This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the latest installment after the fifteenth week of the minor league season.
Charlotte Knights (36-59)
Weekly Record: 4-2
The Knights returned home after a two week road trip and most certainly enjoyed being back in their home ballpark. Charlotte took four of six from their divisional foe Norfolk, securing a series victory. Charlotte is in seventh place and 25 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
Charlotte was absolutely on fire with the bats this week. Knights hitters destroyed Tide pitching, slashing .330/.374/.635 for a 1.009 OPS, 40 runs scored, 67 hits in 203 at bats, 20 doubles, no triples, 14 home runs, 39 RBI, 13 walks to 44 strikeouts, two stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
As good as the Charlotte offense was this week, the pitching was rather sub-par. Norfolk batters lit up the Knights staff to a team ERA of 6.35, a 1.57 WHIP, .288 Batting Average Against, 36 earned runs to 37 runs allowed, 60 hits to 51 innings pitched, 20 walks to 67 strikeouts, one hit batter, and allowed 12 home runs. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Romy Gonzalez and Mikie Mahtook: Both Mikie Mahtook and Romy Gonzalez were outstanding this week (Gonzalez across two levels). Mahtook slashed .591/.609/1.227 for an 1.836 OPS, scored seven runs, hit five doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, had one walk (to two strikeouts), and had 13 hits in 22 at bats.
Gonzalez was promoted to Charlotte during the week and did not skip a beat once he was in the lineup on Saturday by homering twice, including a walk off blast. In two games for Charlotte, the 24 year old slashed .667/.667/1.667 for a 2.333 OPS, scored four runs, hit three doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, no walks (to no strikeouts), and had six hits in nine at bats in two games.
Combining both Birmingham and Charlotte’s lines, Gonzalez slashed .476/.476/1.095 for a 1.571 OPS, scored six runs, hit four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, had no walks (to two strikeouts), stole one base, and had 10 hits in 21 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Micker Adolfo, Yasmani Grandal (rehab assignment), Matt Reynolds, Kyle Crick, Nik Turley, and Bennett Sousa
Birmingham Barons (51-44)
Weekly Record: 3-4
Birmingham took a trip up to Tennessee to take on the Smokies, but the bigger news may have been Yoelqui Cespedes‘ promotion to Birmingham. The weather wasn’t super cooperative this week, but they did manage to get all seven games in this week (one was a makeup from a June postponement), and unfortunately for Barons they only won three of seven games. Birmingham is still in first place and two and a half games up in the Double-A South North Division.
Baron hitters had a so-so week against Tennessee pitchers. Birmingham batters managed to slash .263/.318/.424 for a 742 OPS, 20 runs scored, 52 hits in 198 at bats, nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 20 RBI, 13 walks to 56 strikeouts, four stolen bases, and were caught stealing three times. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham pitching had a tough week against Smokie hitters. The Barons staff finished the series with a 5.40 team ERA, 1.52 WHIP, .257 Batting Average Against, 30 earned runs to 30 runs allowed, 48 hits to 50 innings pitched, 28 walks to 45 strikeouts, no hit batters, and allowed five home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Yolbert Sanchez: Yolbert Sanchez has been thoroughly enjoying his time since being promoted to the Barons. The 24 year old finished off a fantastic week with a .435/.458/.826 slash line, a 1.284 OPS, three home runs, five RBI, scored three runs, had no walks (to two strikeouts), stole one base (was not caught stealing), and had 10 hits in 23 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Xavier Fernandez, Yoelqui Cespedes, Romy Gonzalez, Davis Martin, and Caleb Freeman
Winston-Salem Dash (35-60)
Weekly Record: 2-3
Winston-Salem took a trip to Hickory, and the weather was uncooperative, but the teams did manage to get five games in. Thankfully for the Dash, they were able to get back into the win column a couple times after getting blanked the previous week, but they did drop the series with three losses. Winston-Salem is in last place in the High-A East South Division and 31.5 games out of first place.
The Winston-Salem offense rebounded after an underwhelming previous week. Dash batters were able to knock around Crawdad pitching to a .301/.337/.551 slash line, an 888 OPS, 28 runs scored, 53 hits in 176 at bats, 11 doubles, no triples, 11 home runs, 28 RBI, eight walks to 57 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, and were caught stealing one twice. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.
Things continue to be difficult for Dash pitching. Hickory hitters knocked around the Winston-Salem staff and rudely left their guests with a team ERA of 4.97, a 1.55 WHIP, .299 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 25 runs allowed, 46 hits to 38 innings pitched, 13 walks to 42 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed five home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.
Hot Player of the Week
Jose Rodriguez: While this was a very close call between Luis Curbelo and Jose Rodriguez, Rodriguez gets the slight edge as the hot player of the week for the Dash. In five games, the 20 year old shortstop slashed .524/.500/.714 for a 1.214 OPS, three runs scored, one double, one home run, three RBI, did not walk (struck out once), stole four bases (caught stealing once), and had 11 hits in 21 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Luis Curbelo, Lazaro Leal, Samir Duenez, Brian Glowicki, and Chase Solesky
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (27-69)
Weekly Record: 1-5
The Cannon Ballers welcomed the Down East Wood Ducks to town this week. The good news: Kannapolis broke their 15 game consecutive loss skid. The bad news: Kannapolis dropped five of six games in the series. The Cannon Ballers still occupy last place in the Low-A East Central Division and are 32 games back of first place.
As one would expect with a team that suffered 15 consecutive losses, the Cannon Ballers struggled mightily on offense. Kannapolis only managed to hit .228/.298/.340, a 638 OPS, 15 runs scored, 45 hits in 197 at-bats, five doubles, four triples, three home runs, 14 RBI, 19 walks to 62 strikeouts, five stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.
The pitching staff for the Cannon Ballers fared pretty decently (all things considered) against the Wood Ducks. Kannapolis wrapped up the series with a team ERA of 4.17, 1.44 WHIP, .241 Batting Average Against, 25 earned runs to 35 runs allowed, 49 hits to 54 innings pitched, 29 walks to 49 strikeouts, hit three batters, and allowed four home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Jesus Valles: Jesus Valles was outstanding in his lone start of the week for the Ballers. The 6’3” righty went six innings, allowed five hits, no runs, no walks, struck out four batters, had a .238 Batting Average Against, and an 0.83 WHIP.
Honorable Mentions: Kohl Simas, Taylor Broadway, and Harvin Mendoza
ACL White Sox (16-23)
Weekly Record: 3-2
The ACL White Sox kept the winning ways going, as they finished the week by coming out on top three out of five tries. The ACL White Sox sit in sixth to last place and are 13 games back of first place. Full standings of the ACL can be found here.
The ACL White Sox had a middle of the pack type of week offensively. The ACL Sox finished with a .228/.356/.363 slash line, a 719 OPS, scored 29 runs, 39 hits in 171 at bats, eight doubles, no triples, five home runs, 26 RBI, 28 walks to 58 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
The ACL White Sox pitching staff had another week of improvement on the bump. The ACL Sox wrapped the week with a team ERA of 4.30, 1.25 WHIP, .229 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 27 runs allowed, 39 hits to 44 innings pitched, 16 walks to 61 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed six home runs. Complete pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Noah Owen: Noah Owen was outstanding on the mound for the ACL Sox this week. In two appearances (one start), the 2021 14th round pick threw five innings, allowed four hits, no runs, no walks, struck out 11 batters, had a 0.80 WHIP, and a .190 Batting Average Against.
Honorable Mentions: Wilfred Veras, Benyamin Bailey, Edwin Peralta, Brooks Gosswein, and Tanner McDougal
DSL White Sox (13-15)
Weekly Record: 2-1
The DSL White Sox had to battle mother nature, as numerous games throughout the league were rained out this week. Despite that, the DSL Sox won two of the three games they played this week. The DSL Sox are in fourth place and seven and a half games back in the Dominican Summer League Baseball City Division.
The DSL White Sox offense played rather well in their few appearances this week. The DSL Sox slashed .303/.429/.434, an 863 OPS, 17 runs scored, 30 hits in 99 at bats, one double, three triples, two home runs, 13 RBI, 22 walks to 27 strikeouts, 10 stolen bases, and were caught stealing five times. Complete batting stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
DSL White Sox pitching suffered once again on the bump. Sox pitching concluded the week with a team ERA of 7.27, 1.69 WHIP, .277 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 22 runs allowed, 28 hits to 26 innings pitched, 16 walks to 25 strikeouts, one hit batter, and allowed two home runs. Complete pitching stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Layant Tapia: Layant Tapia had a solid offensive week for the DSL club. The 19 year old shortstop slashed .375/.400/1.000 for a 1.400 OPS, one triple, one home run, four RBI, scored two runs, had one walk (to three strikeouts), stole two bases (caught stealing once), and had three hits in eight ABs.
Honorable Mentions: Roberth Gutierrez, Cesar Jimenez, Emerson Talavera, and Guillermo Cuevas
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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