This series will recap the performances of each White Sox minor league affiliate throughout the previous week. Here is the 15th installment of the 2022 season.
Charlotte Knights (33-57)
Weekly Record: 2-4
Lehigh Valley came to Truist Field to square up against the Knights last week. While Charlotte came out hot winning the first two games of the series, they couldn’t keep up the momentum and proceeded to drop the next four and the series. The Knights reside in last place and are 16 games back in the International League East Division.
The Knights offense was still below average, but outperformed themselves from the previous week. Charlotte concluded the series with a .243/.319/.370 slash line and a .689 OPS. Further, they scored 17 runs, had 46 hits in 189 at-bats, seven doubles, one triple, five home runs, 18 walks to 45 strikeouts, and went 4-for-7 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
Charlotte’s pitching staff couldn’t keep the positive momentum going against the Iron Pigs lineup. For the week the Knights had a team ERA of 4.67, a 1.65 WHIP, and a .285 Batting Average Against. They also allowed 30 runs (28 earned), 61 hits to 54 innings pitched, 28 walks to 54 strikeouts, hit one batter, and allowed four home runs. Complete season totals for the Knights pitching staff can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
Mark Payton pops one into the seats in RF. #Knights #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/Da7oAMRa30
— White Sox Daily (@dailywhitesox) July 15, 2022
Mark Payton: Mark Payton was one of the key standouts for the Knights last week. The 30 year-old outfielder slashed .381/.409/.714 for a 1.123 OPS, hit two doubles, one triple, one home run, two RBI, scored five runs, and had eight hits in 21 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Xavier Fernandez, Yasmani Grandal (rehabbing), and Blake Rutherford
Birmingham Barons (41-46)
Weekly Record: 3-3
First Half: 31-38
Second Half: 10-8
The Montgomery Biscuits came to town to take on the Barons last week. In what turned out to be a pretty evenly matched series, Birmingham and the Biscuits both took home three wins a piece. The Barons are in first place and one game up in the second half in the Southern League North Division.
The Barons offensive output was quite similar to the previous week. Birmingham slashed .269/.349/.406 for a .755 OPS. Additionally, the Barons lineup scored 32 runs, had 57 hits in 212 at-bats, 15 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 22 walks to 50 strikeouts, and went 10-for-11 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham’s pitching staff had an extremely underwhelming week on the mound. Montgomery left the Barons with a 6.38 team ERA, a 1.58 WHIP, and a .273 Batting Average Against. Additionally, Birmingham allowed 44 runs (39 earned), 62 hits to 55 innings pitched, 25 walks to 75 strikeouts, hit one batter, and allowed seven home runs. Complete season totals for the Barons pitching staff can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
Yoelqui Cespedes reaches out and pokes one out to the concourse. No big deal. #Barons #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/kpFlTcYfLI
— White Sox Daily (@dailywhitesox) July 17, 2022
Yoelqui Cespedes: Yoelqui Cespedes was on another level last week for the Barons. The 24 year-old Cuban annihilated Biscuits pitching, slashing .412/.565/.941 for a 1.506 OPS, hit three doubles, two home runs, five RBI, scored three runs, went 4-for-4 on stolen bases, and had seven hits in 17 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Evan Skoug, Oscar Colas, Raudy Read, Taylor Broadway, Edgar Navarro, and Felix Paulino
Winston-Salem Dash (43-44)
Weekly Record: 1-5
First Half: 33-33
Second Half: 10-11
Winston-Salem went to Asheville to take on the Tourists where video feeds of games are only myths. The Dash struggled mightily all week long, dropping five of six to their divisional foe. The Dash are in fourth place and five games back in the second half in the South Atlantic League South Division.
Offensive production wasn’t the main cause of the Dash’s struggles last week. Winston-Salem left the series with a .293/.362/.502 slash line and an .864 OPS. The Dash also scored 35 runs, had 60 hits in 205 at-bats, 10 doubles, no triples, 11 home runs, 21 walks to 53 strikeouts, and went 3-for-5 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Dash offense can be found here.
The word atrocious doesn’t even begin to describe how the Winston-Salem pitching staff fared against the Tourists last week. The Dash were pulverized all week long, being carted out of the the series with team ERA of 9.19, a 1.85 WHIP, and a .320 batting average against. The Dash also allowed 51 runs (49 earned) on 64 hits over 48 innings, 25 walks to 45 strikeouts, hitting four batters and allowing 12 home runs. Complete season totals for the Dash pitching staff can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
Dash OF Luis Mieses pic.twitter.com/jMK3EGUfsx
— Tiffany (@TiffW96) July 17, 2022
Luis Mieses: In a week of lowlights for the Dash, Luis Mieses was one of the few bright spots. The 22 year-old slashed .364/.400/.727 for a 1.127 OPS, hit two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, scored four runs, and had eight hits in 22 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Alsander Womack, Colson Montgomery, and Karan Patel
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (39-48)
Weekly Record: 2-4
First Half: 26-40
Second Half: 13-8
Last week Kannapolis took the trip to Salem to face the Red Sox. After a hot start in the second half, the Cannon Ballers endured a setback, dropping four of six games. Kannapolis is tied for first place in the second half in the Carolina League South Division.
The Ballers offense scuffled mightily against the Salem pitching staff. Kannapolis had a .219/.293/.294 slash line for a .587 OPS. Kannapolis also scored 21 runs, had 44 hits in 201 at-bats, 10 doubles, one triple, one home run, 20 walks to 60 strikeouts, and went 5-for-8 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers offense can be found here.
The Cannon Ballers pitching staff continued their hot streak over the last month of games. Kannapolis left the series with a team ERA of 2.70, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .230 Batting Average Against. In addition, they allowed 17 runs (15 earned) on 42 hits over 50 innings, issuing 22 walks against 54 strikeouts, while hitting one batter and allowing two home runs. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers pitching staff can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
@HunterDollander came in for relief today in the 5th (the delayed G1 from last pm) for the @Kcannonballers vs Salem Red Sox. 🔥⚾️ 4IP, 2H, 7Ks, 0BB, 0ER! Unfortunately, the Ballers dropped G1, 3-2. #hesnormallyastarter #lovewatchingmyguys #postingforthememories pic.twitter.com/k0pR4wATum
— Sandra Wall (@3DollandersMom) July 14, 2022
Hunter Dollander: Hunter Dollander was outstanding in his lone appearance of the week for the Ballers. The 25 year-old threw four innings, allowing only two hits, no runs, no walks, struck out seven, and had a .143 Batting Average Against and a 0.50 WHIP.
Honorable Mentions: Victor Torres and Wes Kath
ACL White Sox (12-18)
Weekly Record: 1-5
With the draft coming to a close, the ACL White Sox should have reinforcements heading their the near future. Which is good news for the club, as they are coming off a rough week that saw them drop four out of five games. The ACL White Sox are in last place and 11 games back in the ACL West. Full standings of the ACL can be found here.
The ACL White Sox offense is still scuffling at the dish, but their OPS did climb a bit for the second week in a row. The club hit .231/.302/.370 for a .672 OPS. Additionally, the ACL White Sox scored 21 runs, had 40 hits in 173 at-bats, four doubles, one triple, six home runs, 16 walks to 72 strikeouts, and went 2-for-3 on stolen bases. Complete batting stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
The ACL White Sox endured some struggles on the mound last week. The staff concluded the week with a team ERA of 5.65, a 1.70 WHIP, and a .287 Batting Average Against. In addition, the staff was charged with 27 earned runs to 31 runs allowed, 48 hits in 43 innings pitched, 25 walks to 46 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed two home runs. Complete pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
Luis Pineda: Luis Pineda put a hurt on the ball all week long. The 20-year-old catcher slashed .455/.478/.773 for a 1.251 OPS, one double, two home runs, eight RBI, scored two runs, and had 10 hits in 22 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Alvaro Aguero, Jose Rodulfo, and Emerson Talavera
DSL White Sox (15-16)
Weekly Record: 3-3
Last week saw the DSL White Sox have a bigger weekly schedule than normal. The DSL club played in six games last week and ultimately ended the week going three up and three down. The DSL White Sox are in fifth place and five games back in the DSL San Pedro Division. Full standings of the DSL can be found here.
The DSL White Sox offense had themselves a very nice rebound after a tough prior week. The DSL Sox hit .266/.382/.413 for a .795 OPS. They also scored 35 runs, had 49 hits in 184 at-bats, eight doubles, two triples, five home runs, 31 walks to 47 strikeouts, and went 8-for-11 on stolen bases. Complete batting stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
The DSL White Sox pitching staff had another tough week on the mound. The staff concluded the six games with a team ERA of 5.17, a 1.64 WHIP, .266 Batting Average Against, 27 earned runs to 41 runs allowed, 50 hits to 47 innings pitched, 27 walks to 48 strikeouts, hit five batters, and allowed two home runs. Complete pitching stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥
Can’t keep just posting Chappi, we have other dudes there that can hit! This is Ronny Hernandez, LHH Catcher, who is going to be a good one. Yesterday he went 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI.. @dailywhitesox @FutureSox pic.twitter.com/SIoKluC1Vk
— Andy Barkett (@abarkett17) July 15, 2022
Ronny Hernandez: Ronny Hernandez had a solid week for the DSL Sox. The 17 year-old catcher slashed .417/.462/1.000 for a 1.462 OPS, one double, two home runs, four RBI, scored five runs, and had five hits in 12 at-bats.
Honorable Mentions: Loidel Chapelli, Guillermo Rodriguez, Arnold Prado, Frankeli Arias, Juan Jimenez, and Jose Mendoza
I am interested in the DSL team. Glad that Loidel Chapelli is playing well and hope to see him stateside next year. I wonder how his 2B defense is looking.
But Looking over the DSL stats, I am interested in anything about Ronny Hernendez and Ryan Burrowes. Is Erick Hernandez looking good enough to come stateside in 2023?
Chapelli will definitely be stateside next year, most likely at one of Kanny or Winston to start the season, depending on how aggressive the Sox want to get. In regards to Hernandez (Erick), he’s scuffled some as of late but I think we could see him stateside in ’23, most likely it would be for the ACL club. Hernandez (Ronny) and Burrowes have been fun follows this season too out of the INTL class and I hope they’re candidates to make the jump to the ACL next season.
Only kind of off topic, but the Soto Stove seems to be heating up a bit. I know better than to get my hopes up. The Sox have a better shot of winning the World Series this year than landing Soto via trade. But the Sox would be crazy not ask about him. You’d be hard pressed to find a team he’d fit better on. A lefty OF with huge OBP numbers and power is just what the doctor ordered for this offense, and his years of control perfectly align with this team’s contention window. Plus, for a team unwilling to swim in the Free Agent deep end for premium talent, this is the only way a team can acquire a superstar at the height of his powers.
Until now, this hasn’t been worth a post. The Sox don’t have the talent in the system for such a trade, plain and simple. But supposedly, the Nats are looking for MLB-ready talent in return. That at least gives the Sox a fighting chance.
I took a crack at acquiring Soto in my OFP. Things have changed, but I still think that’s a reasonable start. So, I wonder if Hahn called and offered Kopech, Vaughn, Colas, Lenyn Sosa, and some combination of Sheets, Burger, and Crochet: does that keeps the Nats on the call? And hey: I’d substitute Vaughn for Eloy, at this point. That’s likely too big of a trade to pull off. But that’s what it’d take to move Soto, I think.
I doubt the Nats are willing to even listen to an offer from the Sox that doesn’t include Montgomery
Four more words than necessary.
Even one headlined by Vaughn and Kopech? You might be right, still, and I’d include Montgomery, too. But all this is predicated on the idea that the Nats really are prioritizing MLB ready talent. Vaughn and Kopech is about as good as start as any, I think. Though, I realize many teams could still beat this offer in terms of prospect value.
Part of the problem is that Kopech only has two years of control remaining and has hardly proven himself a frontline starter. He’s only valuable in the immediate term as far as trades go and even then it’s more as an average-ish starting pitcher with potential to be more than as a real centerpiece.
Kopech has 3, not 2, years of team control left. He didn’t get a year of service time due to opting out of the 2020 season.
Yeah, that’s my mistake, but he’s entering arbitration and I don’t think it changes the calculus much. We salivate at Kopech’s potential, but I don’t think other teams look at his history, body of work to date, and remaining control, and see somebody who is a central piece in a trade for a guy like Soto.
This is part of the issue: we hear, “MLB-ready talent” and look to guys on our roster. Other teams hear that and look at their AA and AAA rosters. I think the Nats want guys with their service clocks either clear or only just started, not guys knocking on arbitration.
FWIW, MLB.com’s people proposed some scenarios that are pretty steep
https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-soto-trade-fits
A few of those offers beat the one I proposed here, but I’m not sure all of them do: that’s with the very important caveat that the Nats really are looking for MLB ready talent. If that’s what they seek, Kopech and Vaughn is a really strong start. But, to be clear, I’m certain another team could beat this offer in terms of total prospect talent or FV.
Almost every team in the league can beat what the White Sox can offer, especially if we’re talking MLB-ready talent. Other teams have MLB-ready prospects or rookies only just starting their service clocks who fit that bill to offer. The only players the White Sox have to offer of significant value who are MLB-ready have at least a year of control already used, if not more, and in some cases I don’t think the league values them the way we do as fans.
There’s also the issue of the White Sox gutting their major league roster would kinda defeat the purpose of getting Soto in the first place.
I agree with most of what you’ve said in your other posts. I get it. Every team, or almost every team, could beat their offer. Like I said in the original post: it’s a total pipe dream. it’s not even a dream, really. Just a fun, “what if? What would it take?”
I will say two things. First, most teams could beat a Sox offer, but most teams won’t, for one reason or another. And there are so many factors—like who do the Nats like? Will they prioritize quality or quantity?—that it’s not impossible for the Sox to go all in and empty the system for him.
Second, I do disagree with this post. I don’t think subtracting Vaughn and Kopech to get Soto would “defeat the purpose.” It helps their MLB team immensely. Vaughn is a first-baseman, and we’ve got several of those—too many. And after adding Soto, they could add elsewhere to address any holes left in the roster.
Once again, I’m not saying they will trade for Soto. I know they won’t. But like I said: I don’t think there’s a better fit in all of baseball. It’s almost like Juan Soto was a hypothetical construction built to fit on this White Sox team, based on where they are in their window, Soto’s contract, and how his profile fits on the roster.
I think trading Vaughn is fine because they get an immediate replacement in Soto and they’re deep at 1B/DH anyhow. Trading Kopech is probably doable, but I don’t think they can part with Cease without creating a dire need for themselves come playoff time, unless you feel good going into the postseason with a rotation of Giolito, Cueto, Lynn, and Kopech.
Who’s trading Cease? Not I. I agree that trading Kopech would stretch the rotation and probably necessitate another move. But even without another move, Soto is worth the stretch on the roster elsewhere and you can regroup in the offseason.
The Mets are giving up three prospects ranked higher than Montgomery plus other players there. The only way the White Sox could even hope to compete is if other teams balk at taking on dead money from Corbin or Strasburg, but historically the White Sox are the ones who balk at that.
To be fair to Montgomery, he’s going to be a global top 20, very possibly top 10 prospect by the end of this season on his current trajectory. By stats and age he’s having a very similar performance to what Anthony Volpe (#8/9) did last year. The difference between them favor Montgomery. Volpe showed huge game power, but he’s 5” shorter and thus has less long-term projected raw power and equal at best in-game pop. Otherwise, it’s all Monty: 6’4” LHB vs 5’11” RHB, KLaw likes Volpe at SS but loves Montgomery there, while there are questions about Volpe’s arm strength and none about Montgomery.
Yeah, Montgomery’s a stud, but we have to go off his current value, not what we assume/hope his future value will be.
Both really.
Volpe was a 30th pick…I have seen him a couple of times this year – he looks good. He got off to a slow start this season but has turned it up recently. His OPS is .988 over his last 30 games, including 6 HR and 15 steals. If you had to play swap meet, there would be wrong choice as between those two guys.