This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the next installment after the fifth week of the minor league season.
Charlotte Knights (11-18)
Weekly Record: 3-3
The Knights squared up against one of the top teams in all of Triple A this season, the Nashville Sounds. After dropping the first three games of the series, Charlotte rebounded to take the remaining three games from their division leader, managing to come away with a series split. The Knights are currently in sixth place and 10 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
Overall, the Charlotte bats scuffled, but were able to secure some timely hits and runs in their series split with some tough Nashville pitching. The Knights ended the series with a .166/.263/.286 slash line, a 548 OPS with 20 runs, 29 hits in 175 at bats, six doubles, no triples, five home runs, 17 RBI, 20 walks to 56 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
The Knights pitching staff started off the series poorly, but responded admirably in the final three games, shutting out the Sounds in back to back games on Friday and Saturday. Charlotte pitching finished off the series with a 4.56 team ERA, 1.40 WHIP, .195 batting average against, 26 earned runs to 30 runs allowed, 37 hits to 51.1 innings pitched, 35 walks to 62 strikeouts, four hit batters, and nine home runs allowed. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Mike Wright: Once again, Mike Wright and his stellar pitching keeps him atop the hot player of the week for the Knights. The Charlotte ace was outstanding against Nashville, as he threw seven innings, allowed no runs, two hits, walked and hit one batter, and struck out eight Sounds for a .095 Batting Average Against.
Honorable Mentions: Gavin Sheets, Luis Gonzalez, and Jonathan Stiever
Birmingham Barons (20-9)
Weekly Record: 4-1
As another week concludes, another Barons series win is secured, as they took four out of five against the Tennessee Smokies (the finale was postponed due to rain). Like clockwork, well rounded efforts on both sides of the ball are keys to Birmingham’s success this season, keeping them atop the Double-A South with the best overall record and leading their division by three games.
Numbers-wise, the Birmingham bats collectively had a down series against Tennessee. Barons hitters hit Smokie pitching to a .247/.329/.342 slash line, 672 OPS, 26 runs, 36 hits in 146 at bats, two doubles, no triples, four home runs, 20 RBI, 13 walks to 47 strikeouts, six stolen bases, and were not caught stealing. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham pitching was once again outstanding, as Barons pitchers held the Smokies hitters to a team ERA of 2.93, 1.07 WHIP, .185 batting average against, 14 earned runs to 20 runs allowed, 29 hits to 43 innings pitched, 17 walks to 37 strikeouts, one hit batter, and allowed three home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Micker Adolfo: Despite the offense mostly being cold this week at the cavernous Regions Field, Micker Adolfo supplied a good portion of the power for the Barons lineup. In five games, Adolfo touched up Tennessee pitching to a .250/.368/.563 slash line, a 931 OPS, one home run, two doubles, three runs scored, three RBI, two walks to eight strikeouts, and had 4 hits in 16 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Romy Gonzalez, John Parke, and Blake Battenfield
Winston-Salem Dash (15-15)
Weekly Record: 3-3
The Dash faced the Greensboro Grasshoppers this week, and after winning the first three games of the series, Winston-Salem dropped the next three to finish with a series split. The Dash both won and lost blowouts this week, and won a pair of close games with falling to the Grasshoppers by one run in the finale. The Dash are currently tied for second place in the High-A East South Division (with three other teams) and sit four games back of first place.
After a couple of down weeks, the Dash bats were sizzling this week. Winston-Salem torched Greensboro pitchers to a .273/.351/.555 slash line, 906 OPS, 38 runs scored, 57 hits in 209 at bats, eight doubles, three triples, 15 home run, 35 RBI, 21 walks to 59 strikeouts, five stolen bases, and were caught stealing four times. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.
Whereas the bats for Winston-Salem were scorching hot, the pitching was ice cold this week. The staff ended the week with a team ERA of 7.49, 1.68 WHIP, .277 Batting Average Against, 43 earned runs to 47 runs allowed, 57 hits to 51.2 innings pitched, 30 walks to 60 strikeouts, four hit batters, and allowed 11 home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.
Hot Player of the Week
Ian Dawkins: Ian Dawkins was recently sent down to Winston-Salem from Birmingham, and he absolutely made his presence felt in the Dash lineup. In his first six games back, Dawkins lit up Greensboro pitchers to a .300/.300/.700 slash line, a 1000 OPS, three home runs, one double, one triple, six runs scored, eight RBI, no walks to seven strikeouts, one stolen base, and had 9 hits in 30 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Yolbert Sanchez, Alex Destino, Duke Ellis, and Luke Shilling
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (4-25)
Weekly Record: 2-3
The Cannon Ballers secured two wins in five tries this week against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. With how hard it’s been for Kannapolis to secure wins, getting two in a week is very successful. Kannapolis is currently in last place in the Low-A East Central division and 14 games back.
The Cannon Baller bats were stymied by Woodpecker pitching, as the Ballers finished the series with a .182/.297/.284 triple slash, a 580 OPS, 15 runs, 27 hits in 148 at-bats, six doubles, no triples, three home runs, 12 RBI, 19 walks to 50 strikeouts, four stolen bases, and were not caught stealing. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.
Cannon Ballers pitching was much better than last week, but still struggled and finished the week with a team ERA of 4.97, 1.58 WHIP, .264 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 22 runs allowed, 37 hits to 38 innings pitched, 23 walks to 38 strikeouts, two hit batters, and allowed four home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Bailey Horn: It was a rough week for the majority of the Cannon Ballers, but Bailey Horn did pitch well in his lone start of the week. Horn threw three and two thirds innings, allowed no runs, two hits, walked none and hit one batter, and struck out two, and had a .154 Batting Average Against.
Honorable Mentions: Jordan Mikel and Kevin Folman
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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