White Sox No. 8 prospect Blake Rutherford put together his best stretch of the season to earn the highlight spot in the FutureSox MiLB Team of the Week.

FutureSox MiLB Team of the Week — Aug. 9-15

By / / Analysis

White Sox No. 8 prospect Blake Rutherford put together his best stretch of the season to earn the highlight spot in the FutureSox MiLB Team of the Week for the period of Aug. 9-15, 2021. He’s joined in the lineup by three other members of the Top 30, as well as White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal, who began his rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham.

Here’s a look at the full lineup:

Catcher — Yasmani Grandal (MLB rehab) — 4 G, .364/.385/.364, 2 RBI, 2 R

  • A welcome sight, indeed. Yasmani Grandal batted .364 across the first four games of his rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham to earn the nod behind the plate. Grandal, who landed on the injured list with a torn tendon in his left knee in the first week of July, plated runs in each of his first two games with the Barons. The 32-year-old backstop batted third in all four games, which included three starts as the designated hitter.

First baseman — Jameson Fisher (Double-A) — 4 G, .500/.563/1.143, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R

  • Unranked first baseman Jameson Fisher enjoyed a career night Friday when he launched three home runs, including the eventual game-winner, in Double-A Birmingham’s 6-5 win against Chattanooga (CIN). It marked the first three-homer game for the Barons since Craig Grebeck accomplished the feat April 8, 1988. Fisher, 26, owns a remarkable .395/.465/.684 slash line in the month of August and reached double-digits in home runs for the second time as a pro (2017).

Second baseman — Bryan Ramos (Low-A) — 5 G, .214/.389/.214, BB, 2 SB

  • The past week marked a rough period for second basemen in the organization, but White Sox No. 11 prospect Bryan Ramos posted a .389 on-base percentage and stole a pair of bases to garner recognition. Ramos, 19, went hitless across the final three games of Low-A Kannapolis’ series against Augusta (ATL), but owned a 10-game hit streak prior to that point. Ramos has 11 stolen bases in 87 games this season after he swiped just three in 51 games during the 2019 campaign.

Third baseman — Wilfred Veras (ROK) — 4 G, .500/.538/.750, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB

  • Wilfred Veras earned his second straight nod at third base in the FutureSox Team of the Week with another strong performance for the ACL White Sox. Veras, still just 18 years old, has hit safely in seven of the past eight games and produced six extra-base knocks in that stretch. The Dominican native, whom the White Sox signed in the July 2019 international signing period, also stole his third base of the summer season Thursday.

Shortstop — Romy Gonzalez (Double-A) — 5 G, .333/.455/.889, 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R

  • White Sox No. 25 prospect Romy Gonzalez continued his surge at Double-A Birmingham after he homered three times and drove in four runs in the Barons’ series win against Chattanooga (CIN). Gonzalez, 24, sits one home run shy of a 20-20 campaign and owns a 132 wRC+ through 75 games this season. The former 18th-round selection out of Miami (FL) closed the week with three multi-hit efforts within a four-game span.

Outfield — Blake Rutherford (Triple-A) — 6 G, .360/.385/.680, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, 7 R

  • White Sox No. 8 prospect Blake Rutherford enjoyed his most-prolific week at the plate this season with a .360 clip, five extra-base hits and five RBI across the six-game stretch. The 24-year-old outfielder has hit safely in nine of the past 10 games — punctuated by a three-hit performance Sunday against Jacksonville (MIA). Rutherford paces the Triple-A East Division with 23 doubles and his 31 extra-base hits rank ninth.

Outfield — Yoelqui Cespedes (Hi-A) — 6 G, .263/.417/.632, 4 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 2 R, SB

  • White Sox No. 2 prospect Yoelqui Cespedes strung together another productive week to earn the second of three outfield spots in the FutureSox Team of the Week. Cespedes, who has hit safely in 18 of the past 21 games, produced a dynamite 1.049 OPS throughout the week. The 23-year-old outfielder drilled his seventh home run of the season in Hi-A Winston-Salem’s loss to Greensboro (PIT) on Thursday and reached double-digits in stolen bases with a swipe of second Wednesday night. Cespedes holds a 129 wRC+ in his first season with the Dash.

Outfield — Terrell Tatum (ROK) — 3 G, .444/.545/.889, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R

  • Terrell Tatum, whom the White Sox selected in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, made a solid first impression with the ACL White Sox over the past week. The 22-year-old outfielder out of NC State delivered a three-run homer in his third-career plate appearance Tuesday, doubled home a run Friday and hit safely in all three games in which he appeared.

Starting pitcher — Emilio Vargas (Double-A) — W, 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

  • Right-hander Emilio Vargas earned his second straight nod as the Pitcher of the Week after he tossed 5.1 scoreless frames in Double-A Birmingham’s 7-1 against Chattanooga (CIN) on Wednesday. Vargas, 25, owns a minuscule 0.79 ERA since June 24 (34.1 IP), as well as a standout 11.80 K/9 rate. He paces the Barons in a number of pitching categories, including ERA (2.34), WHIP (0.99) and opposing batting average (.188).

Relief pitcher — Fraser Ellard (Low-A) — 2 G, 1 GF, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

  • Low-A reliever Fraser Ellard worked a pair of shutout appearances and struck out five batters to earn the Reliever of the Week honor. The 23-year-old right-hander, whom the White Sox selected in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Liberty, has posted four consecutive scoreless outings and owns a 76 percent strike rate to begin his professional career.