This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the latest installment after the sixth week of the minor league season.
Charlotte Knights (13-22)
Weekly Record: 2-4
The Knights battled against one of the top teams in their division, as well as in the Triple A this season, the Durham Bulls. Charlotte came up on the short end in this series however, dropping four of six to the division leader. The Knights are currently in seventh place and 11 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
Collectively, Charlotte hitters did not fare too well against the Bulls pitching staff. The Knights limped to the series end with a .203/.245/.312 slash line, a 557 OPS with 18 runs, 41 hits in 202 at bats, eight doubles, one triple, four home runs, 18 RBI, 11 walks to 61 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
Similarly to the Knights batters, the pitching staff had a tough go at it this week. Charlotte pitching finished the series against Durham with a 5.90 team ERA, 1.45 WHIP, .242 batting average against, 33 earned runs to 36 runs allowed, 46 hits to 50.1 innings pitched, 27 walks to 51 strikeouts, one hit batter, and eight home runs allowed. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Tim Beckham: Tim Beckham swung a hot bat against his old club this week. The versatile infielder slashed .292/.292/.625 for a 917 OPS, two home runs, two doubles, three runs scored, eight RBI, no walks to six strikeouts, and had 7 hits in 24 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Reynolds, Jimmy Lambert, and Mike Wright
Birmingham Barons (22-13)
Weekly Record: 2-4
For the first time this season, the Barons lost a series. The Montgomery Biscuits had Birmingham’s number during the first three games, only allowing the Barons offense to score nine runs over while scoring 22 themselves. The Barons fought back to take two of the last three games, still keeping them atop the Double-A South with the best overall record and leading their division by two games.
The Baron hitters had a mediocre week by their standards against the Biscuits. Birmingham wrapped up the series with a .247/.302/.439 slash line, 741 OPS, 36 runs, 55 hits in 223 at bats, 17 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 32 RBI, 17 walks to 58 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham pitchers had a week they’d like to forget against the Montgomery bats. Barons pitchers got roughed up to a team ERA of 5.57, 1.71 WHIP, .284 batting average against, 33 earned runs to 38 runs allowed, 59 hits to 53.1 innings pitched, 32 walks to 50 strikeouts, one hit batter, and allowed 10 home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Romy Gonzalez: Romy Gonzalez has been quite the story this year for the Birmingham Barons. The 2018 18th round pick out of Miami has just been absolutely torching AA pitching all season long after a down season in 2019 and an extended layoff due to the pandemic in 2020. In five games versus the Biscuits, Gonzalez had a .238/.333/.810 slash line, a 1.143 OPS, four home runs, six runs scored, five RBI, three walks to seven strikeouts, and had 5 hits in 21 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Micker Adolfo, Ti’Quan Forbes, and Jameson Fisher
Winston-Salem Dash (17-19)
Weekly Record: 2-4
The Dash took on the Greenville Drive this week, and after winning the first two games of the series, dropped the next four to ultimately drop the series. Winston-Salem bats were stymied throughout the last four games, only managing to score six runs across said games. The Dash are in fifth place in the High-A East South Division and sit seven games back of first place.
Drive pitching mostly dominated the Dash bats in this series. Winston-Salem bats stumbled to a .190/.265/.282 slash line, 547 OPS, 18 runs scored, 37 hits in 195 at bats, six doubles, no triples, four home runs, 15 RBI, 17 walks to 46 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, and were not caught stealing. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.
Dash pitching had themselves a very solid week on the mound versus Drive hitters. Winston-Salem chuckers ended the series with a team ERA of 3.44, 1.29 WHIP, .213 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 24 runs allowed, 42 hits to 55 innings pitched, 29 walks to 53 strikeouts, no hit batters, and allowed five home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.
Hot Player of the Week
Luke Shilling: Luke Shilling continues his impressive run with the Dash, as Drive batters found his stuff unhittable in the series. In Shilling’s two appearances, the 2018 15th rounder pitched a total of four innings, allowed no hits, no runs, walked one batter, struck out nine, and secured one save.
Honorable Mentions: Yolbert Sanchez, Taylor Varnell, and Davis Martin
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (7-28)
Weekly Record: 3-3
The Cannon Ballers got their first series split under their new moniker, winning three games against one of the better teams in the Low-A East, the Carolina Mudcats. Kannapolis won three games in a row against the Mudcats and have secured five wins in the last 11 games, which is a promising trend for the young squad. Kannapolis is currently in last place in the Low-A East Central division and 15 games back.
The Cannon Baller bats thoroughly enjoyed what Mudcat pitchers were offering to them this week. The Ballers finished the series with a .250/.374/.448 triple slash, an 822 OPS, 31 runs, 48 hits in 192 at-bats, eight doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 29 RBI, 34 walks to 50 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.
Sensing a theme in the series, Kannapolis pitchers had some difficulties with the Carolina bats. The Ballers staff scuffled to a team ERA of 5.00, 1.80 WHIP, .258 Batting Average Against, 30 earned runs to 37 runs allowed, 56 hits to 54 innings pitched, 41 walks to 60 strikeouts, five hit batters, and allowed three home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Caberea Weaver: There were numerous stars this week, as several Cannon Ballers swung hot bats, but no one topped Caberea Weaver. Weaver owned Mudcats pitchers by hitting .444/.600/.833 for a 1.433 OPS, one home run, two doubles, one triple, six runs scored, four RBI, six walks to five strikeouts, and had 8 hits in 18 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Jose Rodriguez, DJ Gladney, Chase Krogman, Bryan Ramos, Bailey Horn, and Andrew Dalquist
Photo credit: Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
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 on a mobile device) and click create subscription. Our list is completely spam free and you can opt out at any time. Also, consider supporting FutureSox on Patreon! You can get early access to special articles and Patreon-only posts, in addition to more benefits.
Shop our exclusive merchandise! Show your support with FutureSox apparel.