Dylan Cease was among the numerous White Sox prospects who made an appearance in an All-Star game today, and he held up his end of the bargain by striking out two during a scoreless inning.
Baseball America's Josh Norris caught up with Cease as he approached the end of the first half, and he painted a picture of a pitcher who is becoming more than a huge fastball-curve guy.
Winston-Salem pitching coach Matt Zaleski was with Cease last year in low Class A Kannapolis, too, and has seen Cease make big strides throughout the time they’ve been paired with one another. Cease’s walk and strikeout rates have remained nearly identical at both stops, but the difference has been the improvement and addition of pitches.
“When he came to us, he really only had fastball and curveball,” Zaleski said. “He threw a changeup occasionally and he threw a slider occasionally, but they really weren’t the quality that they needed to be for him to develop and keep going higher and higher. To his credit this year, his changeup’s become a huge, huge weapon. He’ll throw it 15-20 times a game.”
Charlotte 6, Columbus 2
- Leury Garcia doubled, walked and struck out twice. He was replaced later in the game, but said he feels good.
- Avisail Garcia went 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
More:
*Video of Avi Garcia's blast:
https://twitter.com/followmefor3/status/1009224415568187392
Southern League South 9, Southern League North 5
- Eloy Jimenez went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Seby Zavala was 1-for-2.
- Zack Collins, 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Danny Mendick played the whole game, going 2-for-4 with a strikeout. He was caught stealing.
- Dane Dunning: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Ian Hamilton: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
More:
*Collins won the Home Run Derby.
https://twitter.com/WVTM13/status/1009208741168861185
Carolina League South 7, Carolina League North 6
- Joel Booker went 3-for-4 with a massive homer and four RBIs.
- Luis Alexander Basabe was 0-for-2 with a stolen base.
- Dylan Cease struck out and plunked one in a scoreless inning.
- Bernardo Flores: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Matt Foster: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
More:
*Booker won the All-Star Game MVP. Here's his blast:
https://twitter.com/CarolinaMudcats/status/1009233592059383808
Sally League South 9, Sally League North 5
- Laz Rivera went 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base.
- Tate Blackman, 1-for-4 with a homer.
- Craig Dedelow singled and walked in his two trips to the plate.
- Jake Elliott: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP
- Blake Battenfield: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
AZL White Sox 5, AZL Cubs2 4
- Kelvin Maldonado went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Kleyder Sanchez was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Luis Mieses went 2-for-4 with a homer.
- Sam Abbott, 0-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Anthony Coronado, Anderson Comas and Brayant Nova all were 0-for-3 with a K.
- Brayan Herrera: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
- Ramon Pineda: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Hunter Kiel: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB ,3 K
DSL Blue Jays 3, DSL White Sox 2
- Jose Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with a K.
