Tending to the Farm: Kannapolis offense balls out, sweeps Fayetteville

By / / FutureSox

This series will recap the performances of each White Sox minor league affiliate throughout the week. Here is the first installment of the 2022 season.

Charlotte Knights (3-3)

Weekly Record: 3-3

The Knights began their season by taking a trip up to Norfolk to battle against the Tides. The series was pretty evenly matched, with each team securing one blowout victory while the remaining games were decided by two runs or fewer. Charlotte ended up working a series split and resides in the middle of the pack International League East Division after the first week.

The Charlotte offense was able to find some success at the plate this week, especially in the on-base department. The Knights hit Norfolk pitching to a .252/.355/.386 slash line, a .741 OPS. The other key stats: 33 runs scored, 51 hits in 202 at bats, 12 doubles, no triples, five home runs, 32 walks to 42 strikeouts, stole one base while getting caught stealing twice. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.

Where the Charlotte offense found success, the pitching staff struggled against the Tides lineup. Knights pitchers concluded their Norfolk visit with a team ERA of 5.85, a 1.55 WHIP, .249 Batting Average Against, 34 earned runs to 37 runs allowed, 50 hits to 52.1 innings pitched, 31 walks to 53 strikeouts, with four hit batters and nine home runs. Complete season totals for the Knights pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Carlos Pérez: Carlos Pérez was a problem all week long for Norfolk pitching. In five games, the 25 year old catcher slashed .364/.348/.818 for an 1.166 OPS. Six of his eight hits went for extra bases (four hits, two homers), with three runs scored and seven driven in.

Honorable Mentions: Patrick Kivlehan, Zach Muckenhirn, and Kade McClure

Birmingham Barons (0-3)

Weekly Record: 0-3

The Barons opened up their 2022 season at home against Rocket City, and the Trash Pandas were rather rude, sweeping their hosts in a three-game set. While it’s too early to draw any conclusions after only playing three games, Birmingham currently sits in last place in the Southern League North Division.

Rocket City pitching held the Birmingham bats in check all weekend long. The Barons had a feeble .217/.336/.261 triple slash for a .597 OPS. Their line shows five runs scored, 20 hits in 92 at bats, one double, no triples, one home run, 11 walks to 30 strikeouts, and 0-for-1 on the basepaths. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.

Similarly to the Barons offense, the Birmingham pitching staff had issues with the Rocket City hitters. The Barons concluded the weekend set with a 4.67 team ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .238 Batting Average Against, 14 earned runs to 15 runs allowed, 24 hits to 27 innings pitched, 15 walks to 33 strikeouts, hit one batter and allowed three home runs. Complete season totals for the Barons pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Johan Dominguez: Johan Dominguez had a great start for the Barons against the Trash Pandas this weekend. The 26-year-old righty threw five innings, allowing only three hits, no runs, no walks (hit one batter), struck out seven, and had a .167 Batting Average Against with a 0.60 WHIP.

Honorable Mentions: Yolbert Sanchez and Lenyn Sosa

Winston-Salem Dash (1-2)

Weekly Record: 1-2

Winston-Salem welcomed the Hickory Crawdads to Truist Stadium over the weekend while lots of eyes were drawn to Oscar Colas and his debut for the Dash. The Dash secured an Opening Day victory before dropping the next two games and the series to the Crawdads. Winston-Salem is currently tied with two other clubs in the South Atlantic League South Division.

Winston-Salem was able to put together some solid at-bats against the Hickory hurlers this weekend. The Dash left the series with a .240/.305/.448 slash line, a .753 OPS, 13 runs scored, 23 hits in 96 at bats, two doubles, no triples, six home runs eight walks to 28 strikeouts, stole no bases and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Dash offense can be found here.

Dash pitching had a harder time against the Crawdad lineup, ending the series with a team ERA of 5.00 and even shakier peripherals, including a 1.93 WHIP, .279 Batting Average Against, 18 runs (15 earned) on 29 hits over 27 innings, 23 walks to 22 strikeouts, with no HBPs and three homers. Complete season totals for the Dash pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Adam Hackenberg: Adam Hackenberg picked up right where he left off after a strong showing in his draft year last season. The 22 year old catcher slashed .375/.375/1.125 for a 1.500 OPS, scored two runs, hit two home runs, had four RBI, and had three hits across 8 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Bryan Ramos and Yoelvin Silven

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (3-0)

Weekly Record: 3-0

Kannapolis opened up their season at home, welcoming the Fayetteville Woodpeckers to Atrium Health Ballpark. More importantly, it was the full season debuts of 2021 top picks Colson Montgomery and Wes Kath.

The Cannon Ballers pulled a complete 180 from 2021 by sweeping the Woodpeckers in the opening series and winning in a dominating fashion. For reference, it took until the Ballers 25th game played last season to secure their third win. Kannapolis currently occupies first place in Carolina League South Division after the opening series.

The Cannon Baller offense was scorching hot against Fayetteville pitchers all weekend long. Kannapolis crushed Woodpecker pitching to the tune of a .291/.435/.513 slash line, a .948 OPS, 40 runs scored, 34 hits in 117 at-bats, seven doubles, five triples, three home runs, 29 walks to 41 strikeouts, and a 3-for-5 performance on the basepaths. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers offense can be found here.

The Ballers pitching staff did their best to try and keep pace with the offense. While they didn’t exactly match the effectiveness, they served the purpose. They finished the series with a team ERA of 4.65, 1.52 WHIP, .254 Batting Average Against, 20 runs (16 earned) on 30 hits over 31 innings. They issued 17 walks against 43 strikeouts, hit two batters and allowed six homers. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

DJ Gladney: DJ Gladney had a fabulous opening series against Fayetteville. The 20 year old infield busted out a .308/.471/.846 slash line, a 1.317 OPS, scored five runs, hit one double, two home runs, had nine RBI, had three walks to two strikeouts, and had four hits across 13 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Misael Gonzalez, Chase Krogman, Wilfred Veras, Victor Torres, Garrett Schoenle, and Everhett Hazelwood

5 thoughts on “Tending to the Farm: Kannapolis offense balls out, sweeps Fayetteville”

    1. jorgefabregas

      That report has been out for about 13 hours and no one has reported the same thing since then. In fact, Rodriguez provided an update that what’s holding up the deal is that the A’s want Vaughn and the White Sox don’t want to trade him. So, doesn’t sound particularly close.

      1. jhomeslice

        It’s weird that they would call it “very close” if it is a player the Sox have (hopefully) no intention of parting with.

        I am hoping Crochet turns out to be the centerpiece of a deal. The A’s aren’t going to compete the next couple years anyway, a deal for him makes sense. He certainly has a ton of upside. But maybe nothing is transpiring at all if Vaughn is who the A’s want. Can’t blame them.

        1. a-t

          Crochet and Sheets maybe? Burger potentially, but he’s important at the moment. Sheets’ lefty pop is very nice to have on a heavily RHH team, but 1B/DH/bad corner outfield is still fairly choked. I’m not super worried, bc Oakland asked for a ton at first and then ended up getting much less than the initial asking price for Manaea and Bassitt.

  2. HallofFrank

    We can all breathe our sigh of relief: Nightengale reports that the Sox have told the A’s they have “no interest” in trading Vaughn.

    In other news: Pollock and Giolito to the IL, Severino and Lambet up. I was hoping Pollock would avoid an IL stint.

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