White Sox Minor League Update: Aug. 19, 2017

Reynaldo Lopez’s injury effectively cemented the gap between Lucas Giolito and Carson Fulmer. With Lopez’s rotation spot up for grabs, the White Sox moved Giolito from 26th man to every-five-days starter, with Fulmer getting doubleheader duty with no false hopes attached.

There hasn’t been much to like about Fulmer’s performance over the last three months — he’s 2-7 with a 7.00 ERA and a .284/.385/.478 line against. Most troubling is the similar number of walks (51) and strikeouts (62) over 82 ¹⁄₃ innings.

That said, I appreciated Buddy Bell’s way of spinning Fulmer’s front-loaded season.

"You know, the first two months of this season, Fulmer was the guy," White Sox assistant general manager Buddy Bell said. "If we would have called down there and said, 'Cat [Charlotte pitching coach Steve McCatty], who do you recommend,' it would have been Fulmer."

Over the last two months, Reynaldo Lopez and Gio (Lucas Giolito) have sort of straightened themselves out. But with the exception of the last month, month and a half, Fulmer has been pretty good."

Fulmer’s fortunes were reflected by his last time out, when an uncommonly efficient evening was cut short by leg cramps before he could qualify for a quality start.

Charlotte 5, Lehigh Valley 3

• Jacob May went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was picked off.
• Jake Peter went 1-for-4.
• Rymer Liriano was 2-for-4 with his 16th homer and a strikeout.
• D.J. Peterson, 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Casey Gillaspie was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Eddy Alvarez, 0-for-2 with a walk.

Montgomery 3, Birmingham 1

• Tito Polo went 0-for-3 with an HBP and two strikeouts.
• Eloy Jimenez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
• Courtney Hawkins, 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk.
• Trey Michalczewski wore the collar and silver sombrero.
• Danny Mendick went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
• Spencer Adams: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 WP

Potomac 8, Winston-Salem 7

• Joel Booker singled twice and struck out thrice. He was also picked off/caught stealing.
• Jameson Fisher went 2-for-4 with a homer, double, walk and strikeout.
• Seby Zavala was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Yeyson Yrizarri went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
• A.J. Puckett: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Kannapolis 6, Hagerstown 3

• Alex Call homered, doubled, singled and struck out twice.
• Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Jake Burger was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Micker Adolfo went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Gavin Sheets, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Craig Dedelow had some A-ball firsts: 2-for-4 with a homer.
• Evan Skoug tripled, struck out twice and was plunked.
• Blake Hickman: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Tyler Johnson: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP

Great Falls 8, Helena 7

• Justin Yurchak went 2-for-3 with a walk and a sac bunt.
• Franklin Reyes went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Will Kincanon: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

AZL Brewers 5, AZL White Sox 1

• Ramon Beltre went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Johandro Alfaro, 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
• Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-3 with a double.

DSL Reds 7, DSL White Sox 3

• Brayant Nova went 1-for-4.
• Luis Mieses, 0-for-4.
• Josue Guerrero was 1-for-2 with a walk and an HBP.
• Harvin Mendoza doubled and struck out thrice.
• Anderson Comas went 1-for-3 with a walk.