White Sox Minor Keys: July 1, 2019
It’s July 2, which means the international signing period is open. The White Sox are allowed to issue out normal-size bonuses again, and Baseball America sums up their situation accordingly:
The White Sox have signed several Cuban players in recent years. They gave their $300,000 maximum bonus last year to a pair of Cuban infielders, Harold Diaz and Bryan Ramos, and $250,000 to Cuban first baseman Alberto Bernal. This year their top target appears to be Yolbert Sanchez, a 22-year-old shortstop from Cuba. They’re also linked to Dominican shortstop Elijah Tatis, younger brother of Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who originally signed with the White Sox as an amateur.
Charlotte 4, Durham 3
- Danny Mendick went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Yermin Mercedes was 1-for-4 with his third homer and two strikeouts.
- Seby Zavala struck out in all four plate appearances.
- Dylan Covey might be back soon: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 33 of 52 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 5, Tennessee 4
- Luis Robert went 0-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Nick Madrigal was 1-for-3 with two walks.
- Blake Rutherford keeps hitting: 2-for-5 at the plate, and 1-for-2 on the basepaths.
- Gavin Sheets went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Ti’Quan Forbes was 0-for-2 with an HBP, walk and strikeout.
- Laz Rivera went 2-for-4.
Down East 2, Winston-Salem 0
- Steele Walker went 0-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Konnor Pilkington: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Kannapolis 1, Rome 0
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4.
- Bryce Bush, 0-for-1 with three walks.
- Romy Gonzalez was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Corey Zangari, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Amado Nunez went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
Billings 9, Great Falls 7
- Camilo Quinteiro went 2-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts.
- Kelvin Maldonado was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Harvin Mendoza was 2-for-4.
- So was Luis Mieses, who hit his first homer at Great Falls. He also struck out once.
- Sam Abbott struck out all four times up.
- Anderson Comas went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Brayan Herrera: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
DSL White Sox 13, DSL Padres 9
- Wilber Sanchez went 2-or-5 with a double, walk and stolen base.
- Luis Pineda was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Benyamin Bailey was 3-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Albert Bernal was 1-for-3 with his first homer, two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Anthony Espinoza was 1-for-5 with a K, and he was caught stealing.
I cant wait til we trade the other Tatis for a bum ass starter on a bloated contract to spur on a team dead in the water already!!!
If Kenny is true to his MO, I think the move would be to acquire Brett Gardner or perhaps Cano. Pitching can be addressed in a deep FA with white whales like Felix and Bartolo out there.
Actually, I had a thought that relates to this proposal. Given what the Mets are like, I wonder if they’d be receptive to getting Alex Colome in return for Robinson Cano’s contract….and Ronny Mauricio.
Who is Ronny Mauricio? Fangraphs described him as “this is what Fernando Tatis, Jr. looked like at age 17.”
Almost no one would let a talent like that go. The Mets might.
You want to give the Mets $100 million and Alex Colome for an 17 year old with a .700 OPS in Rookie Ball? I actually think just about every team, including the Mets, would take that deal in a heartbeat.
You know who has .8 more fWAR this year than Cano? Yolmer Sanchez. They also have the same wRC+…agree with mikeyb. I’m not sure there’s ever been a 17 year old worth that.
Madrigal keeping that AA walk rate right around 10%.
I find myself checking that almost daily, big development for him in terms of is he gonna be just a normal starting level player or much more of an impact guy.
Are people still thinking September at the earliest for Robert to be in Chicago?
Might he get called up to Charlotte soon?
I have a tough time believing they will start his clock this year.
I think he and Madrigal come up hand and hand. May? 2020.
They already spent 30 million on him, I don’t think the service clock is much of a consideration on his promotion. When he gets to Chicago, he will play every day, a la Eloy. That means Leury has to get moved and that might not happen until the off-season.
Leury can play right. He wouldn’t be the traditional type, but it’d be fun to have two adequate defensive outfielders for once.
Also, the $30 million might be a reason why they wait. Robert got his life-changing money, so he might not be as willing to be strong-armed into an early extension. That extension was the only reason Eloy opened the season with the Sox.
I’m glad you and a few others like Leury. Maybe that means they can sell high.
Just move Leury to right and drop one of Cordell & Tilson.
Wasn’t it over 50 million with the penalty? If anything, I see the money spent as a reason the org delays.
Robert and Mercedes needs to be on the way up soon. Let Palka and Collins fight for the left handed power bat. Please don’t sign Zach Dukes.
J2 signing: Cristian Mena, RHP out of D.R., about whom I can discover nothing in a brief foray through the docuverse. See link for video, signing updates.
BA’s Sox signing tracker:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2019-mlb-international-signings-tracker/#WhiteSox
Looks like just about everyone other than the braves is signing more guys than us OR announcing their signings earlier
J2: Yolbert Sanchez, SS, Cuba (per above link)
22-year-old, was cleared to sign by MLB this past February at which time Fangraphs projected that he would be an expensive sign.
Their scouting thumbnail: “Sanchez draws mixed reviews for his offensive potential, but scouts agree he has above average-to-plus running, fielding, and throwing tools, and he will stick at shortstop.”
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/cuban-defector-ss-yolbert-sanchez-cleared-to-sign/
all the video of Yolbert is at SS. The kid can pick it for sure. Something not often mentioned. He doesn’t strike out. Less than 10% in Cuba.
MLB.com’s scouting thumbnail on Yolbert:
More:
https://www.mlb.com/news/yolbert-sanchez-cleared-to-sign-in-mlb-c303000804
Think you clicked the wrong link, Flit. That’s Cleuluis Rondon’s scouting report.
Yolbert turned 22 in March. Most J 2’s are 16, a few 17. Think of Yolbert like a College draft pick.
Big ticket, indeed — $2.5 million per BA tracker. (CWS 2019 pool $5.39 MM)
Existential question for Sox fans: If they sign Elijah, and he turns out better than his brother, and plays his entire All Star-laden career with the White Sox, will fans finally stop complaining?
Conversely, if he signs for San Diego specifically because his brother is there, just think of the new dimensions of complaint we could all discover together.
That’s the stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning.
Don’t forget their cousin.
Moncada is having a better season at 3B than Machado. Does that mean the Sox made the right decision?
But what if Machado was at SS and TA was in CF and never hurt his ankle? What it they signed an actual starter or Maggs never left for Detroit.
Rec for the Mags reference.
This is fun! What if they hadn’t traded Chet Lemon for Steve Kemp?
@Smclean09 And what if Anderson fractured his collarbone coming in on a shallow fly instead?
Imagine what a haul we could get for Jimenez and Tatis if the other team didn’t read the fine print!
Is Dave Stewart still in power anywhere?