White Sox Minor League Update: May 17, 2024

Birmingham and Kannapolis dominate, Charlotte stumbles

Durham Bulls 10, Charlotte Knights 5 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
The Knights fell victim to a STACKED Bulls lineup that featured four hitters with an OPS north of .900; by contrast, Charlotte’s starting nine had exactly... zero hitters across the .900 mark, and just two hovering better than .800.

Those two, predictably, were responsible for driving in three of Charlotte’s five runs, and recorded a third of the Knights’ 12 hits in this matchup. Catcher Chuckie Robinson, a mainstay on these recaps, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs on the night from the cleanup slot.

Wilmer Difo, a relative newcomer to Charlotte, was the other Knight with an OPS north of .800. He kept things going in convincing fashion, with a double and a single.

While the offensive effort from Charlotte was admirable, Knights pitching proved unable to hold down this explosive Bulls offense.

Fan favorite Touki Toussaint was the unfortunate beneficiary of the majority of the damage in this one as well as the “L”. He went 1 1⁄3 innings, giving up five runs (four earned), on three hits while walking two and fanning two. His Triple-A ERA sits at an unsightly 8.53.

For inquiring minds, top prospect Colson Montgomery was absent from tonight’s lineup after performing in both games of the doubleheader yesterday. Fans needn’t worry, though. It appeared to be a simple scheduled off-day for the tenacious shortstop.

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Birmingham Barons 7, Chattanooga Lookouts 1 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Birmingham’s machine kept rolling in this one. The past two days, the Barons have beaten the Lookouts by a combined 13-1. Not too shabby for the White Sox Double-A affiliate!

Starter Ky Bush, who is showing he has little left to prove at Double-A, went six strong innings. He allowed just one run on four hits and punched six tickets en route to a performance that would lower his season ERA to a paltry 2.09.

The rest of the Barons bullpen followed suit with Jake Palisch, Josimar Cousin, and Eric Adler covering three shutout frames in relief with one hit allowed.

The offense was equally potent in this one! Catcher Michael Turner, who entered play hitting worse than .200, belted his first Double-A homer:

Elsewhere on the diamond, Terrell Tatum and Tim Elko each recorded multiple hits in the win. As a matter of fact, every single Baron reached base tonight, with all of them tallying hits except author-favorite Brooks Baldwin, who got on base via the walk.

All together, the boys from Birmingham have earned some serious hardware for their performances the past couple of days. Let’s crown an MVP, eh reader?

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Greenville Drive 6, Winston-Salem Dash 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Winston-Salem failed to claw back from a fateful three-run second inning that had them trying to play catch up all night. Starter Juan Carela didn’t have his best stuff, but still managed to pitch five strong innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits. He walked two and fanned six. Carela labored through some deep counts and exited with a pitch count around 90. More importantly, however, he lowered his season ERA to a respectable 3.18 despite being saddled with the loss.

On the offensive side, last night’s honorable mention and High-A newcomer Eddie Park was elevated to the leadoff spot for today’s game and tallied a hit from the tip-top of the order. Last night’s top hitter, Bryce Willits, blasted a solo homer that would account for half of Winston-Salem’s runs in this one:

Willits was the only Dash batter to record an extra-base hit in this one.

All in all, tonight’s affair in Greenville wasn’t much to write home about. Despite the lack of fireworks, it’s incumbent on you, the reader, to find a silver lining.

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Just what the doctor ordered: a Ballers blowout, the second in three games. Rikuu Nishida was a top performer in this one, stroking two doubles from the leadoff spot to drive in two runs. He added a walk for good measure. After a slow start to the season, Nishida’s recent hot streak has driven his 2024 triple slash up to a respectable .254/.405/.323, good for an OPS of .728.

Mikey Kane provided some oomph from the bottom of the order with a three-hit effort that kept turning this young Kannapolis lineup over.

In addition to Nishida and Kane, DH Luis Pineda and catcher Juan González each notched multi-hit performances as well. On the whole, Kanny would go on to outhit Greenville, 11-6.

On the mound, starter Grant Taylor showcased his electric stuff in his Kannapolis debut, fanning six batters in only four innings. He was in and around the zone all night, finishing with no free passes issued and just two runs allowed on four hits.

The sky is the limit for the former second-round pick from Louisiana State.

Will Taylor take the honors in this one, or will Kanny’s offense be rewarded for their tenacity? You decide!

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ACL White Sox 8, ACL Cubs 4 (Gameday Box)
The ball was flying around the park in this high-scoring ACL affair. Infielder Edrick Felix, who was recently demoted from Low-A Kannapolis, made his presence felt in a big way: Two hits and a home run, driving in three in the process. Felix tacked on a walk for good measure.

But the second baseman was far from the only hot hitter in ACL action today. Adrian Gil got on base four times, three via the walk and once via base hit, and turned that on-base tenacity into three runs scored. First baseman Darío Borrero, a lefty hitter from Venezuela, also notched two knocks and drove in two runs. All in all, this potent ACL Sox offense continues to eat up rookie level pitching.

Speaking of rookie level pitching, oft-injured phenom Norge Vera got the nod open this one on the mound. He pitched a strong inning, walking one and fanning two while keeping the Cubs out of the hit column. Shane Drohan, Daniel González, and Ricardo Brizuela would go on to turn in scoreless appearances in relief with González notching the dub in this one.

Congratulations for making it to the end of this writeup, reader, One more poll left!

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