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White Sox Minor League Update: August 22, 2022

The rookie wins keep pouring in

By Year of the Hamster
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Don’t turn your back on Dario Borrero; he’s hitting .313, with power, in the ACL.
@DarioBorrero53/Instagram

Birmingham Barons

Did the Barons take to the field on their off-day, completing a seven-game series? No. But there was a ton of news centered around the sole Alabama affiliate on Monday.

Chris Getz announced to reporters that the White Sox were creating a “Project Birmingham” initiative that will invite the top A-ball players for the final weeks of the season, as sort of bridge to fall instructionals.

Birmingham already hosts minor league minicamp for drafted players (most recently, the 2022 class, before they reported en masse to Camelback Ranch) and thus has the facilities to combine game play and one-on-one and small-group instruction.

Getz touted the plan, which will take place over the last four weeks of the season under the watchful eyes of the organization’s top instructors: “Not only are we able to compete on a nightly basis — certainly personalize the instruction — but also treat it almost as an advanced instructional league so these guys are set up for their offseasons and work toward next year.”

Just yesterday we were impressed by the news leaking of Colson Montgomery’s promotion to Double-A, matching the arc that José Rodríguez took (Low-A to Double-A in one season) in 2021. Project Birmingham might take a little of the edge off the honor, as presumably Montgomery will see more instructional and less playing time; monitoring the game-time for each of the honored players will be an interesting study over the last month of games.

For example, Wes Kath, Wilfred Veras and DJ Gladney might normally have seen late promotions to High-A Winston-Salem, given their solid seasons. However, in Double-A the huge gaps in their swings might be badly exposed, and such players may see no game action at all. Likewise, many of the pitchers promoted have already been seeing reduced workloads at the A-level, so at best you’ll see them get an inning in, here and there, with the Barons.

Here are the players at the head of the Single-A class; it’s not completely out of the question that a 2022 draftee currently in the ACL or just joining Kanny could see advancement into Project Birmingham as well.

Winston-Salem Dash
Drew Dalquist (RHSP)
Duke Ellis (CF)
Adam Hackenberg (C)
Cristian Mena (RHSP)
Tyler Osik (C)
Luis Mieses (RF)
Colson Montgomery (SS)
Bryan Ramos (3B)
Garrett Schoenle (LHP)
Matthew Thompson (RHSP)
Norge Vera (RHSP)

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
DJ Gladney (3B/RF)
Wes Kath (3B)
Jared Kelley (RHSP)
Kohl Simas (RHSP)
Wilfred Veras (1B)

These 2022 draftees are bringing some fight to the ACL, upending a very good Colorado team on Monday. The pitching was by and large superb, letting the defense make all but four outs in the game. Meanwhile what the offense lacked in clutch execution (12 hits and four runs, 11 LOB), was still good enough. Dario Borrero was the big bat, with three hits and two doubles, but Taishi Nakawake, Luis Pineda and Chris Lanzilli all had multiple-hit efforts as well.

Poll

It was a big win for the ACL White Sox. Who was the MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Dario Borrero: 3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, LOB
    (25 votes)
  • 0%
    Chris Lanzilli: 2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, 3 LOB
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Luis Pineda: 2-for-4, R, K, 2 LOB, 1-for-2 CS
    (0 votes)
  • 19%
    José Jimenez: 3 IP, H, 2 K
    (6 votes)
31 votes total Vote Now

Poll

It was a big win for the Sox in Arizona. Who was the ACL Cold Cat?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Billy Seidl: 2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K, WIN
    (0 votes)
  • 55%
    Bryce Willits: 1-for-3, 5 LOB
    (11 votes)
  • 45%
    Layant Tapia: 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K, 2 LOB
    (9 votes)
20 votes total Vote Now

In a short, seven-inning contest, the DSL Sox almost went home hungry, blowing a 5-3 lead in the final frame, only to rally for a walk-off winner.

Down 6-5 heading into last ups, Arnold Prado tied things up with a run-scoring single, and with two outs it was Leonardo Alsinois who tapped a grounder in the the hole at shortstop for a game-winning infield hit, scoring Carlos Jimenez. Edwin Peralta vultured a win to stay perfect, at 4-0, after Daniel Gonzalez blew the save in a rough outing.

Poll

Who was the MVP of the nail-biting DSL Sox win on Monday?

This poll is closed

  • 75%
    Ryan Burrowes: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2B, 3 SB
    (15 votes)
  • 5%
    Arxy Hernandez: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B, 2 LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Edwin Peralta: 2⁄3 IP, WIN
    (0 votes)
  • 5%
    Leonardo Alsinois: 1-for-3, GWRBI, BB, LOB
    (1 vote)
  • 15%
    Carlos Jimenez: 2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, K, 2 LOB
    (3 votes)
20 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the Cold Cat of the nail-biting DSL Sox win on Monday?

This poll is closed

  • 94%
    Daniel Gonzalez: 1 1⁄3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, BS
    (17 votes)
  • 0%
    José Mendoza: 3 2⁄3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
    (0 votes)
  • 5%
    Guillermo Rodriguez: 0-for-4, 2 K, 5 LOB
    (1 vote)
18 votes total Vote Now

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