FutureSox MiLB Team of the Week — June 21-27
The HI-A Winston-Salem middle infield duo of Yolbert Sanchez (No. 16) and Lenyn Sosa (No. 22) produced monstrous figures over the past week to earn the highlight spots in the FutureSox Team of the Week for the period of June 21-27, 2021. They are joined by two other Top 30 prospects in the organization.
Here’s a look at the full lineup:
Catcher — Carlos Perez (Double-A) — 5 G, .316/.350/.474, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
- Double-A backstop Carlos Perez hit safely in four of five games against Pensacola (MIA) to earn the nod at catcher in the Team of the Week. The 24-year-old from Venezuela collected a pair of multi-hit efforts in the series and recorded his fourth home run of the season in the series finale, which helped power the Barons to a 10-3 victory.
First baseman — Harvin Mendoza (Low-A) — 6 G, .429/.500/.476, 2B, 5 RBI, R
- Harvin Mendoza extended his hot stretch at the plate with three multi-hit efforts in Low-A Kannapolis’ series against Fayetteville (HOU). The 22-year-old first baseman/outfielder has hit safely in 13 of the past 15 contests and his .376 on-base percentage paces the Cannon Ballers. His three-RBI effort Friday marked a single-game high for him ths season. Mendoza began the 2021 campaign with Hi-A Winston-Salem before the White Sox assigned him to Kannapolis on June 1.
Second baseman — Yolbert Sanchez (Hi-A) — 5 G, .375/.375/.625, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 R
- White Sox No. 16 prospect Yolbert Sanchez surged into the highlight spot in this chapter of the FutureSox Team of the Week after he delivered a standout .375 clip at the plate with a pair of home runs and 10 RBI in five games for Hi-A Winston-Salem. His five-RBI performance Tuesday marked a career-high for the 24-year-old from Cuba. Sanchez iis in the midst of an eight-game hit streak and owns a .341/.393/.476 slash line throughout the month of June.
Third baseman — Jake Burger (Triple-A) — 6 G, .423/.464/.577, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 4 R
- White Sox No. 11 prospect Jake Burger stayed locked in the Team of the Week at the hot corner for the second consecutive week after he posted 15 total bases in Triple-A Charlotte’s series against Nashville (MIL). The former first-round selection logged three multi-hit performances in the six-game series, which included a season-high four base knocks in a 13-6 win for the Knights on Wednesday.
Shortstop — Lenyn Sosa (Hi-A) — 6 G, .500/.536/.731/ 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 5 R
- White Sox No. 22 prospect Lenyn Sosa hit safely in all six contests for Hi-A Winston-Salem in its series against Asheville (HOU) to earn a surefire position in the FutureSox Team of the Week lineup. Sosa, 21, is in the midst of a 12-game hit streak, which includes an astounding seven multi-hit games, and owns a remarkable .458/.490/.625 slash line in that stretch.
Outfield — Nick Williams (Triple-A) — 4 G, .357/.438/.786, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, 3 R, SB
- Veteran outfielder Nick Williams hit safely in each of the final three games of Triple-A Charlotte’s series against Nashville (MIL) to earn the first of three outfield spots in the FutureSox Team of the Week. The 27-year-old, who has appeared in four games with the big-league club this season, launched his second home run of the campaign to put Charlotte on the board in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Sounds.
Outfield — Duke Ellis (Hi-A) — 6 G, .292/.370/.292, 4 RBI, 5 R, 6 SB
- Unranked outfielder Duke Ellis continued to showcase his dynamite speed with six stolen bases throughout the week-long period for Hi-A Winston-Salem. Ellis, originally a 20th-round selection of the San Diego Padres, leads the Hi-A East Division with 19 swipes this season. The Texas product is in his first year with the White Sox organization.
Outfield — Micker Adolfo (Double-A) — 6 G, .333/.462/.952, 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R
- White Sox No. 6 prospect Micker Adolfo mashed his way to the third outfield spot in the FutureSox Team of the Week by launching four deep flies to help guide Double-A Birmingham to a series win against Pensacola (MIA). The 24-year-old Cuban outfielder recorded his second-career multi-home run game in Tuesday’s loss and deposited his second-career grand slam over the fence in left in Sunday’s win. Adolfo is just four home runs shy of his single-season high of 16 set in 2017 with Low-A Kannapolis and paces the Barons in a number of offensive categories, including OPS (.859), home runs (12) and RBI (33).
Starting pitcher — Taylor Varnell (Hi-A) — W, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K
- Southpaw Taylor Varnell produced five shutout frames of one-hit ball and struck out a season-high nine batters to earn his team-leading fourth victory of the season in Hi-A Winston-Salem’s 13-2 win against Asheville (HOU) on Saturday. Varnell, a former 29th-round pick out of Oral Roberts, is yet to allow more than three runs in his 10 starts this season. The 26-year-old is limiting opposing hitters to a .174 clip at the plate this season.
Relief pitcher — Bennett Sousa (Double-A) — 2 G, HLD, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
- Left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa collected a hold and delivered three scoreless innings of relief work to earn a spot on the FutureSox Team of the Week. Sousa, who is in his first full season at the Double-A level, owns a standout 0.96 WHIP with the Barons, and has not allowed a run in five of his past six appearances. Saturday marked his fourth multi-inning relief outing of the season.