The deadline for signing draft picks is fast approaching, but as usual there is little news on the White Sox front. 29th rounder Dustin Hayes signed, but that doesn’t seem like major news. With that in mind, let’s continue business as usual with a new Hot and Cold.
Hot Hitter: Jon Gilmore, 1B/DH, AA
Stats: .438/.441/.688 with 5 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB and 7 K in 32 AB
The soon to be 23-year-old has missed most of the season due to injuries, entering August he had played only 21 games, but his recent hot streak is a good attempt to salvage an otherwise lost season. Gilmore hasn’t played at third base in a couple weeks and his move away from the hot corner is likely permanent. He’s never fully developed the power scouts thought he could, but Gilmore smacked six extra base hits this week. Along with Brent Lillibridge and Tyler Flowers, Gilmore was a part in the Javier Vazquez trade with Atlanta. It’s been a good week for all three. Honorable mentions: Seth Loman (.375/.483/.750), Joe De Pinto (.409/.500/.591) and Cory Farris (.333/.462/.524).
Cold Hitter: Jared Mitchell, OF, High-A
Stats: .059/.238/.118 with 4 BB and 7 K in 17 AB
It was a rough week for both Mitchell and Keenyn Walker, who had five strikeouts on Saturday and many are comparing to Mitchell. In his recovery year, Jared has shown power and a good walk rate, but a massive strikeout rate is killing his batting average and worrying Sox fans. He has huge home/away splits and with the Dash on a road trip this week, many of the Dash hitters struggled. Mitchell’s home OPS (.838) is far better than his away OPS (.581), which is another concern going forward. “Honorable” mentions: David Herbek (.100/.217/.100), Greg Paiml (.136/.160/.182) and Martin Medina (0-15, 0 BB).
Hot Pitcher: Andre Rienzo, SP, High-A
Stats: 6 IP, 0 R, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 H
While the Dash road trip caused a few bad weeks for the hitters, the pitchers enjoyed it. Rienzo is joined by a pair of Dash starters in the honorable mention section. The Brazilian hasn’t put up the flashy numbers he did a year ago for Kannapolis, but he has had a few brilliant starts. He’s also reaching a new career high for innings, which was 101 last season, so it’s good to see he’s pitching at his best towards the end of the year. Rienzo did miss a bit of time with an injury, but has maintained a good strikeout rate (98 in 98 innings). It seems like he profiles like a reliever so we’ll see if he makes that switch in the next year or two. Honorable mentions: Joe Serafin (7 IP, 2.57 ERA, 6 K, 1 BB, 4 H), Blair Walters (11 IP, 2.45 ERA, 12 K, 5 BB, 6 H) and Jacob Petricka (14 IP, 2.57 ERA, 9 K, 4 BB, 11 H).
Cold Pitcher: Charlie Shirek, SP, AA
Stats: 2 IP, 31.50 ERA, 1 K, 2 BB, 11 H
Last week Shirek was in the hot pitcher slot. 12 runs and just two innings later he sits in the cold pitcher position. He got throttled on Wednesday, but his ERA for the Barons is still under four at 3.99. “Honorable” mentions: Sam Phippen (3.2 IP, 19.63 ERA, 4 K, 0 BB, 10 H), Euclides Leyer (5 IP, 14.4 ERA, 7 K, 1 BB, 8 H) and Matt Wickswat (3.2 IP, 17.18 ERA, 5 K, 2 BB, 9 H).