White Sox Minor League Monthly Update: June, 2022

Charlotte Knights

Romy González: .229/.289/.371 — 1 HR, 2 BB, 10 K, 5 R, 3 RBI (getting tonsillectomy)
Micker Adolfo: .197/.238/.382 — 4 HR, 4 BB, 27 K, 13 R, 12 RBI, 1 SB
Yolbert Sánchez: .270/.301/.303 — 4 BB, 15 K, 7 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB
Carlos Pérez: .261/.342/.377 — 2 HR, 7 BB, 8 K, 7 R, 11 RBI
Lenyn Sosa: Triple-A: .600/.600/.600 - 0 BB, 0 K, 1 R, 1 RBI ⚾️ MLB: .083/.154/.167 — 1 BB, 3 K, 2 R ⚾️ Double-A: .306/.354/.514 — 4 HR, 7 BB, 11 K, 11 R, 14 RBI
Adam Haseley: .315/.333/.524 — 1 HR, 6 BB, 11 K, 11 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB **Monthly MVP**
Bennett Sousa: Triple-A: 3 IP, 6.00 ERA, 2 BB, 5 K ⚾️ MLB: 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 14.29 ERA, 3 BB, 2 K
Kade McClure: 13 IP, 6.23 ERA, 4 BB, 17 K
Davis Martin: Triple-A: 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 BB, 9 K ⚾️ MLB: 16 IP, 5.06 ERA, 6 BB, 10 K

A lot of promotions and demotions centered around Charlotte this month, and maybe that is why the team was just not very good. They lost Seby Zavala, Adam Haseley and for some time, Davis Martin. They gained Bennett Sousa, and Martin (again) and Lenyn Sosa for a game each, so they missed out on some top talent.

Still, out of anybody Adam Haseley probably comes out on top because his top-notch June led to a promotion that is sticking right now. Eloy Jiménez will probably replace Haseley once he’s back up in Chicago, but Haseley has established himself as the top option for the Sox as an outfield replacement. His 118 wRC+ in Triple-A is much more like his 2019 production than last year’s. He showed more pop — though his home games are in Charlotte, so a .202 ISO should happen. Haseley’s limited at-bats in the majors have not gone well (58 wRC+), but it is just 21 plate appearances, and it’s hard to be good with that little and sporadic playing time. Haseley is not an option as one of the starting three OF for the White Sox, but if he’s anywhere close to the 118 wRC+, then that can end up being a good acquisition. For now, he is another former top prospect the White Sox acquired too late.

Birmingham Barons

José Rodríguez: .299/.327/.346 — 5 BB, 13 K, 15 R, 17 RBI, 10 SB
Yoelqui Céspedes: .262/.357/.417 — 2 HR, 7 BB, 28 K, 15 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB
Tyler Neslony: .341/.431/.511 — 2 HR, 14 BB, 16 K, 16 R, 13 RBI, 9 SB **Monthly MVP**
Jason Bilous: 28 ¹⁄₃ IP, 3.81 ERA, 18 BB, 40 K
Sean Burke: 9 ¹⁄₃ IP, 6.75 ERA, 4 BB, 7 K
Caleb Freeman: (Did not pitch last month)

Tyler Neslony has been very good as a Birmingham Baron. So good, in fact, one has to wonder why he is even still there. He was acquired last season and in 38 Double-A games he had a 203 wRC+ — not too shabby. So far in 60 games in 2022 his wRC+ has decreased, of course, but a 159 wRC+ is nothing to sneeze at. His walks are closer to his professional averages compared to last year ,and the strikeouts are close, too. A drop in walks, in BABIP from .429 (!) to .368, and a 70-point drop in ISO are those three factors in the wRC+ decrease. They are all still fantastic numbers, and Neslony should try to keep them there in Triple-A. It is tough to know if Neslony will ever reach MLB; he’s been in Double-A since 2017 and he doesn’t have much more to prove there. He does split his time between left field, right field, and DH, so maybe it is more of a defensive issue — but there aren’t many players, if any, in Charlotte who are better.

Winston-Salem Dash

Oscar Colás: .381/.421/.556 — 3 HR, 7 BB, 18 K, 16 R, 17 RBI **Monthly MVP**
Bryan Ramos: .228/.330/.443 — 5 HR, 12 BB, 13 K, 12 R, 16 RBI
Colson Montgomery: High-A: .333/.407/.625 — 2 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, 6 R, 5 RBI ⚾️ Low-A: .397/.480/.508 — 1 HR, 8 BB, 13 K, 10 R, 7 RBI **Monthly MVP**
Luis Míeses: .239/.278/.424 — 4 HR, 5 BB, 16 K, 10 R, 20 RBI
Terrell Tatum: .273/.385/.333 — 6 BB, 10 K, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB
Duke Ellis: .276/.351/.448 — 3 HR, 10 BB, 29 K, 17 R, 6 RBI, 10 SB
Drew Dalquist: 24 ¹⁄₃ IP, 2.96 ERA, 8 BB, 21 K
Matthew Thompson: 25 IP, 3.24 ERA, 7 BB, 27 K
Cristian Mena: High-A: 9 IP, 4.00 ERA, 5 BB, 6 K ⚾️ Low-A: 13 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 BB, 12 K

Two MVPs are in Winston-Salem currently, but the one that earned the spot in High-A was Oscar Colás. He did have some competition with Drew Dalquist, who had his first good month of the year, along with Matthew Thompson. However, it is tough to execute an offensive month 63% better than the average hitter. What is exciting with Colás is that he is bringing down his K-rate slowly but surely. It was just short of 17% for the month of June, and though the walks were down too, the walks per strikeout is still improved. Colás’ power is not quite there yet but it is steady, with seven homers and 22 extra-base hits on the year. Maybe an increase in strikeouts would be OK if he added a bit more power, but Colás’ swing is there and effective. He should be in Double-A sooner than later, not just because he has proven he should be, but he is 23 and that is a more appropriate level for his age. (Colás has started popping off on social media about a promotion/his treatment by the White Sox, so this move needs to happen sooner than later.) We do need to be careful going into August and September though, because Colás has not played a full season in some time.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Wes Kath: .258/.355/.495 — 6 HR, 14 BB, 35 K, 11 R, 12 RBI
Wilfred Veras: .195/.263/.460 — 6 HR, 8 BB, 28 K, 16 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB
Jared Kelley: 13 ²⁄₃ IP, 1.98 ERA, 6 BB, 14 K
Norge Vera: 10 IP, 2.70 ERA, 6 BB, 10 K
Kohl Simas: 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 BB, 3 K (Currently on the IL)

When you reach base every game for a month and then some, yeah, you will be the MVP, and that is exactly what Colson Montgomery did. Cristian Mena could have been in the running IF he stayed in Kannapolis a bit longer. Jared Kelley had good results, with a walk-rate still a little high, and Norge Vera is fully in action now. The story is Montgomery, though, and he earned a promotion to High-A because of it. What Montgomery has shown since he was drafted out of high school is how professional he is at the plate: A high walk rate against college draftees and pitchers much older than him while having a relatively low K-rate. Right now, Montgomery has three walks and three strikeouts in High-A, and if that rate of one walk per strikeout holds (to be clear, it won’t) he should get a chance in Double-A in September. He did show more pop in June, which is what we have been waiting to see because everything else at the plate has been working out very well. Half of Montgomery’s homers this year came in June. He still has a lot to prove on the field at shortstop, and that will be his main area of concern going forward.

ACL White Sox

Victor Quezada: .194/.286/.613 — 4 HR, 4 BB, 20 K, 8 R, 7 RBI
Manuel Guariman: .273/.429/.273 — 3 BB, 4 K, 2 R, 1 RBI
Dario Borrero: .321/.356/.357 — 3 BB, 10 K, 5 R, 5 RBI
Javier Mora: .315/.393/.500 — 1 HR, 6 BB, 16 K, 10 R, 9 RBI, 1 SB **Monthly MVP**
Yohemy Nolasco: 10 IP, 3.60 ERA, 5 BB, 10 K

DSL White Sox

Erick Hernández: .317/.438/.433 — 11 BB, 14 K, 14 R, 3 RBI, 3 SB
Loidel Chapellí Jr.: .388/.500/.653 — 2 HR, 11 BB, 9 K, 14 R, 9 RBI, 3 SB **Monthly MVP**
Guillermo Rodríguez: .283/.353/.348 — 1 HR, 4 BB, 6 K, 10 R, 6 RBI, 5 SB
Ryan Burrowes: .314/.456/.451 — 1 HR, 9 BB, 10 K, 12 R, 7 RBI, 2 SB
Marcelo Valladares: (Did not pitch)