White Sox Minor Keys: April 26, 2022
Take a break from the White Sox’s eight-game losing streak to think about three key firsts that took place elsewhere in the organization on Tuesday.
Yolbert Sánchez’s first Triple-A game
It didn’t hurt any timetables to have Sánchez start the year in Birmingham, but he showed that he’d truly solved Double-A pitching. He took the bat-to-ball skills he showed last year and added the exemplary discipline that showed up out of nowhere in the Arizona Fall League, and the result is 55 crazy games:
| Year | PA | XBH | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 155 | 10 | 5 | 16 | .343 | .369 | .469 |
| 2022 | 67 | 1 | 13 | 7 | .352 | .508 | .373 |
| Total | 222 | 11 | 18 | 23 | .345 | .412 | .443 |
You’d probably like more power, but one shouldn’t expect an onslaught of extra-base hits at any point. He’s a hand-oriented hitter who finds space in the outfield.
Anyway, he made his Triple-A debut on Tuesday and went 3-for-5 with three identical singles, so he’s on track to fulfill my blurb in the top prospects list:
WHY YOU’D REGRET TRADING HIM: Because the Sox are already ruing the Nick Madrigal trade, and if you give Sánchez some time in Charlotte, he’s probably the best in-house candidate for a lengthy audition at second base over the second half of the 2022 season.
Oscar Colás’ first home run
The Winston-Salem Dash opened a six-game series in Asheville, which means two things:
- The games are probably going to have a ton of homers.
- The games aren’t going to be streamed.
Game 1 fulfilled both, as the Dash scored 14 runs, including homers by Colás and Bryan Ramos.
With Asheville’s charming-but-cramped McCormick Field, it’s worth looking up the direction of the homers to contextualize the accomplishment. For instance, Ramos homered to center … which is just 373 feet away, so it might’ve been a deep flyout in just about every other park.
On the other hand, Colás homered to left center. At 370 feet, that’s the deepest part of the park relative to standard dimensions, so it reflects pretty strong opposite-field power. If he cleared the 297-foot wall to right field, we might have to count it as a half-homer.
Carlos Pérez’s first strikeout
Before Madrigal showed up, Carlos Pérez had owned the title as the organization’s king of contact for striking out just 23 times over 138 games in the rookie-ball leagues. Even if Madrigal were still around, Pérez might be able to wrest back that status.
Pérez went 70 plate appearances into the season before striking out in his final at-bat on Tuesday, and even then, he fell behind 1-2 before extending the at-bat to seven pitches.
Better yet, he drew a walk earlier in the game to add to his plate-discipline cushion. For the season, he’s hitting .288/.324/.500 with four walks to one strikeout over 71 PA. There isn’t room for him in Chicago with Yasmani Grandal and Reese McGuire there, but he looks worthy for an audition if and when the White Sox need a third catcher.
Jacksonville 9, Charlotte 2
- Yolbert Sánchez went 3-for-5 with a strikeout in his Triple-A debut.
- Carlos Pérez finally struck out during his 1-for-4 day, but he also drew a walk.
- Micker Adolfo singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Jimmy Lambert’s return to Charlotte: 4.2 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 4 HR, 1 WP
Rocket City 6, Birmingham 4
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Yoelqui Céspedes doubled and struck out thrice.
- José RodrÃguez went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Winston-Salem 14, Asheville 4
- Oscar Colás hit his first stateside homer and added a double while going 3-for-6 with two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos returned to the lineup in a big way: 4-for-6 with a homer and a double.
- Luis Mieses was 0-for-4 with two walks and two strikeouts.
- Adam Hackenburg went 2-for-4 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Harvin Mendoza, 1-fr-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Sean Burke: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR
Kannapolis at Fayetteville, PPD
Real nice day for Sanchez, Ramos, and Colas… need something positive from the minors with the way the mlb team is playing.
If he keeps hitting, I hope they call Yolbert up soon. They need some kind of shot in the arm. Yolbert may not be much of one. But it’s hard to imagine him being worse that Leury/Harrison at this point.
Can’t argue that. Which is why the money on Harrison/Garcia was a waste in the first place. They could have signed just one of them since they are basically the same player, at least. Garcia for 3 bleeping years.
On the Madrigal comparisons hes what the offense needs. A guy who just gets on base and keeps the lineup moving. I know Nick isnt setting the world on fire on the Cubs right now but i do wonder how differently the last week would’ve been if he was doing Madrigal things in the order.
Granted the luck the Sox have had with injuries his arm would’ve fallen off throwing to first or something.
The Sox should just call up the balls in AAA if anything.
These reports are so much more interesting than anything you can say about the big club.
I really hope I don’t have to return to the days of viewing this site only to read about prospects.
White Sox top prospects list dropped on FG.
Top 5:
1.)Ramos
2.)Jose Rodriguez
3.)Montgomery
4.)Colas
5.)Romy
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/chicago-white-sox-top-28-prospects-2022/
Simas all the way up at 15. I think they’re low on Yolbert!
So far reading I’m liking the level of detail here compared to some other lists.
It’s weird the Rodriguez is #2 because they don’t seem high on him at all.
That write up on Ramos, though. hhhooooo boy.
Their writeups can be good. I like to compare prospect grades between the Sox and rest of AL Central to get a sense of what the future holds. But it isn’t pretty when the top prospect is only 45+ and there is only one of those.
First I have seen anything about Yolbert’s strike zone coverage
I know he’s old for the minors (28), but Tyler Neslony seems to have maintained his momentum from last year in Birmingham. He’s reduced his strikeouts and still seems to be making good contact. No idea if his OF defense is any good, but it’s nice to see some success for a guy that fell off the prospect radar but keeps chasing his dream.
Sheets hitting 3rd today. That’s a lineup shakeup I don’t mind, actually. He’s at least looked decent in his last few starts. Everyone else has been trash.
and garcia not in again, must be hurt lol
Harrison and Leury both out. Gee, I wonder if they will be looking for a 2b at the deadline? They have to be in the race first I guess. Otherwise Yolbert is their only hope, unless Romy gets it going.
Yolbert’s already 25 – if he continues to rake for the next few weeks I’d have no problem with them throwing him in there to see what he’s got.
I know that rushing guys can hurt their confidence if they get in over their head. But other than that, I’d have no problem calling him up pretty soon. He can’t be worse than two guys who are hitting below .100. Who they are paying 5M each.
Hackenburg continuing to rake. Any word on his D? Love the idea of two actual catching prospects in the org.
Here is poor video of Colas’s first homerun. You can’t see the ball, but the catcher and pitcher are looking towards left-center.