Farm Fortnight: A six-pack of White Sox affiliates in action

You'd think that Farm Fortnight couldn't get any bigger and bulkier, but then the Dominican Summer League gets underway, giving us one last affiliate and at least eight more White Sox prospects to follow.

It's been a largely healthy and productive two weeks, with the exception of Colson Montgomery (who keeps getting hit by pitches) and the entire Charlotte pitching staff (whose pitches keep getting hit), allowing us to get into the finer points of league contexts and park factors. So let's get down to brass tacks after we reveal the...

Fortnight's Finest

Position player: Brooks Baldwin. He's certainly taken his demotion to heart, hitting .311/.380/.711 over the 11 games he played, across series versus Buffalo and Lehigh Valley. Nine of his 14 hits went for extra-bases (four homers, a triple and four doubles), and he also drew five walks, all while playing four different positions (center field, third base, second base, and finally a little shortstop).

Pitcher: Grant Taylor. Just like growing up with Horace and Harvey, it was hard to choose between Grants. Here, we're giving Grant Taylor the nod for relief dominance so apparent that the White Sox are calling him up directly from Birmingham. Still, here's an honorable mention to Grant Umberger, a 23-year-old undrafted lefty who has made a seamless transition to the Kannapolis rotation. His line over his last three starts, including two gems over the past two weeks: 18 IP, 11 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 23 K.

Now let's take a look at how more than 50 other White Sox prospects have performed since we last checked in on them two weeks ago.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 2-4 @Buffalo; 4-2 vs. Lehigh Valley
• Record: 31-32
• Next two series: @Durham, vs. Gwinnett
• Individual stats

The meeting between the two most prolific offenses in the International League didn't disappoint, as the six-game series didn't feature a pitchers' duel in the bunch. The Knights outscored the IronPigs 49-39 while taking four out of six games, which is no small feat against the best team in the International League. Eight of nine regulars have OPSes above .800, and Zach DeLoach is almost there himself, as he's slugging .556 since the start of May.

Charlotte has to keep slugging its way to victory because the pitching staff remains a mess. The White Sox took Owen White from the rotation in order to put another bulk guy/pseudo starter on the pitching staff, and the rest of the Charlotte staff leads the International League in walks by 40, and is even tied for the lead in hit batters.

Position Players

*Colson Montgomery has been hit by three pitches over his six games, and two of them hurt. A slider to the kneecap on May 30 cost him the next three games, and then a two-homer breakout on Thursday was cut short by a fastball to the hand, and he missed the rest of the Lehigh Valley series. It's made it difficult to determine exactly what kind of player he is since returning from his Arizona sabbatical. He's definitely making more contact and hitting the ball harder, but there are a lot of 0-fers mixed in with some loud, triumphant performances, resulting in a fortnight that had him going 2-for-17, with both hits leaving the yard.

*Bryan Ramos had a quieter two series, albeit with a couple homers (.219/.297/.438). It may or may not be worth noting that all six of his homers have come at Truist Field (.238/.333/.525), but he's also played 23 games at home, as opposed to 13 on the road (.178/.302/.178). Still, an extra-base hit away from the bandbox would be nice.

*Brooks Baldwin went 0-for-4 on Sunday, which interrupted a seven-game hitting streak, and a six-game extra-base hitting streak. All of that damage above has come in just 16 games at Charlotte, and four of those six homers have come as the first batter of the game.

*Andrew Vaughn has already drawn more walks this season in Charlotte (8) than he did in Chicago (7), and in just over a quarter of the plate appearances (54 to 193). Is this actual growth, or is he just benefiting from scared pitching in Charlotte? I suppose time will tell.

*Dru Baker went 0-for-14 in Buffalo, and 6-for-15 in Charlotte against Lehigh Valley, speaking of players who benefited from home cooking.

Pitchers

*Nick Nastrini has lost the thread. Just when it looked like he'd positioned himself for a look in the Chicago bullpen with some quality performances around sporadic relapses in control, wildness has been the norm of late, with nine walks and a hit batter over his last 5⅔ innings. He's thrown just 52 percent of his pitches for strikes over this time.

*Jairo Iriarte returned to Charlotte after more than a month away. Two relief appearances isn't enough to draw meaningful conclusions yet, except to say that his fastball is still 93-94, so the time away in Arizona didn't solve the missing velocity part of the equation.

*Tyler Schweitzer took one step forward with six shutout innings against Buffalo, and then one huge step back with eight runs allowed over the course of five outs against Lehigh Valley. It's two starts without a home run allowed, if you're desperate for some silver lining in his 8.90 Charlotte ERA.

*Wikelman González threw a two-inning relief outing against Buffalo and Lehigh Valley, and he struck out just one of 20 combined hitters. Seven of his nine outings in Charlotte have been scoreless, which is no small feat, but it's a weird way that he's doing it (15 strikeouts against 15 free bases over 16 ⅔ innings, but a .145/.329/.200 line allowed).

*Peyton Pallette was able to rehabilitate his Birmingham ERA after an ugly start to the season, and he'll have to do the same in Charlotte. An encouraging first four appearances was followed by a disastrous fifth, in which he gave up five runs without retiring a batter on Sunday. His ERA surged from 1.29 to 7.71, but repairing it is nothing he hasn't done before.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 3-4 @Knoxville; 3-3 vs. Rocket City
• Record: 31-25
• Next two series: @Montgomery, vs. Columbus
• Individual stats

Of the 11 full-season leagues in Minor League Baseball, the Southern League dead last in runs per game, and by a considerable margin.

1. Pacific Coast League (AAA): 5.56
2. California League (A): 5.28
3. Florida State League (A): 4.98
4. Northwest League (A+): 4.96
5. International League (AAA): 4.93
6. Carolina League (A): 4.73
7. Midwest League (A+): 4.67
8. South Atlantic League (A+): 4.66
9. Texas League (AA): 4.64
10. Eastern League (AA): 4.14
11. Southern League (AA): 3.83

When I was down in Birmingham last week to see the return of the Rickwood Classic, I asked a couple people why that was.

Manager Guillermo Quiroz? "I have no idea. I wish I knew. I'd be making a lot of money. [...] I guess it's just the nature of the league. I mean, it's humid everywhere. It has been warm for the most part, but the ball's not flying out as it used to."

Ryan Galanie? "Every park I've played in so far is bigger, the pitching's better, you're in a different part of the country, where I feel in North Carolina, you're kind of up in the mountains. Here, I feel like we're in a desolate valley of heat and humidity. I don't know if the ball doesn't necessarily fly, but it feels like it doesn't sometimes. [...] It's a different league to hit in, that's for sure."

The Barons are last in the Southern League with just 23 homers in 56 games, but they've also allowed the fewest in the league with 29. They remain in first place by 1½ games, a lead they'll have to protect until the first half comes to a close on June 26.

Position Players

*Jacob Gonzalez has tied together two strong fortnights, hitting .311/.373/.422 while playing all 13 games in the Knoxville and Rocket City series, and he's only struck out once over his last 56 plate appearances. If the Southern League is really suppressing offense, then this performance could be stronger than it looks. After 147 games in Birmingham, it might be time to test his game at Triple-A.

*Wilfred Veras has now played 230 games at Birmingham, and he's getting further and further away from finding it. He's in a 6-for-60 slump, with 30 strikeouts over his last 71 plate appearances.

*DJ Gladney more or less posted his season's performance over the last two weeks (.194/.293/.306), but at least he had this victory-clinching catch tucked in there.

*William Bergolla had been slumping for most of May, but he picked it up over the course of the last two weeks. He teamed up with with Gonzalez to form a productive middle infield against Knoxville and Rocket City (.304/.385/.413), with five of his 12 doubles over this time.

*Rikuu Nishida snapped his streak without an extra-base hit at 28 games with a double against Knoxville, although the double he hit is still his only non-single over his last 156 plate appearances. He's back to scoring a lot of runs thanks to an unsustainable OBP (.443 over his last 14 games), and he's been racking up outfield assists as well, adding another element to one of the weirdest profiles in professional baseball.

*Ryan Galanie is going through his own XBH slump, as he has just one over his last 20 games. That said, he's hitting for average (.283/.346/.348 over the last two series), and the one non-single was a game-breaking grand slam against Knoxville. I talked to him in Birmingham, and he had a lot to say about his process.

Pitchers

*Noah Schultz is having an issue with right-handed hitters, who are batting .323/.438/.465 against him this season. The overall numbers are still superficially decent, but they look like struggles when seeing less impressive lefties like Jake Palisch (0.77 ERA) and Shane Murphy (1.75 ERA) posting zeroes mostly by avoiding walks.

*Hagen Smith still hasn't pitched since April, but I can report that he's throwing on the side in Birmingham because I saw it with my very own eyes. Chris Getz said he's been working through some mechanical issues, and expects to see him back in game action "hopefully by the end of the month."

*Grant Taylor earned a promotion to the White Sox bullpen, so this may be the last time we see him in a Farm Fortnight for a while. I caught him in Birmingham just in time:

*Riley Gowens took two strong turns through the rotation, allowing just three runs on five hits and a walk over 11 innings while striking out 13. That makes it five successful starts in a row.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 3-3 @Hub City; 3-3 @Asheville
• Record: 21-36
• Next two series: vs Bowling Green, vs. Rome
• Individual stats

Asheville's McCormick Field is a little jewel box of a ballpark that has existed for more than 100 years. If it were any younger, it probably wouldn't be allowed to exist in professional baseball. Hemmed in by hills, the outfield is a haven for hitting, particularly lefties. It's 373 feet to dead center, 320 feet to the right-center power alley, and 297 feet down the line. The Asheville Tourists are one of the few teams that still doesn't livestream its games, so it's the kind of thing you have to see in person to believe.

Keep that in mind when looking at some of the Dash's offensive performances thus far in June. If they maintain these surges upon returning to Winston-Salem for a pair of home series between Fortnights, they'll really be worth writing about.

Position Players

*Braden Montgomery saw his slump extend deep into the Asheville series, falling to 3-for-41 over an 11-game stretch, but he was able to heat up with six hits over his last two games. He returned to playing the outfield after a lengthy spell at DH, and he's only struck out four times over seven games in June, so perhaps a rebound is in the offing.

*Sam Antonacci picked the right time to return Winston-Salem after missing a few weeks with a hand injury. He hit .417/.611/.833 over the four games he played in Asheville, reaching base in all six plate appearances on Sunday.

*Jeral Perez had four hits over the five games he played in Spartanburg against Hub City, then had four hits in the opener of the Asheville series. Still, he's tied with Tim Elko for the organization lead with 11 homers this year, and that's a pretty good place to be for a 20-year-old.

*Samuel Zavala won't want to leave Asheville. He went 12-for-20 with two homers and three walks over six games, which raised his average from .204 to .251. over the course of one week. Is this the start of his quest to salvage the Dylan Cease trade, or does he just need to hit parks with Pony Ball outfield dimensions? Tune in in two weeks.

Pitchers

*Lucas Gordon has run into a grind over the last three outings, hitting pitch count limits prematurely twice. He still hasn't suffered a disaster start this season, to his credit.

*Christian Oppor made both his starts on schedule after missing two weeks, but he's still in search of his first High-A success. He's pitched 10 total innings over three games with Winston-Salem, leaving a line that looks like the scores of an outstanding floor routine (10 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 9 BB, 10 K).

*Tanner McDougal threw his best start of his professional career against Hub City with seven scoreless innings, then followed it up with one of his more frustrating starts, in which he walked six batters over 4⅓ innings, including four in the fifth inning alone, leaving him unable to qualify for his first win over his last 60 professional outings.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 2-4 @Charleston, 4-2 vs. Myrtle Beach
• Record: 31-26
• Next two series: @Columbia, vs. Charleston
• Individual stats

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers have maintained their lead in the Carolina League South, leading Augusta by a game despite treading water for the week. They have two more weeks to maintain that margin to secure a postseason spot, as the first half of the season for the Carolina League ends on June 23.

The Ballers have coupled an above-average offensive performance with an average pitching staff, which has been able to mitigate a league-leading amount of hit batters. But one area where they've defined themselves is defense. The Cannon Ballers have committed just 45 errors in 57 games, which is by far the fewest in the league (Myrtle Beach is second with 52 in 55 games).

Position Players

*Caleb Bonemer is showing an ability to buoy his production with walks. He's just 5-for-40 over his last nine games, but nine walks gives him a .350 OBP toward the top of the lineup over this stretch. He's continuing to garner attention, with Keith Law listing him among players who warrant top-100 consideration, since his midseason list only goes to 50.

*Javier Mogollón missed nearly three weeks after stepping on a base funny, but he returned to the Kannapolis lineup showing minimal rust. He went 6-for-27 with a homer, two doubles, three walks and two stolen bases. On Connor McKnight's new Road to the Rate Podcast, Paul Janish identified Mogollón and Bonemer as two players who have exceeded expectations.

*Ronny Hernandez looks like a different version of himself every two weeks. This time around, he's back to collecting hits and walks without pop, resulting in a .281/.452/.313 line over 10 games in the Charleston and Myrtle Beach series.

*George Wolkow went four consecutive starts without striking out, and finished with just seven K's over the 11 games he played the last two weeks. The production around the contact doesn't jump out -- .256/.356/.333, nine singles and a double -- but there's real progress with regards to that particular task. He's regressed in terms of basestealing, as he's just 1-for-4 after starting the season 14-for-14.

*Ryan Burrowes has just three extra-base hits over his last 31 games. Weirdly, they're all homers.

*Lyle Miller-Green was able to pull out of his monthlong slump during the Myrtle Beach series, finishing with seven hits over his last four games against the Pelicans, which matches his hit total from the 18 games prior (7-for-71).

*Abraham Nuñez had a hitting streak halted at seven games during the Charleston series, and then he's 2-for-31 since.

*T.J. McCants was promoted to Kannapolis during the Myrtle Beach series after successfully biding his time in the ACL. He's 5-for-16 with four walks, six strikeouts and three steals in his first four games with the Ballers.

Pitchers

*Seth Keener threw his best start of the season his last time out against Myrlte Beach, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over seven innings, striking out nine without a walk. He had this kind of success at Kannapolis last season, so he'll need to start stringing together these kinds of outings to keep him out of the bullpen.

*Luis Reyes has gone three starts and 14⅔ innings without allowing an earned run. That's a little hollow considering he allowed six unearned runs in the first two of those starts, but there's no knocking seven shutout innings he threw against the Pelicans on Saturday.

*Pierce George gave up two runs over 1⅓ innings on Sunday, which is the first time he's been scored upon this season without allowing three or more runs. The walks are starting to come down, so perhaps he'll find the moderation that has eluded him.

*Blake Shepardson has tied together seven scoreless appearances, but the strike-throwing is starting to slide a bit. In his three games over the last two weeks, he's walked three over 2⅔ innings, but more concerning is his throwing just 21 of 50 pitches for strikes

ACL White Sox

• Record: 13-13
• Individual stats

The ACL White Sox continue to tread water despite a lack of genuine traditional prospect talent, and team performances that don't really stand out on either side of the ball. They have been able to maximize their offensive output with power and speed, as they're third in homers and second in stolen bases, which makes it easier to ignore the bottom-three OBP.

Position Players

Eleven months after the White Sox traded for him in the Erick Fedde/Michael Kopech deal, Albertus finally played in his first games for the organization. He made both starts at third base and coming up with three singles over six plate appearances. Profar hit his first stateside homer and then missed a week of action before returning to the lineup on Monday. Gíl has started catching this season, making six of his 24 starts behind the plate this season.

Pitchers

With Angel Bello inactive since May 13, Mathias LaCombe stands alone as the only pitching prospect of note. He threw a career-high four innings against the Royals on May 29, and then threw three hitless, scoreless innings against the Brewers on Thursday.

DSL White Sox

• Record: 3-2
• Individual stats

The Dominican Summer League is just getting started, and not every player mentioned in the season preview has yet to take the field, so wait a couple weeks before we start making any sweeping generalizations about the start of the David Keller Era of White Sox international player acquisition.

Herrera and Gonzalez are the only returning names on this list, so it's been a pretty encouraging start for the recently added position players, although slightly concerning that Cruz, the $2 million signing, hasn't played since being replaced early in the third game of the season.

Rodríguez, who signed out of Cuba for $230,000, has done about all he can with his first two appearances. Cesar Familia, who signed for $350,000 out of the Dominican Republic, has yet to pitch.

White Sox Minor Keys

ACL Angels 7, ACL White Sox 2 (7 innings)

• Alexander Albertus went 2-for-3.
• Adrian Gíl singled and struck out twice.
• Jurdrick Profar was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

DSL White Sox 10, DSL Rangers Blue 7

• Christian Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a double.
• Orlando Patiño, 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
• Frank Mieses was 1-for-2 with three walks, and was caught stealing.
• Eduardo Herrera homered, walked thrice and struck out once.
• Alan Escobar went 1-for-5.
• Yordani Soto singled twice, walked twice and stole a base.