Tucked in James Fegan's overview of the White Sox farm system was a quick note about José Rodríguez:
Getz also suggested there are large mechanical issues at work for Rodríguez, and that his .188/.227/.321 start to the season at the plate represents a transformation in progress, even if ball flight across the league has admittedly been affected.
It's hard to separate that from Rodríguez's recovery from last year's broken hamate from this year's enhanced grip ball plaguing the Southern league, but Rodríguez had a game he sorely needed on Sunday.
He entered the game on a 4-for-44 skid and belted two homers, one the opposite way ...
... and the other a grand slam to the pull field.
Comparing those swings to ones we saw last year, you can see a different stance, particularly how he holds the bat (it started on his shoulder in 2022). A side angle would probably tell us a little more about what else is going on before the pitch arrives.
Rodríguez is now hitting .190/.226/.365. His ISO is where it usually is, but plenty of work remains with the hit tool.
Charlotte 4, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2
- Oscar Colás went 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Lenyn Sosa doubled, singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Carlos Pérez was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Rocket City 11, Birmingham 10
- José Rodríguez homered twice, doubled and struck out twice.
- Alsander Womack went 2-for-4 with a homer.
- Luis Mieses, 1-for-5 with a double.
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, HBP and a stolen base.
- Adam Hackenberg was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Cristian Mena: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP
Highlights:
*There's something beautiful about Womack's game.
Aberdeen 6, Winston-Salem 1
- Terrell Tatum singled, walked, struck out twice and was caught stealing.
- Loidel Chapelli went 0-for-3 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- DJ Gladney hit his 10th homer of the year around three strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras singled twice, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Brooks Gosswein: 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 WP
Carolina 12, Kannapolis 6
- Jacob Burke went 3-for-5 with a double.
