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White Sox Minor League Update: June 18, 2022

Not a great day for the farm, with Birmingham getting the lone win out of seven games.

By Darren Black
/ new
MLB: Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
In front of his dad, ex-MLB slugger Larry, Gavin Sheets homered on Saturday.
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

With Mike Wright Jr. recently injured and leaving Charlotte with just one true starting pitcher, the Knights rely on bullpen games far too often and they really do not work out well. Either the White Sox are anticipating the next MLB trend of using nine pitchers for an inning a game, or the completely flubbed 2021 and the offseason by letting Carlos Rodón walk, failing to do anything to meaningfully stretch out Michael Kopech and Reynaldo López, and signing no one but Vince Velasquez and Johnny Cueto.

Sure, Yacksel Ríos was good in the first and Steven Moyers kept the lead for the next three innings, but using a lot of bad pitchers in one game is not a good way to win. Which is a good reminder to everybody, thank goodness the minors are not about winning, because the Sox farm system is really good at not winning. Today, Yoan Aybar was responsible for the loss, with three runs allowed in his inning. If Aybar does see time in MLB given his 40-man status, that would be really bad for the Sox, as he has a 6.14 Triple-A ERA. Of course, another 40-manner, Anderson Severino, allowed one run in his inning and that actually lowered his ERA to 10.00. Not great depth here on the pitching side, honestly be it starters or relief.

The MLB-quality depth is in the Knights lineup and there’s a few to choose from even if they only scored three runs. Gavin Sheets is starting to turn it around with his bat, and with his dad in the stands for Father’s Day Sheets hit his second Triple-A homer.

Laz Rivera had a good day as well, with his sixth homer of the year.

Both players had two hits today with Zach Remillard reaching base twice, too; he had more help from opposing pitchers, as both were walks.

Red-hot Adam Haseley was not in the lineup today and was seen clearing out his locker. Yep, he’s headed to Houston (or Chicago) to join the big club, signifying Yoán Moncada is heading the IL and/or the White Sox simply are cutting down from 14 pitchers to 13.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 69%
    Laz Rivera: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
    (41 votes)
  • 30%
    Gavin Sheets: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K
    (18 votes)
59 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 52%
    Yoan Aybar: 1 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (26 votes)
  • 48%
    Micker Adolfo: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 3 K, diving catch
    (24 votes)
50 votes total Vote Now

After 12 long innings and a blown lead, the Barons came out on top on Saturday, 4-3. Birmingham could have done much better with execution on offense, because it was just 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position. When you break down the advanced metrics, 17 strikeouts will get in the way of scoring some runs.

Evan Skoug had the big hit of the day, a solo shot in the fifth inning to give the Barons their first lead. That was his fifth homer this year in what has been a decent season so far. José Rodríguez led the team with three hits, as he raised his batting average to .240 on the year, although the low (.613) OPS is still a concern and a fielding error eventually led to two unearned runs. Rodríguez did add two steals, so he is being productive in other ways in light of flashing close to no power. Lenyn Sosa and Yoelqui Céspedes both had a single today, too.

The pitching was good overall, but Jason Bilous’ start was a mixed bag. He went 5 1⁄3 shutout innings with six strikeouts — that’s pretty good. He walked four batters and added four hits allowed on top of that — not so good, and pretty lucky. The bullpen was very good behind Bilous, besides the two unearned runs off of Fraser Ellard. Edgar Navarro pitched a shutout for the 10th and 11th innings, which is more impressive knowing there was a zombie runner on second to start each inning.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 1%
    Edgar Navarro: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (1 vote)
  • 39%
    Jason Bilous: 5 1⁄3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 K
    (20 votes)
  • 43%
    José Rodríguez: 3-for-6, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 SB, 1 Error
    (22 votes)
  • 15%
    Evan Skoug: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
    (8 votes)
51 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    Fraser Ellard: 2 1⁄3 IP, 0 ER (2 R), 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (1 vote)
  • 97%
    Luis Curbelo: 0-for-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K
    (39 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

Oof, bad game for Winston-Salem — the supposed best team in the farm system falls, 12-0, as its record is now 32-29 on the season. It was bad pitching; 12 runs allowed off of 14 hits certainly qualifies as bad. Luis Moncada struggled the most, with five runs allowed and just two outs. Luis Amaya at least kept the game at 12 runs allowed for the last two innings, but he allowed four hits so he certainly tried to make it worse. Being shut out is about as bad as it can get for a lineup, but hits from Oscar Colás and Harvin Mendoza helped avoid a perfect game for Bowling Green. The defense was spotty as well, with three errors; Jason Matthews was responsible for two of them.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 64%
    Oscar Colás: 1-for-3, 0 BB, 0 K
    (29 votes)
  • 35%
    Luis Amaya: 2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K
    (16 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 93%
    Luis Moncada: 2⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 K
    (42 votes)
  • 6%
    Jason Matthews: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 Errors
    (3 votes)
45 votes total Vote Now

The Cannon Ballers made a little comeback in the last inning of the doubleheader opener, but they fell short, 5-3. Misael González hit a two-run homer to get the game to 5-3, his third homer of the year, as he and only two other batters reached base more than once.

Wilber Sánchez and Nick Thornquist were the other two to reach twice, Thornquist with two singles. Meanwhile, Sánchez had a pretty fun day on base, with two steals and now has 24 on the year. On a different thread, though, Colson Montgomery reached base again, with a walk.

Not using too many pitchers was probably in the cards, though it might’ve helped keep the game a bit more interesting. Noah Owen started the game and went five innings. He allowed three runs and did get hit around, with six hits allowed. Liam Jenkins took over for him and put the game officially out of reach with two more runs.

Poll

Who was the Kannapolis MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Wilber Sánchez: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
    (0 votes)
  • 96%
    Misael González: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K
    (30 votes)
  • 3%
    Noah Owen: 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K
    (1 vote)
31 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Kannapolis Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 36%
    Liam Jenkins: 1 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (11 votes)
  • 63%
    Logan Glass: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 3 K
    (19 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

The nightcap was even worse. The offense was stagnant, with two runs and five hits. And the defense combined for four errors, which is really embarrassing. Wes Kath was in for three of those errors — seriously, three. He has 17 on the season, so he is a long ways away from being an MLB third baseman. On the bright side for Kath, he did homer and hit a double, and while it does not make up for three fielding errors, it’s a positive nonetheless. Colby Smelley was the other Kannapolis batter to have two hits.

On the pitching side, look, they had a lot to deal with because of four errors, but Jared Kelley had a poor start to end his run of decent outings. He only lasted 2 2⁄3 innings, and had more command issues. He issued two walks and threw 30 balls out of 64 pitches. Bowen Plagge took over and allowed four runs, but no shocker, three of them were unearned.

Bad defense and imperfect pitching is not going to end well, and the mellow offense did not help.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 30%
    Wes Kath: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 Errors
    (12 votes)
  • 65%
    Colby Smelley: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (26 votes)
  • 5%
    James Beard: 0-for-1, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
    (2 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 38%
    Wes Kath: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 Errors
    (15 votes)
  • 61%
    Jared Kelley: 2 2⁄3 IP, 2 ER (3 R), 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (24 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

The offense was good, really good, today for the ACL Sox. It combined for six runs scored over 10 hits and six walks. Nine of the 11 batters reached base with a hit or a walk, and they were effective with runners in scoring position (5-for-15). So the loss was not an issue with the offense. Layant Tapia was among the leaders in hits, with two, his were both doubles to lead the team in extra-base hits. Luis Pineda had a homer, his second in the early going in the ACL. Dario Borrero replaced Pineda for the latter half of the game and was 2-for-2, so the 3-spot was very effective.

What was not good: the pitching, especially the first four arms used. Each allowed at least two runs, with Manuel Veloz starting all of that off. He only went three innings, and allowed five runs. It just got worse though with Homer Cruz, Brian Carrion, and Jose Rodulfo combining for seven runs allowed over the next four innings. Just not a very productive day. For Anderson Comas news, the former outfielder had another shutout inning, so the start of his conversion from outfielder to pitcher is still working out.

Poll

Who was the ACL Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 20%
    Dario Borrero: 2-for-2, 0 BB, 0 K
    (6 votes)
  • 30%
    Layant Tapia: 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
    (9 votes)
  • 50%
    Luis Pineda: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K
    (15 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the ACL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 48%
    Manuel Veloz: 3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K
    (13 votes)
  • 51%
    Homer Cruz: 1 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
    (14 votes)
  • 0%
    Jose Rudulfo: 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
27 votes total Vote Now

An untimely error from Arxy Hernández helps lead to a three-run loss for the DSL Sox, as Week Two has not been as fun as the first six games. The offense was not very good to begin with, though. Erick Hernández went 0-for-2 today, so when your best player goes 0-fer, it will be difficult to win. The DSL only had five hits to go along with their two runs, and one walk vs 10 strikeouts isn’t a good way to win a game. Loidel Chapelli Jr. did come away with a hit, so that is good for top hitting prospects at least.

Gabriel Rodríguez started and was OK. Good enough overall to deserve a win, but it was not a dominant performance, with two runs allowed over five innings. He struck out three batters and walked two, which is the definition of a non-dominant performance. Francisco Benitez was on the mound for that fateful error, and all three runs he allowed were unearned.

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 84%
    Gabriel Rodríguez: 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
    (21 votes)
  • 16%
    Leandro Alsinois: 1-for-3, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
    (4 votes)
  • 0%
    Ryan Castillo: 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (0 votes)
25 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the DSL Sox Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 45%
    Francisco Benitez: 2⁄3 IP, 0 ER (3 R), 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K
    (11 votes)
  • 54%
    Arxy Hernández: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 Error
    (13 votes)
24 votes total Vote Now

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