White Sox Minor Keys: April 20, 2022

Who’s ready for some Prospect Porn? 

Because my recent conversation with Winston-Salem Dash manager Lorenzo Bundy left me pretty hot and bothered about Oscar Colas and friends. Think I’m kidding? Listen to this and tell me you’re not fantasizing about seeing the 23-year-old Cuban in Chicago:

“Oscar has really good hands and once he figures out how really good his hands are, this kid is gonna be really special,” Bundy said.  ”He can do things with the bat that a lot of people wish they could do.  Some of his best plate appearances have come with two strikes when he shortens it up. He’s really, really dangerous.”

Here’s what Bundy had to say about the early performances of Colas, Bryan Ramos, Andrew Dalquist, Sean Burke and Matthew Thompson, as well as their immediate challenges.

Bundy said the Dash are working with Colas on pitch selection. 

“Like any young hitter, he chases some pitches out of the strike zone,” Bundy said. “So what we’re trying to do with Oscar right now is just get him back into the strike zone, keep him in the strike zone, so he doesn’t give away at bats.”

Colas has 12 hits and five walks in 42 plate appearances in the young season, but just four doubles and no homers.

“He hasn’t really driven the baseball yet,” Bundy noted. “You know, he’s gotten these his line drives, he’s hit some hard doubles and things like that. But, when Oscar figures out his swing enough that he’s driving the baseball, I don’t think he’ll be here very long.”

Bundy said Colas has an average arm, and an expected surge in his power will probably relegate him to a corner outfield spot.

The only Dash player with more hits than Colas is Bryan Ramos, who leads the team with 15, including four doubles and two homers.

“This young man hits the ball very hard,” Bundy said of his of his 20-year-old third baseman.  “He uses the whole field. And he’s really good when he is driving the ball to right center field.”

Bundy said Ramos’ teammates look to him as a leader. “And, he accepts that challenge. So not only being a pretty good baseball player, he’s a pretty good teammate.”

Bundy is equally enthusiastic about his three young starting pitchers.

“Burkey’s been very good,” he said. “He’s our top guy right now. He’s been fastball heavy as his main pitch, climbing the ladder and things like that, but we need to tighten up on the breaking ball a little bit. And he’s starting to use his changeup more.”

Dalquist’s biggest issue, Bundy continued, is locating his slider down in the strike zone. He can throw the slider for a strike, but it is getting too much of the plate and has been hit hard. 

“We talk a lot about making a quality pitch or throwing it for a strike,” Bundy said. “A quality pitch a lot of times is a pitch that is not a strike. When you have aggressive hitters, a lot of time they’ll chase that breaking ball down. We pitch up in the zone a lot with the fastball, changing eye levels and trying to get hitters to chase. And with those breaking balls, we need to make sure we can keep that ball down because that ball up in the strike zone is not a quality pitch.”

As far as Thompson is concerned, Bundy believes his second (and most recent) start of the season was victimized by the new pitch-clock enforcement. “His first start was very good,” he said. “He gave us five innings and gave up one run. And then his second start, he got caught up trying to work a bit quicker than he normally does. He was rushing. His command was off, he didn’t have the location of his pitches. He fell behind the hitters. I’ll be excited to see what kind of adjustment he makes tomorrow in his start (in Greenville).”

Sounds pretty darn exciting doesn’t it?

Nashville 8, Charlotte 1

• Carlos Pérez went 0-for-3 with a walk.
• Micker Adolfo went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Birmingham 6, Biloxi 5

• Yolbert Sánchez went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
• Lenyn Sosa was 2-for-5.
• Yoelqui Céspedes didn’t homer, but he did go 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
• Jose Rodriguez also went 2-for-4 with a double.

Highlights:

*Céspedes’ arm made some noise during spring training, and here he is cutting down the potential tying run at home in the ninth.

6-5 win over the ⁦@BiloxiShuckers⁩ ain’t happening without the 💪 from ⁦@ycespedes51⁩ in CF. pic.twitter.com/GWvLz5Wz3M

— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) April 21, 2022

Winston-Salem 9, Greenville 4

• Oscar Colás went 1-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Bryan Ramos, 2-for-5 with a K.
• Luis Mieses is heating up: 4-for-5 with a double.
• Adam Hackenberg was 2-for-5.
• Harvin Mendoza doubled and struck out thrice during a 1-for-5 night.
• Sean Burke: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 WP

Fredericksburg 13, Kannapolis 2

• James Beard went 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and 10th stolen base.
• Colson Montgomery went 0-for-4.
• So did Wilfred Veras and DJ Gladney, with a strikeout apiece.
• Wes Kath was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Kohl Simas: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K