White Sox Minor Keys: April 22, 2018
If we didn’t know that a partial UCL tear had limited Micker Adolfo to DH work, we wouldn’t have been able to tell by his performance. He’s hitting .319/.380/.528 over his first 18 games at Winston-Salem and the strikeout rate (26.6 percent) is playable in a way it wasn’t in 2017 (31.5 percent).
But the elbow is an ongoing concern, and Scott Merkin checked in on him to get an update.
A second follow-up MRI is next for Adolfo, who is currently limited to the designated hitter’s role with Winston-Salem due to the injury. General manager Rick Hahn said Adolfo will continue playing in the interim as long as he’s feeling good, and Adolfo reports no problems with the elbow.
But Adolfo still could be shut down, regardless of the ongoing positive results, in order to have surgery and get him ready for 2019.
Charlotte 7, Indianapolis 2
- Charlie Tilson went 0-for-6.
- Daniel Palka went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.
- Casey Gillaspie was 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Eddy Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a homer, two walks and a strikeout.
- Thyago Vieira: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Salem 6, Winston-Salem 4 (10 innings)
- Joel Booker went 4-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Alex Call was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Blake Rutherford, 1-for-4 with a sac fly.
- Micker Adolfo went 1-for-5 with a K.
- Gavin Sheets singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Yeyson Yrizarri wsa 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Ti’Quan Forbes, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Bernardo Flores: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Kannapolis 11, Greenville 1
- Luis Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Justin Yurchak was 2-for-5.
- Evan Skoug, 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Carlos Perez went 1-for-4.
- Lincoln Henzman: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
- Tyler Frost has taken over as the hottest low-round draft pick (Gonzaga, 15th round): 2-for-3 with a homer and an HBP. He’s slugging .680.
Birmingham at Pensacola, suspended
I remember hearing around here that typical UCL recovery for a position player is around 8 months. Does that mean that the Sox might keep him playing through June and then shut him down so he’ll be ready by March?
I could see them playing him thru the Carolina league all star break, promote him after the all star game for 10 games or so in Birmingham then shut him down on the schedule you suggest. I think most of the Sox TJ-type surgeries are done in Birmingham.
All the Kanny pitchers (3) did yesterday was throw strikes, 93 out of 116 total. Henzman got through his 6 IP on 64 pitches, 53 thrown for strikes. Amazing stuff.