The promotion of White Sox No. 6 prospect Micker Adolfo to Triple-A Charlotte headlined a flurry of transactions within the team’s farm system over the past few days.
Here’s a breakdown of all the movement:
Adolfo earns first trip to Triple-A
Micker Adolfo, who owned a .306 clip at the plate and 13 RBI in the month of July, earned his first promotion to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon. The 24-year-old outfielder has enjoyed a revival in 2021 with Double-A Birmingham after an injury-plagued 2019 campaign.
Adolfo paced the Double-A South at the time of his promotion with 15 home runs, 46 RBI, 30 extra-base hits and a .276 ISO. The 6-foot-4 slugger, whom the White Sox signed back in July 2013, also posted a career-high .844 OPS with the Barons this season, which ranked fifth in the league.
Adolfo logged a standout 127 wRC+ through 57 games this season, as well as a .333/.439/.800 slash line with runners in scoring position.
Sanchez’s surge continues with promotion to Double-A
White Sox No. 16 prospect Yolbert Sanchez earned his first promotion to Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday and made his Barons debut that same night. The 24-year-old shortstop made a successful transition to Hi-A this season to the tune of a 104 wRC+ and a solid 13.8 percent strikeout rate.
Sanchez, whom the White Sox signed out of Cuba in July 2019, posted a 15-game hit streak between June 18 – July 6, a stretch which included five multi-hit performances.
Varnell victorious in Barons debut
Unranked southpaw Taylor Varnell made his Double-A debut Tuesday after he earned a promotion from Hi-A Winston-Salem, and collected the victory after he fired five scoreless frames with four strikeouts against Chattanooga (CIN).
Varnell, a former 29th-round selection out of Oral Roberts, posted a 2.89 ERA across 13 appearances (10 starts) with the Dash prior to his promotion. The 26-year-old is yet to allow more than four runs in a game this season. He leads Winston-Salem in a plethora of categories, including ERA (2.89), wins (4) and opposing batting average (.200). Part of Varnell’s sustained success in the minors is his avoidance of the long ball as he’s surrendered just 0.54 home runs per nine innings throughout his career.
Additional transactions and notes
Low-A Kannapolis reinstated right-hander and White Sox No. 1 prospect Jared Kelley from the injured list ahead of Wednesday’s doubleheader against Fayetteville (HOU). Kelley, who made two rehab appearances with the ACL White Sox, missed the past two months of full-season ball with right elbow inflammation. Kelley has struggled to a 10.13 ERA in his first six professional appearances, but does own an 11.81 K/9 rate.
Unranked infielder Laz Rivera earned his first promotion to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday and has three hits, including a two-run homer, through his first three games with the Knights. Rivera, 26, owned a 104 wRC+ in 47 games at Double-A Birmingham, which marked a significant improvement from his 76 wRC+ with the Barons during the 2019 season. Rivera is also set to swipe double-digit stolen bases for the third consecutive season.
Unranked outfielder Ian Dawkins returns to Double-A Birmingham after he spent the past month-and-a-half with Hi-A Winston-Salem. The former 27th-round selection from Sacramento State recorded six extra-base hits and three stolen bases in 28 games with the Dash and his promotion back to the Barons is tied to Adolfo’s advancement to Triple-A Charlotte.
Left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa advanced to Triple-A Charlotte for the first time in his career Tuesday. The 26-year-old former 10th-round pick owns a career 2.30 ERA across 125 innings of work (all in relief), as well as 10 holds and 16 saves in 19 opportunities. Sousa held opponents to just a .159 clip at the plate and posted a notable 13.86 K/9 rate this season with Double-A Birmingham.
Former 31st-round selection Brandon Bossard, the son of White Sox longtime head groundskeeper Roger Bossard, earned a promotion to Hi-A Winston-Salem on Tuesday. The 24-year-old middle infielder and Lemont, Illinois, native has appeared in 18 games with Low-A Kannapolis this season.
Jeremiah Burks, a 24-year-old infielder and original eighth-round selection of the Detroit Tigers, earned the call-up to Low-A Kannapolis from the ACL White Sox on Monday and made his Cannon Ballers debut Tuesday. The former Fresno State standout made an impact in his first game with Kannapolis and recorded three hits, two RBI and one walk in a 10-8 win.
Between Luis Robert’s much-anticipated rehab stint at Hi-A Winston-Salem, Kelley’s return to Low-A Kannapolis, Adolfo’s advancement and all the other movement on the farm, it’s an exciting time up-and-down the White Sox system.
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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Nice to see a couple of White Sox international signees doing well in 2021.
Micker Adolfo has been slow to develop, primarily because of his injury history. His success in a pitcher friendly Birmingham venue is also a plus. Adolfo has put himself into the picture as a potential solution for the White Sox long standing RF problem. More likely, he has elevated his trade value which could come in very handy as the July 30th deadline approaches.
As for Yolbert Sanchez, his success at the dish is very encouraging. He signed with the White Sox out of Cuba as a SS who already possessed an MLB capable glove. As is typical with many Cuban defectors, he also joined the organization as an older prospect. The pandemic hurt all prospects with no minor league season last year but was especially harmful to an older one like Sanchez. The fact that he has shown some hitting acumen is very encouraging. I’ve noticed that Sanchez has played both SS and 2B this season which could be an indicator that the White Sox envision him as a versatile utility infielder who can play excellent up the middle defense, something the system doesn’t have in spades. This organizational deficiency likely played a part in them drafting two high school shortstops with their first couple of picks in the recently concluded amateur draft. With continued hitting success at AA, I could easily envision Sanchez fighting for a bench spot on the White Sox active roster sometime next year or in 2023. Like Adolfo, he might also provide the team with another useful trade chip this summer or beyond.
Hi Aaron —
Thanks for the reply and for taking the time to read through the piece. You are correct in your assessment of Sanchez’s potential versatility down the road. It’s seemingly become a focal point of the White Sox player development over the past couple years to not have infielders tied to one spot (i.e. Sanchez, Burger, Forbes, Rivera, Remillard, Gonzalez). I personally view Sanchez as a trade chip more than a future contributor in the lineup, but we’ll see. Adolfo’s power figures are certainly welcome, especially in a pitcher-friendly park like Regions Field, as you mentioned. It’s possible the jump to Charlotte is a “final showcase” of sorts before the deadline, but I’ll leave the speculating to others.