White Sox Minor League News and Notes – 6/5

Two months of the minor league schedules are now in the books. In this first week of June edition of the White Sox Minor League News and Notes, three injured White Sox pitchers are sent on rehab assignments, White Sox minor leaguers of the month for May are named and the White Sox scouting department prepares for next week’s amateur draft. In addition, we will get you caught up on the happenings, news, notes and transactions regarding the White Sox minor leaguers and affiliates.
Rehab Assignments
As the injuries continue to pile up for the White Sox, pitching in particular, three mainstays of the White Sox staff may be headed back to Chicago soon after brief trips to the minors for rehab assignments. RHPs Jake Petricka and James Shields each made rehab appearances for Charlotte over the weekend, while LHP Carlos Rodon will make a rehab start for Winston-Salem on Tuesday.
Petricka, out with a strained right lat muscle in his back since the beginning of April, pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Knights on Friday. His second rehab appearance didn’t go quite as smoothly though, as he gave up two runs on four hits in two innings of work on Sunday.
Shields, who has also been out with a strained right lat muscle in his back since April 16, allowed three runs (one earned) with three strikeouts in a four-inning start for Charlotte on Saturday. In three starts with the White Sox prior to the injury, Shields was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA.
Rodon, who has not pitched since spring training, will make his first rehab start of the season on Tuesday for Winston-Salem. Rodon has spent the last two months in Arizona recovering from left biceps bursitis. Rodon was 9-10 with 4.04 ERA last season for the White Sox.
Transactions
Charlotte

  • White Sox recall RHP Brad Goldberg
  • Disabled LHP Giovanni Soto
  • RHPs Petricka and Shields sent on rehab assignments to Charlotte
  • LHP Colton Turner assigned to Charlotte from Birmingham
  • RHP Max Beatty assigned to Charlotte from Winston-Salem; Beatty was then reassigned back to Winston-Salem. Again.

Birmingham

Winston-Salem

  • RHP Kelvis Valerio assigned to Winston-Salem from Charlotte
  • RHP Lane Hobbs assigned to Winston-Salem, then sent back to Kannapolis
  • Disabled RHP Aron McRee
  • LHP Rodon sent on a rehab assignment to Winston-Salem

Kannapolis

  • RHP Lane Hobbs assigned back to Kannapolis from Winston-Salem

For the Record

  • The Knights enter action today with a record of 26-29, good for third place in the International League South (8 games out of first) after a 1-5 week. Charlotte won the first game of the road trip at Syracuse, before dropping five in a row to the Chiefs and Buffalo. The bright spots of the week, were the rehab start by Shields and the continued hot-hitting of Cody Asche. Asche homered three times and drove in 11 runs last week and is hitting .400 with five home runs and 17 RBI since his mid-May demotion from Chicago. Charlotte returns home tonight for a three-game homestand versus Durham before heading back out on the road for four games at Gwinnett.
  • The Barons only managed to play five games last week, as the weather has not cooperated as of late. Birmingham finished the week 3-2 (19-35 overall) and remains in last place of the Southern League North. RHP Jordan Stephens was named the SL Pitcher of the Week after pitching six scoreless innings on Saturday in his 2017 (and AA) debut after suffering an injury in spring training. Other highlights of the week included strong pitching performances by Michael Kopech (10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings vs. Chattanooga on Wednesday) and Jordan Guerrero (one-run over seven innings on Friday) and a walk-off single by defensive stalwart Mason Robbins. The Barons continue to try to finish the road trip with Chattanooga that has been disrupted by weather, before heading home to face Mobile.
  • The Dash finished their week 2-3 (19-37 overall) and remain in last place in the Carolina League Southern Division. Dane Dunning remains perfect for the season (4-0 overall combined between Kannapolis and W-S) after turning in a strong performance for the Dash as he allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings in his longest start since his promotion to the Dash. Winston-Salem finished their road trip at Carolina, before opening a seven-game homestand against Salem and Down East.
  • Kannapolis has also dealt with some weather issues recently, finishing last week 3-3 (29-25 overall). Highlights of the week included three consecutive wins over Hickory and Greensboro and strong starting outings by RHPs Alec Hansen (one run and seven strikeouts in six innings) and Yosmer Solorzano (one run and six strikeouts in seven innings) despite both games ending in losses. The Intimidators begin a seven-game road trip on Tuesday at Lakewood and Delmarva.

In Case You Missed It

Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box on the right-side bar (or at the bottom, if on a mobile device) and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.