As we discussed in Farm Fortnight on Tuesday, George Wolkow had a month that didn't resemble his 2024 game in the slightest, for better or for worse. He hit just .132/.235/.191, but he reduced his strikeout rate from 40.6 percent in 2024 to 28.4 percent this April while stealing nine bases in nine attempts.
He's obviously a work in progress, but since his slugging percentage starts with a ".1", it's fair to wonder what constitutes growth at this stage in his career. As part of his wide-ranging conversation about White Sox prospects in Sacramento last weekend, White Sox hitting director Ryan Fuller touched on that:
That's another example of not just looking at the numbers by themselves. When we talk to George at the beginning of the year, it was, ‘Hey, these are your contact and in-play rates on breaking balls and the K rates on them.’ And obviously, they were very concerning and to his credit, he was like, 'This what we need to get better at, I want to see it every day, I want to be exposed to breaking balls and I want to be able to put those balls in play more.' And all those things, the K rates, the contact rates on breaking ball, the in-play rates are improving. So to me, that's a really good sign. And again, a really young hitter who's making big strides. Obviously has big power and we want the power to show out with more contact and he's working extremely hard out at it.
Charlotte 9, Norfolk 8
- Josh Rojas went 1-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Tim Elko singled twice, walked, struck out and was hit by a pitch.
- Bryan Ramos was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel went 2-for-5 with a K.
- Tyler Schweitzer: 4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 HR, 44 of 70 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 4, Pensacola 2
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-2 with two walks, a strikeout, a stolen base and a CS.
- William Bergolla was 3-for-4 with a double.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Ryan Galanie doubled twice and struck out twice.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 0-for-4.
- Noah Schultz's longest start yet: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 66 of 92 pitches for strikes.
- Peyton Pallette: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Highlights:
*Schultz's six strikeouts:
Winston-Salem 6, Greensboro 3
- Sam Antonacci went 1-for-4 with a triple, a strikeout and an HBP.
- Jeral Perez homered twice during a 2-for-5 night, striking out once.
- Braden Montgomery was 3-for-5 with a double and a stolen base. He was also picked off/caught stealing.
- Samuel Zavala was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
Highlights:
*Perez's day:
Kannapolis 4, Augusta 1
- Caleb Bonemer went 1-for-4 with a double.
- Abraham Nuñez, 1-for-3 with a sac bunt and a strikeout.
- Javier Mogollón went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Lyle Miller-Green, 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Christian Oppor: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 41 of 69 pitches for strikes.
- Pierce George: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 8 of 9 pitches for strikes.
