White Sox Minor League Update: June 15-21

As the Sox get ready to send their latest round of draft picks into the world, let's check in on an early 2013 pick who has turned it on as of late.

Jacob May was considered something of a reach when the Sox selected him from Coastal Carolina University in the third round -- and considering the Sox signed him a little below the slot recommendation, maybe it was. But then he played his way into may top-10 lists with a smashing debut, hitting .303/.372/.458 over 285 plate appearances with Great Falls and Kannapolis, before going on to play winter ball in Australia.

Larry called May the 10th-best White Sox prospect, but wondered if that long season might lead to fatigued play in 2014, similar to Carlos Sanchez last year. Making matters tougher, May started the year in Winston-Salem, his first taste of High-A play.

Sure enough, it's taken a while for May to find his groove. He stumbled out of the gate, with just three hits over his first 36 plate appearances, followed by a 2-for-26 slump the following week. Those skids contributed to a .136 average, with an equally disappointing OBP (.231) that somehow managed to top his slugging percentage (.210).

He found another gear the following month, but it still didn't quite result in genuine production. He hit safely in 22 of 28 games ... but only two were of the multi-hit variety, which limited his impact (.257/.297/.371).

But when May turned to June, May turned it on. With a single on Sunday against Potomac, he extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and he's doing more than dinking a single every four or five at-bats. He's hitting .400 over this stretch (16-for-40), with five doubles and a triple (.400/.405/.575). Since he's on base more, he's running more, and the practice is paying off -- after starting the season 8-for-12 in stolen base attempts, he's 9-for-9 in June.

He's still looking for his first high-A homer after hitting eight in Kannapolis last year, but everything else is taking shape as he reaches the halfway point of the minor-league season. Considering the stagnation/collapse of outfielders ahead of him on the minor-league depth chart, there's opportunity for advancement if he can sustain this level of play.

Sunday's box scores will appear in the comments shortly.