This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the latest installment after the fourteenth week of the minor league season.
Charlotte Knights (32-57)
Weekly Record: 3-3
Wrapping up a two week road trip, Charlotte had a stop in Jacksonville to take on the Jumbo Shrimp. The Knights fared better this week than last, managing a series split. Charlotte is in seventh place and 25 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.
An offensive explosion on Sunday saw the Knights end the week with a fine line of offensive output. Charlotte hitters slashed .262/.321/.482 for a 803 OPS, 36 runs scored, 51 hits in 195 at bats, 12 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 35 RBI, 18 walks to 60 strikeouts, one stolen base, and were not caught stealing. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.
Charlotte pitching had another week that saw improvements in some categories, but setbacks in others. The Jacksonville lineup had Knights pitchers leave their series with a team ERA of 4.60, a 1.21 WHIP, .250 Batting Average Against, 24 earned runs to 29 runs allowed, 44 hits to 47 innings pitched, 13 walks to 40 strikeouts, five hit batters, and allowed four home runs. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Gavin Sheets: Gavin Sheets was recently optioned back to Charlotte and immediately made his presence felt in the Knights lineup. Sheets slashed .381/.440/.810 for a 1.250 OPS, scored four runs, hit three doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, had three walks (to five strikeouts), and had eight hits in 21 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Ti’Quan Forbes, Blake Rutherford, YermÃn Mercedes, and Jonathan Stiever
Birmingham Barons (48-40)
Weekly Record: 4-1
Birmingham welcomed the Chattanooga Lookouts to town this week. Despite battling mother nature over the weekend, the Barons secured four wins over their divisional counterpart. Birmingham is in first place and three and a half games up in the Double-A South North Division.
Baron hitters rebounded after a tough previous week. Birmingham batters managed a .258/.343/.440 for a 783 OPS, 26 runs scored, 41 hits in 159 at bats, five doubles, no triples, eight home runs, 25 RBI, 19 walks to 27 strikeouts, two stolen bases, and were not caught stealing. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.
Birmingham pitchers had another solid weeks worth of performances. The Barons were able to stymie the Lookout hitters and finish the series with a 4.00 team ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .266 Batting Average Against, 20 earned runs to 21 runs allowed, 47 hits to 45 innings pitched, 13 walks to 37 strikeouts, three hit batters, and allowed four home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Jameson Fisher: Jameson Fisher had himself quite the Friday night, homering three separate times in the Barons victory. The 27 year old finished the week with a .500/.563/1.143 slash line, a 1.705 OPS, three home runs, five RBI, scored five runs, had two walks (to one strikeout), and had seven hits in 14 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Romy Gonzalez, Jake Elliott, Felix Paulino, and Emilio Vargas
Winston-Salem Dash (33-57)
Weekly Record: 0-6
The Dash hosted Greensboro this week and things did not go well for the boys in Winston-Salem. The Dash were swept by the Grasshoppers dropping all six games to their divisional foe. Winston-Salem is in last place in the High-A East South Division and 30 games out of first place.
The Winston-Salem offense went cold against some tough Greensboro pitching. Dash hitters could only muster a .214/.296/.363 slash line, a 659 OPS, 18 runs scored, 39 hits in 182 at bats, eight doubles, two triples, five home runs, 17 RBI, 20 walks to 69 strikeouts, one stolen base, and were caught stealing one time. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.
Dash pitching continued their run of struggling on the mound. Grasshopper batters lit up Winston-Salem and left them with a team ERA of 6.12, a 1.56 WHIP, .290 Batting Average Against, 34 earned runs to 41 runs allowed, 60 hits to 50 innings pitched, 18 walks to 61 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed eight home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.
Hot Player of the Week
Yoelqui Cespedes: Yoelqui Cespedes had a very solid week at the plate while most of the team struggled. The 23 year old outfielder finished the series with a .263/.417/.632 slash line, a 1.048 OPS, two runs scored, four doubles, one home run, four RBI, walked five times (to six strikeouts), stole one base, and had five hits in 19 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Lazaro Leal, Jose Rodriguez, Declan Cronin, McKinley Moore, Kaleb Roper, and Chase Solesky
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (26-64)
Weekly Record: 0-6
The Cannon Ballers had another rough go of it this week against Augusta. Kannapolis lost all six games to the GreenJackets and have had a rough showing so far in the month of August. The Cannon Ballers still occupy last place in the Low-A East Central Division and are 27 games back of first place.
The GreenJacket pitching staff proved to be too much for the Kannapolis batters this week. The Cannon Ballers struggled mightily, finishing the week with a paltry .145/.229/.226 slash line, a 454 OPS, 15 runs scored, 27 hits in 186 at-bats, three doubles, no triples, four home runs, 14 RBI, 17 walks to 76 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were not caught stealing. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.
Kannapolis pitching had another week of struggles on the mound. The Cannon Ballers were no match for the Augusta lineup, concluding the series with a team ERA of 5.63, 1.83 WHIP, .298 Batting Average Against, 30 earned runs to 41 runs allowed, 59 hits to 48 innings pitched, 29 walks to 53 strikeouts, hit three batters, and allowed eight home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.
Hot Player of the Week
Misael Gonzalez: Misael Gonzalez had a nice debut week after his promotion to Kannapolis. The 20 year old outfielder hit .235/.263/.647 for a 910 OPS, scored five runs, had one double, two home runs, 4 RBI, walked once (to seven strikeouts), and had four hits in 17 at bats.
Honorable Mentions: Garvin Alston, Fraser Ellard, and Karan Patel
ACL White Sox (9-18)
Weekly Record: 4-3
The ACL White Sox had a busy slate this week, making up suspended and postponed games from July. Despite the extra games on the docket the ACL squad was able to pull off a winning record, winning four out of seven possible games. The ACL White Sox sit in fourth to last place and are 12.5 games back of first place. Full standings of the ACL can be found here.
The ACL Sox put together another solid week. In six games (the suspended game from July stats go back to that game), the ACL White Sox finished with a .253/.362/.376 slash line, a 738 OPS, scored 27 runs, 43 hits in 170 at bats, 12 doubles, no triples, three home runs, 25 RBI, 19 walks to 51 strikeouts, two stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
The pitching staff for the ACL White Sox had another week of slight improvement. In total, the hurlers wrapped the week with a team ERA of 4.40, 1.74 WHIP, .289 Batting Average Against, 21 earned runs to 32 runs allowed, 52 hits to 43 innings pitched, 23 walks to 61 strikeouts, hit one batter, and allowed one home run. Complete pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Wilfred Veras: For the second week in a row, Wilfred Veras had an above average week for the ACL club. The 2019 international signing hit .429/.529/.643 for a 1.172 OPS, three doubles, two RBI, scored two runs, had three walks to one strikeout, stole one base, and had six hits in 14 ABs.
Honorable Mentions: Terrell Tatum, Wes Kath, Gil Luna, Tanner McDougal, and Homer Cruz
DSL White Sox (11-14)
Weekly Record: 1-4
The DSL White Sox had another rough week, but a notable highlight was prospect Norge Vera made his long awaited professional debut. The DSL Sox dropped four of five total games. The DSL Sox are in fourth place and seven games back in the Dominican Summer League Baseball City Division.
The DSL White Sox had another mediocre week offensively. The DSL Sox slashed .223/.349/.299, a 649 OPS, 31 runs scored, 35 hits in 157 at bats, six doubles, no triples, two home runs, 24 RBI, 25 walks to 40 strikeouts, t13 stolen bases, and were caught stealing twice. Complete batting stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
The DSL White Sox pitching staff had another rough week. The staff concluded the week with a team ERA of 6.92, 1.74 WHIP, .277 Batting Average Against, 30 earned runs to 41 runs allowed, 43 hits to 39 innings pitched, 25 walks to 38 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed no home runs. Complete pitching stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.
Hot Player of the Week
Victor Quezada: Victor Quezada had a solid offensive week for the DSL club. The 17 year old Dominican infielder slashed .353/.450/.471 for a 921 OPS, two doubles, three RBI, scored four runs, had three walks to two strikeouts, stole three bases, and had six hits in 17 ABs.
Honorable Mentions: Manuel Guariman, Alberto Bernal, Emerson Talavera, and Norge Vera
Photo credit: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights
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