White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (June 2023): Tim Elko

White Sox Minor League Player of of the Month

Tim Elko High-A .250/.375/.667, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K ▪️ Low-A: .306/.372/.635, 8 HR, 17 R, 22 RBI, 9 BB, 27 K

Surprise, surprise, a near full month of Low-A for Tim Elko and he did really well. He finally got his much-deserved promotion to Winston-Salem, and proceeded to hit his first homer there in his first week. Elko leaves Kannapolis with a .297/.360/.556 slash line for a 157 wRC+. That big slugging number comes from his 17 homers in just 66 games ... he should’ve been in High-A much sooner than this. The thing to look for to see if he really is a prospect to watch is him keeping that K-rate close to his Low-A mark (29.7%). If he can improve it, that would be great, but he is a player who will strike out a lot, so getting to the low 20s is out of the question. If Elko can keep it near 30% with a promotion and still keep his mid-.200s ISO, the Sox could have something. We’re a long way from knowing, but Elko went through Low-A like he did the SEC.

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Charlotte Knights

Sean Burke 10 IP, 9.90 ERA, 5 BB, 8 K
Sammy Peralta 17 13/ IP, 4.67 ERA, 6 BB, 20 K
Lenyn Sosa .263/.282/.500, 2 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K
Oscar Colás .292/.351/.573, 7 HR, 18 R, 14 RBI, 7 BB, 20 K

Another player who should have been promoted (and who is being rumored to return to Chicago on Tuesday), Oscar Colás, is tearing up Triple-A pitching right now. For some reason, he hasn’t gotten a chance in MLB again. His June led to a 124 wRC+, and his plate discipline is still good. His issue with the White Sox was a lack of quality contact and power. He is showing that power right now with Charlotte, with a .220 ISO over 47 games (in his month’s worth of games with the White Sox, it was a measly .066, with three extra-base hits). I am not sure if Gavin Sheets will be anything more than what he is now, an average lefty bat against righties, currently playing out of position, but Colás still is an unknown, there’s more potential in his bat, and is for sure a better outfielder than Sheets. It’s time to bring Colás back up and see what he is capable of.

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Birmingham Barons

Cristian Mena 25 2⁄3 IP, 4.26 ERA, 19 BB, 32 K:
Matt Thompson: 25 IP, 3.60 ERA, 9 BB, 30 K
Caleb Freeman (IL)
Adam Hackenberg .308/.384/.369, 10 R, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 17 K
Bryan Ramos .244/.374/.415, 4 HR, 11 R, 15 RBI, 15 BB, 27 K, 3 SB
José Rodríguez .318/.362/.614, 3 HR, 8 R, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 5 SB
Yoelqui Céspedes .143/.239/.208, 1 HR, 8 R, 4 RBI, 9 BB, 29 K, 4 SB
Terrell Tatum Double-A: .364/.563/.455, 5 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 SB ▪️ High-A: .239/.419/.344, 1 HR, 14 R, 3 RBI, 18 BB, 19 K, 11 SB

There is a quartet of notable June performances for Birmingham. First, Matt Thompson had a fantastic month. He worked late into games, his walks were low, and he struck out more batters than normal. Right when you think it’s time to write Thompson off, he had his best month as a pro.

Bryan Ramos is back and healthy, and showing really well right now. He has a 124 wRC+, and he’s showing great patience at the plate. He currently has a 15.6% walk rate, but the strikeouts are much higher than his pro average, too. Hopefully Ramos’ strikeouts even out, but it is a very good start after injury delayed his season.

When José Rodríguez was in Birmingham and not in Chicago for no reason, doing nothing, he was good at the plate. Over Rodríguez’s last 23 minor league games, he is slashing .327/.350/.582 with a .255 ISO. The plate discipline hasn’t been great (4% BB-rate and 23% K-rate), but the power is back, and the hit tool is showing again. It would have been good to see him, you know, play and hit in Chicago, but he didn’t. Hopefully this power stretch continues, with less strikeouts.

Finally, Terrell Tatum got his promotion to Double-A. For some reason, a guy with a 21% BB-rate didn’t get a promotion until late June. There have been some really questionable decisions by the Sox on prospect promotions.

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Winston-Salem Dash

Jonathan Cannon 25 2⁄3 IP, 5.26 ERA, 11 BB, 29 K (named White Sox Futures Game representative in Seattle)
Jared Kelley 19 2⁄3 IP, 2.29 ERA, 9 BB, 23 K (all in relief)
Kohl Simas 21 2⁄3 IP, 8.72 ERA, 9 BB, 28 K
Norge Vera (60-day IL)
Josimar Cousin High-A: 3 IP, 6.00 ERA, 2 BB, 3 K ▪️ ACL: 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1 BB, 1 K
Loidel Chapelli Jr. .149/.207/.243, 1 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K, 1 SB
Wes Kath .216/.333/.297, 1 HR, 12 R, 2 RBI, 13 BB, 34 K, 4 SB
Colson Montgomery (ACL rehab assignment)
Wilfred Veras .221/.265/.337, 2 HR, 12 R, 16 RBI, 6 BB, 26 K, 4 SB
Jacob Burke High-A: .333/.412/.333, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 SB ▪️ Low-A: .286/.405/.500, 3 HR, 11 R, 14 RBI, 9 BB, 18 K

Jared Kelley has moved to a long-relief role, and it is going very well. The walks are high, in general — but low for him. He’s striking out more batters in this fireman-type role, as well. He’s still getting a starter’s workload, so he isn’t fully changed roles to the bullpen, but that might end up being his spot if he ever makes it to MLB.

On the promotion front along with Tim Elko, Josimar Cousin is with the Dash after getting some innings in the ACL. Jacob Burke got an earned promotion from Kannapolis after sporting a 166 wRC+ in 35 games there. Finally, Colson Montgomery is back in Arizona on a rehab assignment. In 10 games down there, he had a 173 wRC+ and 11 walks versus five strikeouts.

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Shane Murphy 17 2⁄3 IP, 4.58 ERA, 7 BB, 22 K
Noah Schultz 7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 BB, 12 K
Tanner McDougal 15 1⁄3 IP, 2.93 ERA, 8 BB, 18 K
Peyton Pallette 14 1⁄3 IP, 6.28 ERA, 7 BB, 17 K
Tyler Schweitzer 21 1⁄3 IP, 1.27 ERA, 8 BB, 28 K
Jordan Sprinkle (IL)
Brooks Baldwin (IL)

The big thing in Kannapolis is Noah Schultz, the best pitching prospect in the system, is on the mound. I would guess he will stay in Kannapolis the entire year, perhaps in the final month get some time in High-A. He looks good on the mound right now but it is too early to have many thoughts about him yet. The velocity, through seven innings, is great, but it’s only been seven innings. There is a really good core group of young pitchers with the Cannon Ballers with Schutlz, Tanner McDougal, and Peyton Pallette, with Tyler Schweitzer and Shane Murphy providing good years, too.

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ACL White Sox

Anderson Comás 16 1⁄3 IP, 1.10 ERA, 2 BB, 15 K
Jesus Mendez 5 2⁄3 IP, 3.18 ERA, 4 BB, 11 K
Ryan Burrowes .269/.388/.463, 1 HR, 12 R, 8 RBI, 9 BB, 24 K, 3 SB
Erick Hernández .171/.225/.286, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 17 K, 2 SB

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DSL White Sox

Luis Reyes 6 1⁄3 IP, 19.89 ERA, 12 BB, 10 K
D’Angelo Tejada .250/.319/.313, 8 R, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 19 K, 2 SB
Abraham Nùñez Jr .320/.462/.600. 3 HR, 13 R, 11 RBI, 14 BB, 7 K, 4 SB
Rafael Álvarez .121/.389/.200, 11 R, 2 RBI, 17 BB, 12 K, 3 SB

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White Sox Player of the Month (April 2023) Tim Elko, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
White Sox Player of the Month (May 2023) Connor McCullough, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
White Sox Player of the Month (June 2023) Tim Elko, Winston-Salem Dash