
    (25 votes)
  • 21%
    Benyamin Bailey: 1-for-2, 2 BB, CS
    (7 votes)
  • 0%
    Johnabiell Laureano: 1-for-3, K
    (0 votes)
  • 3%
    Colson Montgomery: 1-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
33 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the ACL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 68%
    Colby Smelley: 0-for-4, 3 K
    (22 votes)
  • 15%
    Jefferson Mendoza: 0-for-3, 2 K, GIDP
    (5 votes)
  • 0%
    Logan Glass: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 15%
    Elijah Tatís: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (5 votes)
  • 0%
    Edwin Peralta: 0-for-3, 2 K
    (0 votes)
32 votes total Vote Now
DSL Sox/Blue Jays linescore
Batting box score
Pitching box score
Misc info

Box score link

The DSL Sox got exactly one hit but nevertheless had 12 total baserunners even as they fell 12-0 to the hated DSL Blue Jays. The one hit, a double, belonged to 18-year-old Alvaro Aguero; in his first professional season, he is batting .267/.308/.407; he’s successfully stolen 16 bases in 19 attempts. Roberth Gutierrez, Victor Quezada, and Layant Tapia drew two walks apiece. Quezada, who, it cannot be emphasized enough, is 17 years old, carries a line of .263/.369/.500 (!!) over 38 games (10 doubles, six home runs). He stole his 12th base in 13 attempts in today’s game.

The pitching was not so good, Yohemy Nolasco allowing three runs in the first to a Blue Jays team that never looked back. Daniel Gonzalez pitched 2 ⅓ innings of relief, also allowing three runs; two of those were inherited and allowed to score by Miguel Toribio, who also gave up five runs of his own over 1 ⅔ innings. Toribio faced 11 batters and threw four wild pitches. Dionicio Jimenez entered and somehow escaped an inning that contained two singles and two HBPs with only one run allowed, going three total.

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 70%
    Alvaro Aguero: 1-for-3, 2B, K
    (17 votes)
  • 0%
    Roberth Gutierrez: 0-for-1, 2 BB
    (0 votes)
  • 29%
    Victor Quezada: 0-for-1, 2 BB, SB
    (7 votes)
  • 0%
    Layant Tapia: 0-for-2, 2 BB
    (0 votes)
24 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 13%
    Yohemy Nolasco (L): IP, 4 H, 3 R, BB, K, WP
    (3 votes)
  • 0%
    Daniel Gonzalez: 2 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 81%
    Miguel Toribio: 1 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 5 R, BB, 0 K, 4 WP
    (18 votes)
  • 0%
    Manuel Guariman: 0-for-4
    (0 votes)
  • 4%
    Alberto Bernal: 0-for-4, 2 K
    (1 vote)
22 votes total Vote Now

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