With the Knights on the road for two weeks, our beat reporter in Charlotte, Jeff Cohen, has had a chance to step back and look at the season up to this point. Here’s his analysis, in a three-part series. Today, he looks at the call-ups to date.
The Charlotte Knights are more than 20 games under .500 but the White Sox front office could care less. Manager Wes Helms’ job is to get players ready in case of an emergency need in Chicago. This year, there have been a lot of “emergencies.” And, so far, the call-ups have killed it.
Thirteen players have been brought up from Charlotte already: six hitters and seven pitchers. Of those, Gavin Sheets, Reynaldo Lopez, Brian Goodwin and Seby Zavala are still on the White Sox roster. Four others, Danny Mendick, Jake Burger, Matt Foster and Ryan Burr, were recently returned.
On the hitting side, the call-ups have been a huge success. The pitching results have been more mixed and probably prompted some of the big-league club’s moves at the trade deadline.
Let’s take a closer look at those call-ups. Parts II and III in this series will look at the rest of the Knights’ roster, and some of the team’s challenges.
The Biggest Successes
Helms and hitting coach Chris Johnson deserve high praise for the development of Sheets and Burger. Both had phenomenal seasons in Charlotte from day one, and both took Chicago by storm. Burger would likely still be there but for a roster crunch.
When the White Sox signed Goodwin at the end of spring training, everyone knew the first call-up was his to lose. And, frankly, it looked like that was going to happen, as he struggled out of the gate. In fact, technically, it did, when Gavin Sheets got the first promotion, though it was a unique situation in which the White Sox needed someone for three days and they took the hottest bat in Charlotte at the time.
Helms cautioned that it likely would have been different had the White Sox needed someone longer term. And, indeed, when that need arose, they tabbed Goodwin. His stats were ok in Charlotte, with a batting average and OBP of .244 and .316, respectively. But, as a proven veteran with over 1,100 MLB at bats, those stats turned out to be meaningless — Goodwin just needed work in Charlotte to fine-tune his skills.
Zavala has been a pleasant surprise. Pressed into service when Yasmani Grandal was injured last month, Zavala has held his own at the plate, albeit in a tiny sample size thus far of a few dozen at bats.
Early in the season, in Charlotte, Zavala was swinging it well. But he sat for about 10 days as a precaution after concussion-like symptoms and wasn’t the same hitter afterward. Perhaps he’s finally regaining his form. His power has clearly returned.
Then there is Lopez’ amazing turnaround.
For much of 2021, Lopez floundered in Charlotte. But he worked hard to fix his mechanics and pitching coach Matt Zaleski said he noticed improvements several weeks ago, even before the results began translating to the box score. Now in Chicago, Lopez has flourished in the bullpen where he is a valuable multi-inning reliever.
The Other Call-Ups
The other starter in Charlotte to take the mound in Chicago is Jimmy Lambert. He has made three appearances for the White Sox, with two starts. While the first two efforts were rough, his start on Aug. 1 was encouraging: three innings, two hits and one run.
Fans may be impatient with Lambert’s progress, or lack thereof. But he’s only pitched 42.1 minor-league innings since his 2019 Tommy John surgery.
It has been a slow progression this season but there’s been continual progress, and he seems to still be highly regarded among the White Sox. Without access to proprietary pitching data, my impression is that he has good command of his four seamer, which sits around 93, and improved control of his breaking pitches. He is regarded as having some of the more repeatable mechanics on the Knights’ staff.
As is the case every season, relievers have been beating a steady path between Chicago and Charlotte. Current Knights Ryan Burr, Alex McRae, Zack Burdi (two call-ups), Jace Fry and Matt Foster (two call-ups) have all spent time with the White Sox, all with so-so results.
Fan favorite Danny Mendick is also back in Charlotte after spending much of the season in Chicago.
In sum, White Sox GM Rick Hahn shrewdly crafted the Charlotte roster, and it has paid big dividends so far.
Photo credit: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights
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