clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

White Sox Minor League Update: July 10, 2022

A perfect day on the farm, chock-full of great performances from top prospects like Cristian Mena, José Rodríguez, and Jared Kelley

By Darren Black
/ new
Cristian Mena continues to rock the boat, with five more shutout innings.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

What a great effort by the pitching staff, to get through nine innings in a bullpen game, with no runs allowed. Mike Wright Jr. started the game and only went two innings, and Steven Moyers was the only other pitcher to record more than three outs in the game. To note for the White Sox doubleheader coming up on Tuesday, the two 40-man members who pitched today were Yoan Aybar and Parker Markel.

On offense, all Charlotte needed was a first inning double from Adam Haseley to score their one and only run of the game. It just so happens that was the only run they needed.

On the top prospect front, Lenyn Sosa did not record a hit but he did walk twice, which is still good. Yolbert Sánchez added another single to his Triple-A tally.

Poll

Who was the Knights MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 58%
    Adam Haseley: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
    (27 votes)
  • 30%
    Mike Wright Jr.: 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
    (14 votes)
  • 2%
    Steven Moyers: 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 K
    (1 vote)
  • 8%
    Parker Markel: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (4 votes)
46 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Knights Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 82%
    Laz Rivera: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (32 votes)
  • 17%
    Yolbert Sánchez: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 Error
    (7 votes)
39 votes total Vote Now

A poor start from Sean Burke seemed to put the Barons on the path to a loss, but the offense walked it off in the seventh with a five-run outburst. Raudy Read’s two-run homer was the walk-off winner.

Overall, the offense was very good, scoring in four of the seven innings of the opener. José Rodríguez had another good game, and even added a double this time. He took those three hits, and stole two more bases because of them. Three hits led the team, but Tyler Neslony and Moises Castillo were right there, with two each.

Since coming back from the IL, Sean Burke has really struggled. In today’s game, his command was not on point, with four walks in 3 1⁄3 innings. He got hit around, too, with five hits, but the five strikeouts are a nice thing to hang your hat on. The pen was not good when Burke was pulled from the game, but it was good enough to keep it close for Birmingham to get the last-second win.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    José Rodríguez: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 SB
    (38 votes)
  • 19%
    Raudy Read: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
    (9 votes)
47 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 12%
    Craig Dedelow: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 3 K
    (5 votes)
  • 87%
    Sean Burke: 3 1⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K
    (35 votes)
40 votes total Vote Now

The nightcap was a much different win, on the back of Chris Blewett’s five innings that set the tone for the 2-1 victory. Blewett allowed just three runners on base. Theo Denlinger almost blew the win in the end, but he settled down and got the job done in the end for his fourth save of the season.

On offense, the Barons did not do much, I guess the runs all came in the opener for both teams. José Rodríguez had another good game, with a single and a walk. Yoelqui Céspedes probably had the best game of the day, reaching base all three times he was up. He was involved in both runs of the game, and stole his 12th bag of the year, too.

Poll

Who was the Barons MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 2%
    José Rodríguez: 1-for-2, 1 BB, 0 K
    (1 vote)
  • 46%
    Yoelqui Céspedes: 1-for-1, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 SB
    (22 votes)
  • 51%
    Chris Blewett: 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
    (24 votes)
47 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Barons Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 40%
    Theo Denlinger: 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
    (12 votes)
  • 36%
    Ian Dawkins: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (11 votes)
  • 23%
    JJ Muno: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (7 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

A great game for the Dash and the top prospects on the team, starting with Colson Montgomery. His first inning walk extended his on base streak to 45, and he would add a single later on in the game. Luis Mieses had a two-hit game, both of which were doubles. (He leads his league in doubles.)

Bryan Ramos did not have a big hit like he did yesterday, but like Montgomery, reached base twice via single and a walk. Even the new additions, Terrell Tatum and Duke Ellis, reached twice, with Ellis adding his 35th stolen base this season after one of his three trips to first base.

The best guy on the day was starter Cristian Mena. He has continued to pitch really well since his promotion, and five shutout innings from him today lowered his ERA to 1.89.The command was not all there with three walks, but 68 pitches in five innings is pretty impressive. That also shows the type of limit Mena is on, as he was pulled at just 68 pitches.

Poll

Who was the Dash MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 84%
    Cristian Mena: 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K
    (33 votes)
  • 12%
    Luis Mieses: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
    (5 votes)
  • 2%
    Duke Ellis: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB
    (1 vote)
39 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Dash Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Everhett Hazelwood: 1 IP, 1 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 100%
    Chase Plymell: 1 IP, 1 ER (2 R), 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 Error
    (32 votes)
32 votes total Vote Now

Kannapolis gets the victory off of a great start from Jared Kelley (five shutout innings with two strikeouts) and a five-run eighth inning.

Here is Kelley, with a nice changeup at the end:

It was not long ago, May 29, when Kelley’s ERA was at 5.87 and nothing was really going for him. He has it down to 3.79 after today’s game.

And here is the Andy Atwood bomb that gave the Cannon Ballers the lead, capping off that five-run inning:

Jesus Valles was the other pitcher in the game, and he was responsible for the three runs allowed. He was fine, the fact he did not record a strikeout is the odd thing about his outing. Beyond Atwood, Wilber Sánchez had a decent day with a couple of singles, and Colby Smelley had the same type of day. Wes Kath has been struggling recently, but he did go 1-for-4 with no strikeouts, which is very rare for him.

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 86%
    Jared Kelley: 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
    (44 votes)
  • 13%
    Andy Atwood: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0
    (7 votes)
51 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cannon Ballers Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 6%
    Nick Thornquist: 0-for-3, 0 BB, 2 K
    (2 votes)
  • 53%
    Benyamín Bailey: 0-for-4, 0 BB, 2 K
    (16 votes)
  • 40%
    Jesus Valles: 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K
    (12 votes)
30 votes total Vote Now

More From South Side Sox

Loading comments...