KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – A late-inning charge from the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers falls short as they lose 15-10 against the Carolina Mudcats.
The day started with the return of right hander Matt Thompson to the bump. The White Sox No. 3 prospect has been out since June 12 with a lower body injury. A tune up rehab start in the Arizona Complex League (ACL) on July 8 led up to Thompson’s return.
The Texas native had a tall task to face the Mudcats lineup but fared decently against them. During the outing, he had topped out at 95 mph on his fastball and his off-speed was moving quite well in the 77-80 mph range on the curveball and 82-85 with the slider and changeup.
His day was tested in the second frame, where he allowed three hits and two runs. In that inning, he also recorded two of his three strikeouts on the day. His final line ended up being fairly decent: 3IP, 4H, 2R, 3K, 0BB. The big thing to note is that he didn’t allow a walk. Having that command in-check early on a return is something that will carry him back to having the top-5 prospect status.
The Kannapolis bat that kicked off the scoring was that of Chase Krogman. Following a home run the night before, he was able to double up on the bombs today when he launched a three-run homer, his seventh home run on the year. That gave Kannapolis the 3-2 lead in the second inning. Krogman has been swinging the bat with confidence of late, recording hits in ten of his last 13 games. He still needs to work on cutting down on the strikeouts with an aggressive approach, but the hitting ability is there.
Southpaw Ty Madrigal took the ball from Thompson in the fourth inning and had two strong frames in the fourth and fifth. He recorded three strikeouts and was cruising into the sixth inning. That is where things fell apart for Madrigal and the Cannon Ballers.
A pair of walks for the Mudcats put two runners on. Manager Guillermo Quiroz left Madrigal in to clean up the inning but allowed the Mudcats’ Ashton McGee to knock in a three-run home run to put them back on top 5-3. Madrigal was pulled following the home run. McGee had himself a day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, including a grand slam later in the contest, while collecting 9(!!) RBIs on the day.
The decision from Quiroz to leave his reliever in to work the frame was questionable at best considering the opening walks and nearing 50 pitches before McGee got to the plate.
With the lead, the Mudcats poured it on the Cannon Ballers by putting up 13 runs between the sixth and eighth innings. Along the way, Kannapolis tried to mount a comeback behind some sparse offense.
Caberea Weaver got a run on the board in the seventh inning after he tripled. He was able to score behind a Victor Torres RBI groundout. The strongest offensive innings for the team came in the eighth and ninth innings.
The eighth inning saw birthday boy D.J. Gladney and Harvin Mendoza have RBI hits. The ninth inning saw Jose Rodriguez and Samil Polanco collect a pair of RBI doubles. The Kannapolis offense has a weird habit of attacking early, going stale during the middle innings and coming back to life late.
Regardless, the charge fell short at the 15-10 final with Kannapolis dropping to a 19-42 record on the year. The original starter for their Thursday tilt with the Mudcats, Jesus Valles, landed on the IL during the contest. We will see who is going to fill in for Valles.
Like Thompson, another top White Sox prospect in Jared Kelley is scheduled to return to the Kannapolis roster later this week, with the potential to start against the Carolina Mudcats during this homestand.
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.