Jacob Petricka started the season terrifically for Kannapolis before heading to the disabled list. After a pair of rehab appearances with Bristol, the 2010 second round pick has been promoted to Winston-Salem. Petricka’s promotion was a part of a bunch of roster shuffling in the White Sox system.
Petricka, 23, posted a 2.81 ERA in 8 starts with Kannapolis. 48 K, 13 BB, 39 H in 41.2 IP. He is in his first full professional season, but at 23 he needed to be moved up. The former Indiana State Sycamore is almost unquestionably the best starting pitching prospect in the system.
One of the starters right behind Petricka prospect wise is Ryan Buch. Buch might profile as a reliever in the future, but has been used as a starter for much of the last two seasons. The 23-year-old has been placed on the DL, which will end a June to forget for Buch. He gave up five or more earned runs in three of his five starts for a 7.96 ERA in the month (though I should add he had 25 K and 10 BB in 26 IP, not bad numbers there). Petricka is likely taking Buch’s spot in the rotation, which would mean a June 30 Dash debut.
A more intriguing move is Carlos Sanchez’s promotion to Kannapolis. I talked about him
a bit in the Bristol preview and this promotion confirms my early suspicion that this guy is worth watching. He turns 19 tomorrow and showed fantastic plate discipline in the DSL last summer (41 BB, 26 K in 156 AB). In his five games with Bristol he went 4-16 with five walks and two strikeouts.
Sanchez’s move is eerily similar to fellow Venezuelan Eduardo Escobar’s promotion to Kannapolis in 2008. Escobar, then 19, made his US debut for Great Falls but was promoted after just six games and finished the season with the Intimidators. Sanchez played shortstop in his Kannapolis debut and went 2-7.
The spot in the Intimidators’ infield opened up with Ross Wilson on the DL. Wilson last played in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game last Tuesday. We’ll see if Sanchez’s move is permanent or merely a taste of full season ball until Wilson comes back. Either way, Sanchez appears to be a solid foreign prospect.
In what is likely a temporary move, Cameron Bayne was moved up to Birmingham to fill Hector Santiago’s place in the Barons’ rotation. Bayne, who is scheduled to pitch tonight, already made a spot start for Charlotte this year.
Jhonny Nunez, who like Petricka rehabbed in Bristol, has been activated for Charlotte.
Rounding out the moves, Jake Oester moved up to Birmingham to give the Barons infield depth with Jon Gilmore back on the DL. Kyle Eveland took Oester’s place with the Dash and will be joined by reliever Orlando Santos. Wes Whisler’s side arm experiment will go back to Kannapolis. Ninth round pick Matthew Lane has joined Bristol’s roster.