White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (August 2023): Wilfred Veras

White Sox Minor League Player of the Month

Wilfred Veras .372/.412/.596, 3 HR, 15 R, 23 RBI, 6 BB, 24 K, 4 SB

It was his biggest batting month of his season, and it came after a promotion to Double-A. There isn’t a Project Birmingham this year, so the promotion to the Barons was a lot more customary and deserved this year ... but then, Veras was not exactly doing well in High-A. His power numbers were down, and because he does not walk often (5% with the Dash), he left with just a 102 wRC+. He did get the green light to steal there more often, going 18-for-25 in in stolen base attempts ... not a great percentage, but a surprising total. Veras also, permanently, moved to the corner outfield spots, with no appearances in the infield. (Last year, he played the majority of his games at first, with a dozen a half games at third base.)

In Double-A, Veras is showing more of the power that got prospect watchers excited about his 2022 season. He hit three homers last month with 12 doubles, a very impressive total, all while keeping the K-rate a bit lower than his High-A rate. There are still holes here — not getting on base with walks at a high rate is a problem — but Veras’ power is back and it’s real.

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Charlotte Knights

Sean Burke (IL)
Caleb Freeman 6 IP, 9.00 ERA, 4 BB, 4 K
Cristian Mena Triple-A 5 IP, 3.60 ERA, 3 BB, 3 K ▪️ Double-A 24 2⁄3 IP, 2.55 ERA, 7 BB, 26 K
Nick Nastrini Triple-A 6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 2 BB, 9 K ▪️ Double-A 21 ¹⁄₃ IP, 4.22 ERA, 7 BB, 31 K
Jordan Leasure 9 2⁄3 IP, 5.59 ERA, 5 BB, 16 K
Lenyn Sosa Triple-A .226/.263/.377, 2 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 13 K ▪️ MLB .279/.279/.558, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 10 K
Korey Lee Triple-A .255/.309/.275, 2 R, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 22 K, 1 SB ▪️ MLB .063/.211/.063, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K

Cristian Mena had most of his best innings in Birmingham this past month, but he finally made it to Triple-A this season. It was much later than was expected coming into the 2023 campaign, but it finally happened. Mena ended his reign with the Barons on a three-game quality-start streak. He showed much better command in his four August starts, but the strikeout rate did fall. Maybe this is where Mena needs to operate to be successful, because he certainly struggled earlier this season despite carrying a higher strikeout rate. Triple-A will have more MLB-ready bats, and Charlotte is a much harder ballpark to pitch in compared to Birmingham, so if Mena’s home run problem is worse here by a big margin, do not be surprised. If he does well and has a good 2024 spring training, maybe Mena makes opening day roster (there’s not a ton of talent in front of him, and the 2024 rotation is wide open).

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Birmingham Barons

Matt Thompson: 22 2⁄3 IP, 3.57 ERA, 18 BB, 23 K
Jonathan Cannon 23 2⁄3 IP, 3.04 ERA, 3 BB, 19 K
Jared Kelley 12 2⁄3 IP, 8.53 ERA, 9 BB, 17 K
Ky Bush 12 1⁄3 IP, 13.86 ERA, 10 BB, 17 K
Jake Eder 29 2⁄3 innings, 3.94 ERA, 16 BB, 38 K
Tim Elko .313/.333/.488, 4 HR, 10 R, 13 RBI, 2 BB, 28 K
Edgar Quero .313/.395/.478, 3 HR, 10 R, 18 RBI, 11 BB, 15 K
Bryan Ramos .306/.370/.510, 5 HR, 16 R, 19 RBI, 10 BB, 24 K
José Rodríguez .279/.316/.423, 4 HR, 22 R, 17 RBI, 6 BB, 30 K, 11 SB (Promoted to MLB, then demoted to Triple-A)
Terrell Tatum .241/.374/.310, 13 R, 8 RBI, 16 BB, 30 K, 6 SB
Colson Montgomery .250/.412/.438, 2 HR, 19 R, 16 RBI, 17 BB, 25 K

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Winston-Salem Dash

Kohl Simas 7 IP, 10.29 ERA, 2 BB, 10 K
Norge Vera 4 1⁄3 IP, 4/14 ERA, 4 BB, 2 K
Josimar Cousín 15 1⁄3 IP, 7.63 ERA, 3 BB, 15 K
Juan Carela 21 IP, 3.43 ERA, 7 BB, 15 K
Tyler Schweitzer 23 IP, 2.35 ERA, 12 BB, 25 K
Loidel Chapelli Jr. .298/.398/.433, 1 HR, 22 R, 8 RBI, 15 BB, 33 K, 10 SB
Jacob Burke .220/.321/.330, 2 HR, 14 R, 9 RBI, 10 BB, 25 K, 2 SB
Brooks Baldwin .271/.333/.406, 3 HR, 18 R, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 21 K, 8 SB
DJ Gladney .270/.347/667, 7 HR, 12 R, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 20 K, 3 SB

Well, well, well, that was what the Winston-Salem Dash were missing since Tim Elko left, some power, and DJ Gladney provided it. He was off for about two weeks on the IL, and has hit eight homers in 21 games since his return. Gladney has shown a knack for hitting bombs all year, and his homer on August 19 put him at 19 for the year, tying his career-high from last season. Gladney still strikes out a lot for High-A (27.8% last month), but the pop is undeniable. Maybe if that BB-rate keeps climbing (9.7% in August) and brings that K-rate down closer to the mid-lower 20s, the Sox could have something. Hopefully, Gladney gets more work in Double-A this month and starts there next year — that will be the test for him.

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Noah Schultz 7 1⁄3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 BB, 13 K (On the 7-day IL)
Tanner McDougal 12 IP, 3.00 ERA, 7 BB, 13 K
Aldrín Batista 20 IP, 1.80 ERA, 5 BB, 18 K
Seth Keener Low-A 1 IP, 45.00 ERA, 0 BB, 0 K ▪️ ACL 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 2 BB, 7 K
Peyton Pallette 10 2⁄3 IP, 5.91 ERA, 7 BB, 17 K
Jordan Sprinkle .274/.354/.411, 2 HR, 9 R, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 22 K, 3 SB
Jacob González .222/.298/.289, 1 HR, 11 R, 10 RBI, 10 BB, 18 K
Calvin Harris .282/.394/.372, 1 HR, 12 R, 13 RBI, 14 BB, 16 K

Aldrín Batista came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers early last month in trade for White Sox international slot money. Máximo Martínez was also involved in the trade coming over to the Sox but has yet to play for the new organization. Batista was in the ACL for the Dodgers before the trade, and was in the DSL last year. This past month was his first experience in full-season baseball, and he took to it swimmingly. Batista went five innings in all four of his starts, and yielded a total of four earned runs and 14 hits. He showed good command as well, but his strikeouts were lower compared to the ACL. I wouldn’t read too much into this beyond the fact that he seems to be a pitcher with a good feel for the zone at just 20. Batista’s best attribute is that the Dodgers went out and signed him, so hopefully that endorsement carries him through success in the White Sox system.

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ACL White Sox (Season Ended)
Christian Oppor 7 2⁄3 IP, 1.17 ERA, 2 BB, 9 K
Ryan Burrowes .250/.275/.292, 5 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 14 K, 4 SB
George Wolkow .225/.392/.325, 1 HR, 6 R, 3 RBI, 9 BB, 17 K, 2 SB
Ronny Hernández .359/.419/.513, 1 HR, 3 R, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K

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DSL White Sox (Season Ended)
Luis Reyes 15 1⁄3 IP, 3.52 ERA, 9 BB, 18 K
D’Angelo Tejada .229/.310/.257, 10 R, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 12 K, 4 SB
Abraham Nùñez Jr. .290/.450/.355, 3 R, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 5 K, 3 SB
Rafael Álvarez .263/.516/.474, 1 HR, 7 R, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

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White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (April 2023) Tim Elko, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (May 2023) Connor McCullough, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (June 2023) Tim Elko, Winston-Salem Dash
White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (July 2023) Xavier Fernández, Birmingham Barons
White Sox Minor League Player of the Month (August 2023) Wilfred Veras, Birmingham Barons

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