Tending to the Farm: Mieses and Burke excel for Project Birmingham

By / / FutureSox

This series will recap the performances of each White Sox minor league affiliate throughout the previous week. Here is the 21st installment of the 2022 season.

Charlotte Knights (49-74)

Weekly Record: 2-4

Last week saw the Knights head to Memphis to take on the Redbirds. While the series had a promising start for Charlotte, the Knights weren’t able to further capitalize and ended up losing the series four games to two. The Knights are in last place and are 19 games back in the International League East Division.

While the Knights offense wasn’t nearly as productive as they were last week, they still ended up with a pretty respectable line overall. Charlotte left Memphis with a .286/.346/.429 slash line and a .775 OPS. The Knights also scored 32 runs, had 60 hits in 210 at-bats, 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 19 walks to 38 strikeouts, and went 4-for-8 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.

Charlotte’s pitching staff stunk something rather fierce last week at the hands of the Redbirds. The Knights had a team ERA of 8.64, a 1.80 WHIP, and a .313 Batting Average Against. They also allowed 49 runs (48 earned), 65 hits to 50 innings pitched, 25 walks to 42 strikeouts, hit two batters and allowed seven home runs. Complete season totals for the Knights pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Mark Payton: Once again Mark Payton was scorching the ball, this time in Memphis. The 30 year-old outfielder slashed .333/.407/.667 for a 1.074 OPS, hit two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, scored seven runs, went 2-for-2 on stolen bases, and had eight hits in 24 at-bats.

Honorable Mentions: Zach Remillard, Yasmani Grandal (rehab), Yolbert Sanchez, D.J. Burt, and J.B. Olson

Birmingham Barons (53-67)

Weekly Record: 2-4
First Half: 31-38
Second Half: 22-29

“Project Birmingham” officially kicked off this week, with the Mississippi Braves being the first opponent on the docket. The Barons started off the series well winning the first game, but struggled through the rest of the series before dropping four of six games. The Barons are in third place and seven games back in the second half in the Southern League North Division.

The revamped Barons offense had a pretty productive first week at the Double A level. Birmingham slashed .312/.353/.439 for a .792 OPS. The Barons also scored 30 runs, had 69 hits in 221 at-bats, nine doubles, two triples, five home runs, 13 walks to 55 strikeouts, and went 10-for-12 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.

The pitching-side of the “Project Birmingham” experience didn’t go as well as the offense did. The Barons pitching staff held a 5.79 team ERA, a 1.59 WHIP, and a .274 Batting Average Against. The Barons also allowed 40 runs (36 earned), 61 hits to 56 innings pitched, 28 walks to 82 strikeouts, hit six batters and allowed six home runs. Complete season totals for the Barons pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Luis Mieses and Sean Burke: Both Luis Mieses and Sean Burke were outstanding last week, so both take home the honors. Mieses, making his Double-A debut last week, slashed .500/.500/.727 for a 1.227 OPS, hit two doubles, one home run, eight RBI, scored three runs, and had 11 hits in 22 at-bats.

Burke was rather dominate in his lone start of the week. Burke threw five innings of two hit baseball, allowing no runs, no walks, struck out nine, had a .118 Batting Average Against, and a 0.40 WHIP.

Honorable Mentions: Yoelqui Cespedes, Oscar Colas, DJ Gladney, Evan Skoug, Fraser Ellard, Emilio Vargas, and Garrett Davila

Winston-Salem Dash (54-66)

Weekly Record: 1-5
First Half: 33-33
Second Half: 21-33

The new-look Dash took on the Asheville Tourists last week and things did not go well. Winston-Salem dropped five of six in the series as their second half struggles continue. The Dash are in fifth place and 13 games back in the second half in the South Atlantic League South Division.

The offensive performance of the Dash last week can be described with one simple word: “yikes”. Winston-Salem slashed .171/.297/.285 for a .582 OPS. The Dash also scored 23 runs, had 33 hits in 193 at-bats, 10 doubles, no triples, four home runs, 33 walks to 70 strikeouts, and went 4-for-8 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Dash offense can be found here.

“Yikes,” can also describe the Winston-Salem pitching performance last week. The Dash had a team ERA of 7.88, a 1.75 WHIP, and a .315 Batting Average Against. Winston-Salem also allowed 52 runs (49 earned) on 73 hits over 56 innings, 25 walks to 56 strikeouts, hitting nine batters and allowed six home runs. Complete season totals for the Dash pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Tommy Sommer: Tommy Sommer had a very productive start for the Dash last week. The 23 year-old threw six innings allowing four hits, one run (one earned), one walk, struck out six, had a .200 Batting Average Against, and a 0.83 WHIP.

Honorable Mentions: N/A

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (53-67)

Weekly Record: 3-3
First Half: 26-40
Second Half: 27-27

The Carolina Mudcats paid a visit to Atrium Health Ballpark to take on the Cannon Ballers last week. In a very back and forth type series, Kannapolis worked a split with the Mudcats. Kannapolis is in third place and seven games back in the second half in the Carolina League South Division.

The Kannapolis offense picked up the pace a bit from the previous week. The Ballers had a .285/.344/.391 slash line for a .735 OPS. Kannapolis also scored 29 runs, had 59 hits in 207 at-bats, 13 doubles, no triples, three home runs, 16 walks to 69 strikeouts, and went 4-for-5 on stolen bases. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers offense can be found here.

The Cannon Ballers pitching staff had a much needed solid performance against the Mudcats. Kannapolis had a team ERA of 3.67, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .248 Batting Average Against. Additionally, the Ballers allowed 24 runs (22 earned) on 51 hits over 54 innings, issuing 20 walks against 60 strikeouts, while hitting three batters and allowing three home runs. Complete season totals for the Cannon Ballers pitching staff can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Jordan Sprinkle: Jordan Sprinkle had a great week for the Ballers. The 21 year-old shortstop slashed .407/.407/.593 for an even 1.000 OPS, hitting two doubles, one home run, three RBI, scored five runs, went 2-for-2 on stolen bases, and had 11 hits in 27 at-bats.

Honorable Mentions: Jonah Scolaro, Jake Palisch, Martin Carrasco, and Liam Jenkins

ACL White Sox (26-28)

Weekly Record: 2-0

The ACL regular season concluded last week, and while the White Sox didn’t qualify for the playoffs, they had a strong finish to their to their season. The ACL club won both of their games and the ACL White Sox finished in third place and six games back in the ACL West.

The ACL Sox offense was outstanding in their final two games of the year. The club hit .328/.431/.475 for a .906 OPS. Additionally, the ACL White Sox scored nine runs, had 20 hits in 61 at-bats, three doubles, no triples, two home runs, 10 walks to 14 strikeouts, and went 1-for-1 on stolen bases. Final batting stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.

Similar to the offense, the ACL White Sox pitching staff ended their season on a high note. The staff wrapped their week with a team ERA of 2.81, a 0.94 WHIP, and a .190 Batting Average Against. In addition, the staff was also charged with five earned runs (five runs allowed), 11 hits in 16 innings pitched, four walks to 14 strikeouts, hit one batter, and allowed no home runs. Final pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Chris Lanzilli: Picking the “Hot Player of the Week” based off of two games seemed flawed, so covering the last two weeks of the season, Chris Lanzilli takes home the honors once again. The 24-year-old slashed .412/.500/.824 for a 1.324 OPS, hitting one double, two home runs, five RBI, scored four runs, and had seven hits in 17 at-bats.

Honorable Mentions: Troy Claunch, Matt Archer, Dario Borrero, Jake Palisch, Manuel Veloz, Ethan Hammerberg, Jose Jimenez, and Christian Edwards

DSL White Sox (32-26)

Weekly Record: 2-0

Similarly to the ACL, the DSL regular season also concluded last week and it saw the same results for both ACL and DSL clubs. Despite not qualifying for the playoffs, the DSL White Sox won both of their contests last week, ensuring that the organization had at least one team finish with a winning record. The DSL White Sox finished in fifth place and seven and a half games back in the DSL San Pedro Division.

The DSL White Sox offense finished the season strongly. The White Sox hit .288/.426/.442 for an .868 OPS. Additionally, the club scored 11 runs, had 15 hits in 52 at-bats, four doubles, two triples, no home runs, 11 walks to 14 strikeouts, and went 5-for-6 on stolen bases. Final batting stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.

Whereas the offense finished strongly, the pitching staff had a rough go in their last two games. The staff had a team ERA of 5.14, a 2.14 WHIP, and a .315 Batting Average Against. The DSL pitchers also allowed eight earned runs to nine runs allowed, 17 hits to 14 innings pitched, 13 walks to 18 strikeouts, hit no batters, and allowed no home runs. Final pitching stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.

🔥 Hot Player of the Week 🔥

Godwin Bennett: Using the above ACL criteria, Godwin Bennett reigns supreme as the hot player of the week. Over the last two weeks, the 19-year-old slashed .500/.619/1.000 for a 1.619 OPS, hitting two doubles, two home runs, six RBI, scored seven runs, and had eight hits in 16 at-bats.

Honorable Mentions: Carlos Jimenez, Arnold Prado, Frankeli Arias, and Ronny Robles