White Sox Minor Keys: July 20, 2021

It seemed like Yolbert Sanchez could have been promoted from Winston-Salem to Birmingham any day for the last three weeks.

Tuesday was that day. The White Sox moved their top international signing from two years ago to Double-A after hitting .286/.340/.387 over 60 games with the Dash. If that doesn’t strike you as all that impressive, that includes a slow start. He’d been hitting .317/.353/.455 since the start of June.

I don’t see a lot of homers in his future, but he’s been a good bat-to-ball guy with a line-drive approach. He’d played more second than short with Winston-Salem, although partially because the White Sox are trying to keep Lenyn Sosa at shortstop at the same time. But he made his Birmingham at second, so perhaps that’s the side of the diamond he’s now confined to, or at least expected to master. Romy Gonzalez is having the kind of offensive season that makes him worth keeping on the position as long as he can hack it.

In other notable promotions:

Charlotte: Received Bennett Sousa, who struck out 38 battters over 24⅔ innings with Birmingham. He yielded more walks (15) than hits (14), so that approach will be tested in Triple-A.

Birmingham: Received Sánchez and Taylor Varnell, who threw five shutout innings in his Double-A debut. Varnell’s a 26-year-old lefty with a 2.19 ERA in his career, although he’s been old for both A-ball levels since the Sox drafted him in the 29th round back in 2018. He works in the low 90s with his fastball, along with a changeup and a curveball. He’s been the Dash’s only reliable starter over the last month-plus, but at least Winston-Salem gets Luis Robert starting tomorrow.

Durham 4, Charlotte 3

• Jake Lamb went 1-for-5 with a double and three strikeouts.
• Blake Rutherford was 2-for-4.
• Eloy Jiménez was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Yermín Mercedes went 1-for-4.
• Jonathan Stiever: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

Highlights:

*Charlotte has lost nine in a row.

*Jiménez survived a diving catch.

Birmingham 3, Chattanooga 0

• Romy Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
• Carlos Pérez was 0-for-4.
• Micker Adolfo, 1-for-4 with a double.
• Yolbert Sanchez made his Double-A debut, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Taylor Varnell in his Birmingham debut: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Winston-Salem 6, Jersey Shore 0

• Yoelqui Céspedes wsa 0-for-3 with a sac bunt, HBP and strikeout.
• Lenyn Sosa went 3-for-4.
• Luis Curbelo, 2-for-4 with two doubles.
• Bailey Horn: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K. ERA is down to 13.50.

Notes:

*The Dash snapped a six-game losing streak.

Kannapolis 10, Fayetteville 8

• Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
• Samil Polanco: 5-for-6 with a double, and 0-for-1 on the basepaths.
• Bryan Ramos was 0-for-4 with an HBP and a strikeout.
• Luis Mieses doubled, singled, walked and struck out twice.
• Harvin Mendoza was 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
• Cabera Weaver doubled, singled, struck out thrice, stole a base and was caught stealing.
• James Beard went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Matthew Thompson: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
• Yoelvin Silven: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Notes:

*The Cannon Ballers snapped a six-game losing streak.

ACL White Sox 10, ACL Brewers Blue 8 (8 innings)

• Wilber Sanchez went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
• Wifred Veras struck out three times during an 0-for-5 night.
• Benyamin Bailey was 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk.
• Elijah Tatis went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts.
• Erick Bello: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Notes

*The ACL Sox scored seven in the top of the eighth, with the Brewers coming up short with five.

DSL Reds 9, DSL White Sox 3

• Carlos Jimenez went 0-for-1.
• Randel Mondesi, 0-for-3.
• Victor Quezada was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
• Manuel Guariman went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
• Adrian Gil: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

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