White Sox Minor Keys: May 8, 2021

Regions Field, Birmingham

Insane staffwide sixth-inning meltdown on Thursday aside, the Birmingham Barons are off to the best start of any White Sox affiliate, and it’s not even close.

  • Birmingham: 4-1
  • Charlotte: 1-4
  • Winston-Salem: 1-4
  • Kannapolis: 0-5

That’s one of the few benefits of having an older team, which the Barons are. The drawbacks are known, most notably the lack of exciting talent that can afford early stumbles without generating a whole lot of worry. There’s a possibility that Birmingham could get more interesting in a hurry. Jim Callis joined James Fegan in saying the Barons are supposed to be the landing spot for Yoelqui Céspedes when his visa issues clear, although if any plans are known, nobody there has revealed them.

It wouldn’t be surprising if plans just weren’t publicized, because the first week of the Minor League Baseball season has created an unprecedented lack of access for even team employees. So it wasn’t the usual kind of jaunt to the minors, but it was still nice to finally see Regions Field for myself, which is a fine ballpark even when it’s hosting a history-making mess.

I detailed what Alec Hansen looks like in the post about the 13-walk inning, but here are a few other observations about Barons of note.

Micker Adolfo: Still looks like Micker Adolfo. He started the season 0-for-8 with five strikeouts, including some big misses on breaking balls low and away. Then on the ninth at-bat, he ripped a low line drive into the bullpen for a homer. The best news right now is that he’s rotating in and out of the outfield early this season, and he’s not looking out of place out there.

Kade McClure: His first Double-A outing was overshadowed by the bullpen catastrophe that followed, but his line: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K — masks a lot of firm line-drive contact. On the other hand, he didn’t shy away from hitters despite lackluster command and fastball counts, and Biloxi never found a way to really hurt him.

Ti’Quan Forbes: He’s been on the edges of my radar since he made major strides with his hit tool during his first full season in the organization, just because Keith Law has said that prep picks out of Mississippi enter pro ball with a real shortage of high-quality reps despite what would seem to be favorable geography, so it wouldn’t be a shock if he bloomed later. He lost all momentum in Birmingham in 2019, and he’s lucky to get a mulligan, but he’s doing what he can with it so far, starting the season 6-for-17 with a couple of homers.

Carlos Pérez: Did the Lord’s work behind the plate during that 87-pitch sixth. He and Xavier Fernandez are a decent catching tandem without a whole lot of name-brand power.

Gwinnett 7, Charlotte 3

  • Brian Goodwin went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • So did Jake Burger, who at least played the whole game at third base.
  • Blake Rutherford went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Gavin Sheets went 1-for-4 with a K.

Birmingham 8, Biloxi 2

  • Micker Adolfo singled twice, walked once and struck out once.
  • Carlos Pérez and Ti’Quan Forbes were both 2-for-5 with a K.
  • Konnor Pilkington’s first Double-A start was successful enough: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Rome 3, Winston-Salem 1

  • Duke Ellis went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
  • Yolbert Sanchez was 1-for-3 with a walk.
  • Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Luis Mieses was 0-for-4 with one K.
  • Luis Curbelo, 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Harvin Mendoza was 0-for-3 with a walk.
  • 2018 draft pick Isaiah Carranza threw his first pro pitches: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Down East 5, Kannapolis 4

  • Cabera Weaver went 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
  • José Rodriguez was 2-for-4.
  • Benyamin Bailey went 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
  • Bryan Ramos was 3-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
  • Sam Abbott, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Johnabiell Laureano made his 2021 and stateside debuts, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Bailey Horn’s pro debut was a success: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
  • Yoelvin Silven’s first A-ball outing was a mixed bag: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Notes:

*Kannapolis led 4-2 entering the ninth, but Trey Jeans gave up trey runs in the ninth to drop the Cannon Ballers to 0-5.

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burning-phoneix

I consider Jake Burger completing 9 innings in the field a major success.

metasox

Granite at Birm is sort of interesting if outfield attrition continues

digger0910

Oh man, gimme that Forbes analysis. I’m here for it. That’s my guy.

Last edited 2 years ago by digger0910