In a largely uneventful full slate of games, the White Sox affiliates lost three of four with Winston-Salem being the only team to prevail.
Chicago White Sox Affiliates
Charlotte 1, Buffalo 6
Carlos Sanchez 1-4
Josh Phegley 1-4, 2B
Matt Davidson 1-3, HR, BB, K
Dan Black 2-4, 2B, K
Jared Mitchell 0-3, 2K
Tommy Hanson 4.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 5BB, K
Mobile 5, Birmingham 0
Micah Johnson 1-3, BB, 2K, SB
Trayce Thompson 0-4, 3K
Rangel Ravelo 0-4
Keenyn Walker 0-3, 3K
Chris Beck 4.2IP, 6H, 5R, 3ER, 3BB, 5K
Kevin Vance IP, K
Potomac 2, Winston-Salem 3
Jacob May 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2K
Joey DeMichele 0-4, 2K
Keon Barnum 0-4, K
Jason Coats 1-3, HR, BB, K
Tony Bucciferro 7IP, 4H, 2ER, 2K
West Virginia 5, Kannapolis 4
Adam Engel 3-4, R, RBI, BB
Cleluis Rondon 3-5
Danny Hayes 0-1, RBI, 2BB, K
Trey Michalczewski 1-4, R, K
Jake Sanchez 4IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 6K
Star of the Day: Adam Engel, CF
Engel went 3-4 today with a walk, run and a run batted in. After a great campaign in rookie ball last year at Great Falls, Engel got off to a tough start. In the latter half of April, Engel has started putting together slashing a .333/.366/.462/.827 line over his last 41 plate appearances. Engel did get thrown out at second base for his fourth caught stealing of they year. He does lead the South Atlantic League in stolen bases with 13.
First Month for Future Sox Top Five Prospects
I will leave Jose Abreu off the list as everyone knows exactly how he is doing for the big league club.
Erik Johnson, SP
Status – AAA
Johnson started the year in the rotation with the White Sox and struggled in four of his five starts. In 23.2 IP, Johnson had an ERA of 6.46 with 5.7 BB/9 and 6.8 K/9. The White Sox sent the right-hander down to Charlotte in hopes that he regains the confidence that gave him success over three levels last year
Matt Davidson, 3B
Status – AAA
The third baseman acquired for Addison Reed had a forgettable April in Charlotte. Away from his .167 batting average, the most damning statistic would be Davidson’s 40% strikeout rate. Davidson did get off to a good start in May as he homered today for Charlotte’s only run.
Marcus Semien, 2B
Status – MLB
The former California Golden Bear broke camp with the big league team after Gordon Beckham went to the disabled list during Spring Training. Semien has held his own in the big leagues, slashing a .225/.285/.367/.651 line while adding in 3 homers, 15 RBI’s and 3 stolen bases (0 CS). Semien does need to correct an ugly 29.2 strikeout rate that he’s has in his first 130 plate appearances.
Tim Anderson
Status – A+
Anderson, who just hit the DL for Winston Salem, has performed adequately at the plate all things considered. The shortstop’s .250/.278/.435/.713 slash leaves room for improvement but he does lead the league in triples with four. The speedster has picked up five stolen bases in seven attempts. The biggest concern, however, would be Anderson’s 11 errors in the early going.
Courtney Hawkins
Status – A+
After a tough 2013 season, Hawkins has started off admirably. Hawkins’ slash of .289/.358/.602/.960 is good enough to place him 2nd in slugging and 4th in OPS in the Carolina League. Hawkins’ 27 RBI’s best Joey Gallo’s total to give him the most in the league. While it is early, Hawkins’ 26.3% strikeout rate is a vast improvement from his 37.6% rate from last year.