This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the latest installment after the eighth week of the minor league season.
Charlotte Knights (21-31)
Weekly Record: 3-3
This week the Charlotte Knights squared up against the Norfolk Tides. In a series of teams looking to claw their way back to .500, the Knights were able to work a series split against their divisional counterparts. The Knights currently reside in sixth place and 14.5 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
With the injury bug going around in Chicago, the newly “restructured” Knights lineup had some mixed results this week against Norfolk. Charlotte batters slashed .249/.328/.410, a 737 OPS with 25 runs, 51 hits in 205 at bats, 12 doubles, no triples, seven home runs, 20 RBI, 26 walks to 66 strikeouts, no stolen bases, and were caught stealing thrice. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
Charlotte pitching threw the ball very well after a tough previous week. The Knights arms kept the Norfolk bats in check, ending the series with a 3.57 team ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .194 Batting Average Against, 23 earned runs to 25 runs allowed, 41 hits to 58 innings pitched, 26 walks to 74 strikeouts, four hit batters, and allowed ten home runs. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Jimmy Lambert: Knights pitchers had themselves a strong week overall, and Jimmy Lambert had the best performance of the bunch. In Lambert’s lone start of the week, he threw 5.2 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, one hit batter, three walks, and eight strikeouts for a 0.88 WHIP.
Honorable Mentions: Tanner Banks, Hunter Schryver, Tim Beckham, and Seby Zavala
Birmingham Barons (28-25)
Weekly Record: 1-5
The top two teams in the Double-A South North Division went head to head this past week, and the Chattanooga Lookouts got the better of the Barons, winning five of six. Birmingham has hit a rough patch in their season, coming up on the short end in three of their last four series. Birmingham is in second place and three games back in the Double-A South North Division.
Barons hitters won’t look back on this series against Chattanooga very fondly. Birmingham batters limped to the finish, hitting .198/.291/.256 for a 547 OPS, 12 runs, 34 hits in 172 at bats, four doubles, no triples, two home runs, 12 RBI, 22 walks to 50 strikeouts, two stolen bases, and were caught stealing twice. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham pitching had some difficulties against the Lookouts lineup. The Barons concluded the series with a 4.68 Team ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .258 Batting Average Against, 26 earned runs to 27 runs allowed, 49 hits to 50 innings pitched, 19 walks to 52 strikeouts, four hit batters, and allowed three home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Ti’Quan Forbes: Ti’Quan Forbes ended his week with a promotion to the Charlotte Knights, but he was the lone bright spot for the Barons offense this week. The versatile infielder had a .375/.444/.563 slash line for a 1.007 OPS, one home run, three runs scored, three RBI, two walks to five strikeouts, and had six hits in 16 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Kade McClure, Jason Bilous, and Lane Ramsey
Winston-Salem Dash (24-30)
Weekly Record: 2-4
Winston-Salem took a trip to Greenville this week and were treated rather rudely by the host team. The Dash dropped four of six to the Drive as their rough patch of play continued. Winston-Salem is in sixth place in the High-A East South Division and 11 games out of first place.
Dash hitters had a slight downtick in production from the previous week. Greenville pitching held the Winston-Salem batters to a .233/.292/.442 slash line, a 734 OPS, 29 runs scored, 48 hits in 206 at bats, 13 doubles, no triples, 10 home runs, 25 RBI, 16 walks to 67 strikeouts, two stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.
For the second week in a row Dash pitching was, for lack of a better term, bad. Dash pitchers had another week of subpar performance, but this time Greenville hitters were the beneficiaries. Winston-Salem finished the series with a team ERA of 7.02, 1.76 WHIP, .291 Batting Average Against, 39 earned runs to 41 runs allowed, 59 hits to 50 innings pitched, 29 walks to 51 strikeouts, hit three batters, and allowed eight home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.
Hot Player of the Week
Yoelqui Cespedes: This week Yoelqui Cespedes showed Greenville pitchers why he was named to the Futures Game with only a smattering of stateside games under his belt. Cespedes busted out, slashing .360/.385/.880 for a 1.265 OPS, three home runs, four doubles, eight runs scored, five RBI, one walk to 10 strikeouts, and had nine hits in 25 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Luis Curbelo, Gunnar Troutwine, Yolbert Sanchez, Taylor Varnell, and Dan Metzdorf
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (16-37)
Weekly Record: 1-5
The end of June and beginning of July left a sour taste in the Cannon Ballers mouths. Kannapolis dropped five of six games against the first place Charleston RiverDogs. Kannapolis still resides in last place in the Low-A East Central Division and 14 games back of first place.
Kannapolis hitters rebounded after a tough prior week. The Cannon Ballers finished the series with a .263/.330/.420 slash line, a 750 OPS, 34 runs, 54 hits in 205 at-bats, 14 doubles, no triples, six home runs, 34 RBI, 19 walks to 60 strikeouts, no stolen bases, and were caught stealing twice. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.
Saying that Kannapolis pitchers had a rough week would be an understatement. Charleston hitters wrecked Cannon Baller pitching, and wrapped the series with a team ERA of 9.00, 2.11 WHIP, .346 Batting Average Against, 54 earned runs to 60 runs allowed, 79 hits to 54 innings pitched, 35 walks to 62 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed nine home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Chase Krogman: Chase Krogman had a solid week for Kannapolis. The 20-year-old outfielder, in four games, hit .250/.438/.833 slash line, a 1.271 OPS, two home runs, one double, three runs scored, three RBI, four walks to three strikeouts, and had three hits in 12 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Harvin Mendoza, Samil Polanco, and Ty Madrigal
ACL White Sox (2-2)
Weekly Record: 2-2
The Arizona Complex League kicked off this week, and the White Sox squad has an intriguing collection of young talent making up the roster. The ACL Sox played four games this week, as one against Milwaukee was cancelled due to COVID issues in the Milwaukee camp. Full standings of the ACL can be found here.
The ACL White Sox finished their opening week with a .258/.311/.442 slash line, a 752 OPS, 21 runs, 31 hits in 120 at-bats, seven doubles, no triples, five home runs, 19 RBI, 10 walks to 52 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 finished their opening week with a team ERA of 5.23, 1.55 WHIP, .216 Batting Average Against, 18 earned runs to 19 runs allowed, 25 hits to 31 innings pitched, 23 walks to 37 strikeouts, hit four batters, and allowed three home runs. Complete pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Sam Abbott: After being demoted from Kannapolis earlier in the year, Sam Abbott had a nice opening week for the ACL White Sox. In four games, Abbott hit .308/.375/.615 for a 990 OPS, one home run, one double, four RBI, scored one run, had two walks to seven strikeouts, and had four hits in 13 ABs.
Honorable Mentions: Dilmer Mejia, Cristian Mena, Anderson Comas, and Wilfred Veras
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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