James Fegan wrapped up his North Carolina reporting with a dispatch from Kannapolis, where we have our first documentation of the changes implemented by the White Sox' new swing analysts.
Ryan Johansen, one of two hitting instructors hired by the White Sox over the winter, is attempting to rebuild pregame routines for the Intimidators.
On one hand, it's good to see the White Sox taking modern methods seriously. But one of the hallmarks of a great James Fegan story is the innocuous presentation of quotes and anecdotes that are varying degrees of damning. In the vein of Leury García's YouTube habits and Jose Abreu buying Eloy Jiménez an iPad comes this ...
“Previous years we didn’t have analytics guys with us, nor did we have stuff before the game,” said first baseman Corey Zangari, who despite being just 22, has experienced parts of three seasons in Kannapolis. “We had like, the pitcher, how hard he threw, his ERA, stuff like that. But we didn’t have hot zones or what he throws in counts, or percentages of what he throws in this count, or percentages of what he throws in that count, what his go-to pitch is, what his best pitch is.”
... and this:
“It’s near the same,” [Alex] Destino said when asked to compare the level of information to that of his college days playing in the SEC. “We were given a lot of things at South Carolina, I was very fortunate playing there. The environments we played in front of were a lot different from here, but the metrics, I mean it’s kind of the same thing.”
One thing James didn't mention was the general lack of standout performances from the Intimidators, who were shut out by Greensboro on Tuesday. Zangari, for example, is hitting .192 with a .698 OPS.
Charlotte 15, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1
- Nick Madrigal struck out for the first time at Charlotte, but made up for it by going 4-for-6 with a double.
- Luis Robert tripled, doubled, singled twice, struck out once and stole a base.
- Zack Collins went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Yermin Mercedes was 3-for-5 with two doubles.
- Seby Zavala went 2-for-5 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Danny Mendick was 3-for-5.
- Kyle Kubat: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
More:
*Our Man in Charlotte Jonathan Lee, who asked Eloy Jiménez about Rick Hahn's box-checking comment last year, asked Robert about any fatigue issues this year.
Birmingham 8, Mississippi 1
- Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base.
- Gavin Sheets also went 2-for-5 with two doubles, but without the steal.
- Blake Rutherford was 2-for-4 with sac fly and a K.
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Laz Rivera went 2-for-4.
- Lincoln Henzman: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Winston-Salem 7, Carolina 3
- Steele Walker went 1-for-3 with a walk, HBP and strikeout.
- Andrew Vaughn went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two walks.
- Carlos Perez was 0-for-5.
Greensboro 2, Kannapolis 0
- Lenyn Sosa wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Romy Gonzalez also struck out all three times up.
- Corey Zangari went 0-for-3 with a K.
- Camilo Quinteiro went 0-for-3.
Rocky Mountain 8, Great Falls 1
- Kelvin Maldonado went 0-for-3 with an HBP and a strikeout.
- Harvin Mendoza went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Sam Abbott went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Anderson Comas wore the collar and silver sombrero.
AZL Dodgers Mota 5, AZL White Sox 1
- Samil Polanco went 1-for-4.
- Sidney Pimentel was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Bryce Bush restarted his rehab stint, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
- Anthony Coronado replaced him, homering and striking out in his two plate appearances.
- Micker Adolfo went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- DJ Gladney earned the golden sombrero.
- Bryan Ramos went 0-for-3.
- Same for Josue Guerrero, with two strikeouts.
- Misael Gonzalez singled and struck out twice.
- Andrew Dalquist's pro debut: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
DSL White Sox 9, DSL Blue Jays 1
- Wilber Sanchez went 0-for-4 with two walks, three strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Yolbert Sanchez went 0-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Benyamin Bailey was 0-for-5.
- Anthony Espinoza went 1-for-4 with a walk.
