Tending to the Farm: Birmingham busts out the brooms

This series will contain weekly recaps of the performances of each minor league affiliate. Here is the latest installment after the eighteenth week of the minor league season.

Charlotte Knights (44-70)

Weekly Record: 2-4

The Knights concluded their road trip by heading to Jacksonville to take on the Jumbo Shrimp. Charlotte didn’t have the outcome they hoped for, dropping four of six games. Charlotte is in seventh place and 28 games back in the Triple-A East Southeast Division.

Charlotte endured another week of offensive struggles. Knights hitters slashed .219/.271/.311 for a 583 OPS, 15 runs scored, 43 hits in 196 at bats, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs, 14 RBI, 10 walks to 57 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, and weren’t caught stealing. Complete season totals for the Knights offense can be found here.

Once again, the Knights pitching staff had a phenomenal week on the bump. The Jumbo Shrimp batters scuffled, as the Knights wrapped the series with a 2.25 team ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, .203 Batting Average Against, 12 earned runs to 14 runs allowed, 36 hits to 48 innings pitched, 10 walks to 62 strikeouts, three hit batters, and allowed four home runs. To see Charlotte’s complete pitching totals for the season, click here.

Hot Player of the Week

Peter Tago: Peter Tago was brilliant out of the pen for the Knights against Jacksonville. In three appearances, Tago threw four innings, allowed no hits, no runs, walked one batter, hit one batter, struck out seven, and had a 0.25 WHIP with a .000 Batting Average Against.

Honorable Mentions: Alex McRae, Carl Edwards, Kade McClure, Ruben Tejada, and Ti’Quan Forbes

Birmingham Barons (62-52)

Weekly Record: 6-0

The Barons took on Rocket City in what was a battle for first place. Birmingham showed their divisional foe no mercy, as they swept all six games against the Trash Pandas. Birmingham heads into their final regular season series in sole possession of first place with a three game lead in the Double-A South North Division.

The bats for the Barons woke up at the perfect time. Birmingham put a wallop on Rocket City pitching, ending the series with a .282/.347/.482 slash line for a 829 OPS, 34 runs scored, 55 hits in 195 at bats, 13 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 32 RBI, 18 walks to 39 strikeouts, stole six bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete season totals for the Barons offense can be found here.

Mirroring the offense, Birmingham pitching answered the bell with authority. The Barons pitching staff was simply outstanding against the Trash Pandas, finishing the series sweep with a 2.33 team ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .238 Batting Average Against, 14 earned runs to 15 runs allowed, 48 hits to 54 innings pitched, 17 walks to 64 strikeouts, two hit batters, and allowed no home runs. Birmingham’s full season pitching totals can be found here.

Hot Player of the Week

Craig Dedelow: Craig Dedelow absolutely scorched the ball against Rocket City. Dedelow slashed .400/.526/1.000 for a 1.526 OPS, seven runs scored, three home runs, seven RBI, four walks (to five strikeouts), and had six hits in 15 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Ian Dawkins, Yoelqui Cespedes, Carlos Perez, Yolbert Sanchez, and the Barons pitching staff

Winston-Salem Dash (41-72)

Weekly Record: 2-4

The Dash welcomed the Bowling Green Hot Rods to town this week. The Dash started the series hot, winning two of three, but proceeded to drop the next three games, ultimately losing the series. Winston-Salem is in last place in the High-A East South Division and 37.5 games out of first place.

Dash hitting greatly improved from the previous weeks performance. Winston-Salem concluded their series with the Hot Rods by slashing .245/.327/.431, a 758 OPS, 30 runs scored, 46 hits in 188 at bats, 10 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 28 RBI, 21 walks to 44 strikeouts, three stolen bases, and were caught stealing twice. Full season totals for the Winston-Salem offense can be found here.

Dash pitching regressed this week against some stiff competition in the Bowling Green offense. The Winston-Salem staff stumbled to a team ERA of 7.02, a 1.80 WHIP, .327 Batting Average Against, 39 earned runs to 43 runs allowed, 68 hits to 50 innings pitched, 22 walks to 54 strikeouts, hit two batters, and allowed 10 home runs. Full season totals for the Dash pitching staff are located here.

Hot Player of the Week

Harvin Mendoza: Harvin Mendoza had a fine week at the dish for Winston-Salem. The 22 year old slashed .400/.478/.600 for a 1.078 OPS, four runs scored, one double, one home run, five RBI, walked twice (struck out three times), and had eight hits in 20 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Gunnar Troutwine, Jose Rodriguez, Jeremiah Burks, and Luis Mieses

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (35-79)

Weekly Record: 3-3

The Cannon Ballers wrapped up their final home series against Fayetteville. In what were mostly close battles, Kannapolis worked a series split against the Woodpeckers. The Cannon Ballers are in last place in the Low-A East Central Division and are 33 games back of first place.

While the end result was not all that impressive, the Ballers were able to improve some offensively this week. Kannapolis hit .213/.330/.367 for a 697 OPS, 27 runs scored, 40 hits in 188 at-bats, 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 24 RBI, 30 walks to 74 strikeouts, 16 stolen bases, and were caught stealing four times. Complete batting stats for the Cannon Ballers can be found here.

Kannapolis pitching produced loosely similar production to last weeks performance despite allowing an abundance of walks to the Woodpecker hitters. The Cannon Ballers final line was a team ERA of 4.50, a 1.52 WHIP, .201 Batting Average Against, 27 earned runs to 29 runs allowed, 37 hits to 54 innings pitched, 45 walks to 60 strikeouts, hit seven batters, and allowed six home runs. To see Kannapolis’ team pitching stats for the year, click here.

Hot Player of the Week

Chase Krogman: Chase Krogman recently made a swing adjustment, and positive results soon followed. Krogman hit Fayetteville pitching to the tune of a .350/.417/.700 slash line, 1.117 OPS, three runs scored, one double, two home runs, five RBI, walked three times (struck out nine times), stole one base (wasn’t caught stealing), and had seven hits in 20 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Bryan Ramos, Theo Denlinger, Sean Burke, Everhett Hazelwood

ACL White Sox (22-32)

Weekly Record: 4-1

After drawing a goose egg in the win column last week, the ACL White Sox righted the ship, securing four out of five possible victories this week. The ACL White Sox sit in sixth to last place and are 16.5 games back of first place. Full standings of the ACL can be found here.

The ACL Sox showed some much needed signs of life with the bats this week. The squad wrapped up their five games with a .251/.328/.415 slash line, a 743 OPS, scored 35 runs, had 43 hits in 171 at bats, nine doubles, two triples, five home runs, 23 RBI, 17 walks to 69 strikeouts, four stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.

The ACL White Sox pitching staff also had a much needed rebound this week. The staff finished the week with a team ERA of 3.48, a 1.39 WHIP, .247 Batting Average Against, 17 earned runs to 21 runs allowed, 41 hits to 44 innings pitched, 20 walks to 52 strikeouts, hit three batters, and allowed three home runs. Complete pitching stats for the ACL White Sox can be found here.

Hot Player of the Week

Wilfred Veras: Our number 30 prospect Wilfred Veras was the star of the week for the ACL squad. The 18 year old infielder slashed .500/.467/.786 for a 1.252 OPS, five runs scored, one double, one home run, five RBI, did not walk (struck out three times), and had seven hits in 14 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Terrell Tatum, Logan Glass, Dilmer Mejia, Noah Owen, and Tommy Sommer

DSL White Sox (18-24)

Weekly Record: 2-2

The DSL White Sox only got four games in this week as one was suspended, but concluded the week with a .500 record, going two up and two down. The DSL Sox are in fourth place and 11.5 games back in the Dominican Summer League Baseball City Division.

The DSL White Sox offense showed some slight improvement this week. The DSL Sox slashed .262/.364/.364 for a 729 OPS, 24 runs scored, 28 hits in 107 at bats, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 18 RBI, 16 walks to 23 strikeouts, six stolen bases, and were caught stealing once. Complete batting stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.

The DSL White Sox pitching staff had some middling numbers this week. After all was said and done, their final numbers for the week were a team ERA of 4.08, a 1.33 WHIP, .261 Batting Average Against, 13 earned runs to 20 runs allowed, 29 hits to 28.2 innings pitched, nine walks to 26 strikeouts, two hit batters, and allowed one home run. Complete pitching stats for the DSL White Sox can be found here.

Hot Player of the Week

Godwin Bennett: Godwin Bennett had an outstanding week at the plate for the DSL Sox. The 18 year old Nicaraguan outfielder slashed .455/.538/.909 for a 1.448 OPS, four runs scored, one triple, one home run, four RBI, two walks (struck out twice), one stolen base (wasn’t caught stealing), and had five hits in 11 at bats.

Honorable Mentions: Victor Quezada, Roberth Gutierrez, Miguel Toribio, and Norge Vera

Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox

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