Following on the heels of such looks at Charlotte and Birmingham, here's an abbreviated look a how Winston-Salem Dash prospects have fared as of late:
Position players
Yolequi Céspedes: It seems premature to put him in the Futures Game given the wild ride that is his season (and pro career) to date. He's hitting .229/.339/.479 with three homers and three doubles over 12 games, but he's also struck out 20 times over 57 plate appearances. At his best, he looks like the most talented player on the field. At his worst, he looks like a guy that hasn't played in couple of years. I'd guess that he won't have to stay at Winston-Salem through all of July, but it looks like an appropriate level of competition for the time being.
Lenyn Sosa: He's up to .287/.318/.446 after hitting .350/.391/.520 in June. His strikeout rate is on the way down, and all of the other numbers are on the way up.
Yolbert Sanchez: Sosa's middle-infield partner has reached the same OPS through a different road, hitting. 297/.360/.390. He had a similarly torrid June (.348/.394/.467), and considering he didn't strike out much even during his early struggles, he has a case for a promotion sooner than anybody.
Luis Curbelo: Curbelo hit .187/.250/.385 in June, with only three homers over 23 games. His struggles with contact (35 percent strikeout rate) finally caught up to the rest of his production.
Duke Ellis: He's somewhat intriguing as the White Sox's highest-profile undrafted free-agent signing from 2020, and he played his way onto my radar when he had a decent OBP stretch paired with an unchallenged lead in stolen bases. His production plummeted during the second half of June (.187/.265/.275), so he's off the board for the time being.
Pitchers
Davis Martin: It's possible that offenses across the High-A East league warmed up in June, or maybe Martin's just hit a wall. Either way, he's labored in four of his last five outings, and the runs have piled up over his last three starts.
Luke Shilling: Read James Fegan's profile of him if you haven't. Even after a few mortal outings, he's still up to 27 strikeouts against just eight walks over 18⅓ innings.
Bailey Horn: The promotion to Winston-Salem was deserved, even if his 189 ERA after one-third of an inning with the Dash makes it look like a huge mistake.
Charlotte 4, Norfolk 0
- Blake Rutherford went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Luis González went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- Jimmy Lambert: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K
Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 2
- Romy Gonzalez went 3-for-4.
- Micker Adolfo, 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Carlos Pérez was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 1-for-4.
- Kade McClure: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Greenville 3, Winston-Salem 2
- Yoelqui Céspedes wore the golden sombrero.
- Yolbert Sanchez went 1-for-4.
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-4 with his sixth homer.
Charleston 11, Kannapolis 5
- Jose Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a sac fly, and was caught stealing.
- Bryan Ramos went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Luis Mieses went 1-for-4.
- Harvin Mendoza was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Caberea Weaver homered, doubled and struck out twice.
- James Beard singled and walked thrice.
ACL White Sox 6, ACL Angels 1
- Anthony Espinoza went 2-for-4 with a strikeout. He was also caught stealing.
- Bryce Bush walked and struck out twice in his first game rehabbing.
- Logan Glass went 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
- Wilfred Veras doubled and singled twice.
- Cristian Mena: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
- Erick Bello: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
