A while back, I was asked on Twitter when White Sox fans can start buying the hype on Laz Rivera. I responded that I considered him on the Danny Mendick track.
Rivera: Hitting .330/.372/.511 over A-ball — 70 percent of his plate appearances at Kannapolis — as a 23-year-old shortstop drafted in the 28th round.
Mendick: Hit .289/.373/.468 at Winston-Salem as a 23-year-old shortstop in 2017 after being drafted in the 22nd round in 2015.
Rivera has run hot-and-cold over his first 23 games at High-A, and after going 0-for-15 during four-game stretch, he’s now on one of those upswings, which included a walk-off grand slam on Monday night:
Bottom of the 10th… Bases loaded… Two outs… Down by two…
Watch how @lazriv02 powered the Dash to a walk-off win on Monday night.
🎙️: @JakeEisenberg_ pic.twitter.com/pgXKkVmvnJ
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 17, 2018
But Mendick, who is no stranger to slumps and streaks himself, also homered for Birmingham. He’s hitting .239/.322/.405 with 11 homers and 15 steals one level above Rivera. Considering Rivera has drawn just eight walks over 86 games, I imagine Double-A is going to put him to the test in a similar fashion.
Pawtucket 8, Charlotte 6
- Nicky Delmonico went 3-for-5 with a double.
- Eloy Jimenez, 2-for-5 with a double.
- Jose Rondon was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Thyago Vieira: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
More:
*Video of Jimenez’s double:
Eloy Jimenez ties the game with a double hit so high that the CF lost track of the ball. @soxmachine pic.twitter.com/y77QteoLp7
— Josh Nelson (@soxmachine_josh) July 17, 2018
Birmingham 9, Tennessee 2
- Joel Booker went 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Alex Call went 2-for-5 with a double.
- So did Zack Collins, with a strikeout.
- Danny Mendick went 2-for-3 with a homer, two walks and a stolen base.
- Jameson Fisher was 1-for-3 with a walk and an HBP.
- Ryan Burr: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Winston-Salem 12, Buies Creek 10
- Luis Gonzalez went 1-for-5 with a walk.
- Laz Rivera, 3-for-5 with a grand slam. He was caught stealing.
- Blake Rutherford went 1-for-4 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Gavin Sheets, 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Ti’Quan Forbes was replaced in the second inning after an error before he came to the plate.
- Lincoln Henzman: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- Ian Clarkin: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Kannapolis 7, Hagerstown 6
- Luis Curbelo went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Justin Yurchak was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Evan Skoug, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Bennett Sousa jumped to Kannapolis: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Great Falls 5, Grand Junction 0
- Corey Zangari went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Amado Nunez, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jhoandro Alfaro, 0-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Maiker Feliz went 1-for-4 with a double.
DSL D-backs1 1, DSL White Sox 0 (6 innings, rain)
- Jose Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Jefferson Mendoza, 0-for-2.
