In the middle of the second month of the minor league season, MLB Pipeline took a crack at a story Baseball America tackled before the season by identifying the most promising rosters around.
The difference is that Baseball America didn't have to mention every organization the way the league's outlet did, so the standards have dropped. BA singled out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers rotation ...
Kannapolis Rotation -- The Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers feature three of the best prospects in the White Sox’s system in righties Jared Kelley, Andrew Dalquist and Matthew Thompson. All three are high draft picks but none has pitched above the complex leagues because of the pandemic. Now, all three will get to strut their stuff—Kelley with his big fastball and changeup, Thompson with his boundless athleticism and elevator-shaft curveball (watch for the funky pauses in his delivery, too) and Dalquist with his outstanding mix of pitches when the lights come on every night.
but with Kannapolis 7-27 and none of the identified pitching prospects finding a groove, the answer has shifted.
White Sox: Triple-A Charlotte KnightsSix of Chicago's top dozen prospects call Charlotte home: right-handers Jonathan Stiever and Zack Burdi, outfielders Blake Rutherford and Luis Gonzalez and corner infielders Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger. The best story is Burger, who has come back from a three-year layoff due to leg injuries and the coronavirus pandemic to bat .276/.327/.533 with six homers despite never having played above Low-A in the past.
Meh.
Durham 11, Charlotte 0
- Luis González was plunked on the knee and struck out before getting replaced midgame.
- Blake Rutherford was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Gavin Sheets went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Seby Zavala returned to the lineup, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jonathan Stiever: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 2 HR
Montgomery 5, Birmingham 4 (10 innings)
- Romy Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a homer and a walk.
- Micker Adolfo was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a strikeout.
- Carlos Pérez went 1-for-4.
- So did T'Quan Forbes, with a double and a strikeout.
Greenville 3, Winston-Salem 2
- Duke Ellis went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Lenyn Sosa was 1-for-4 with a homer.
- Yolbert Sanchez was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Davis Martin: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
- Luke Shilling: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Highlights:
*Sosa's homer was a Winston-Salem Special.
Carolina 12, Kannapolis 5
- Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a homer, strikeout and a stolen base.
- Chase Krogman, 0-for-4 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Bryan Ramos was 1-for-4 with a triple, walk and two strikeouts.
- Luis Mieses was 0-for-4 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- DJ Gladney went 2-for-5.
- Caberea Weaver homered, singled and walked twice.
- Harvin Mendoza was 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Lency Delgado went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Matthew Thompson: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 25 of 52 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*The Cannon Ballers committed eight errors -- one from all seven members outside the battery, including two from Rodriguez.
(Photo by Laura Wolff/ Charlotte Knights)
