Farm Fortnight: White Sox affiliates refreshed after All-Star break

The White Sox came back from the All-Star break having somewhat shuffled the rosters of their minor league affiliates -- we ran through the most noteworthy transactions in Saturday's Minor Keys -- but another wave of significant shifts figures to be in the offing. The White Sox have an entire 20-player draft class to incorporate into the system, and while the prep players are likely ticketed for the Bridge League after the Arizona Complex League season concludes, there are still enough college players arriving to trigger some upward mobility for prospects who have spent all of 2025 at one level.

The All-Star break eliminated a half-series from the schedule, so the players at the full-season affiliates only had a chance to play in nine games at most. On the pitching side, the White Sox eased several arms into the second half. Emergent prospects like Tanner McDougal, Luis Reyes, Christian Oppor, all of whom are on their way to blowing past their previous career high in innings if they haven't done so already, were limited to three-inning starts in their first outings after the break.

With the reduced bodies of work all around, we'll pass on naming a Fortnight's Finest for the last two weeks, but here's an acknowledgment of Christian Gonzalez's first 10 games stateside after making the jump from the DSL. For more about the last two weeks for Gonzalez and dozens of other White Sox prospects, continue reading this very space.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 4-2 @Memphis; 0-3 vs. Durham
• Record: 47-48 (11-9 in second half)
• Next two series: @Nashville, vs. Rochester
• Individual stats

The Charlotte Knights briefly tracked above .500 by winning a third consecutive series against the Memphis Redbirds -- no small feat given the amount of churn Sergio Santos has negotiated -- but fell back below the break-even mark with three tough losses against the Bulls, two of which came by allowing big crooked numbers in the final inning. They allowed all seven runs in the ninth inning of a 7-4 loss on Saturday, then gave up four in the top of the 10th inning in a 10-7 loss on Sunday.

The position-player prospect crop is pretty slim at the moment, with Bryan Ramos and Dru Baker being the only guys with such status in the lineup on any given day. Noah Schultz heading to the injured list doesn't help the pitching side, but the White Sox have replaced one Noah S. with another, as Noah Syndergaard will make his 2025 Statcast debut in Nashville this week. I'll get to see what he has left, as I'll be around First Horizon Ballpark waiting for something to happen.

Position Players

*Bryan Ramos pepped up around the break, hitting .286/.382/.714 with five of his eight hits going for extra bases (three homers, a triple and a double). Some of that damage even came against righties. He had a couple of strikeout-heavy games, but with where he is right now, "uneven" is better than "flatlining.”

*Dru Baker also had a decent stretch, going 6-for-22 with a triple and double. It's concerning, however, that a guy who stole 42 and 49 bases the last two years would only be on pace for 16 this season if he amassed a similar amount of plate appearances, and with a terrible success rate.

Pitchers

*Noah Schultz wasn't able to rinse out the taste of another unsuccessful Futures Game, because he was scratched from his Friday start with a knee issue. He's now on the 7-day injured list, which reduces my chance of seeing him against the Sounds.

*Jairo Iriarte pitched three scoreless appearances over the last nine games, allowing just a single and a walk while striking out two. His last eight appearances have all been contained to one inning, and it's working well enough for him, judging from his line as a reliever (16 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 7 BB, 19 K).

*Peyton Pallette extended his scoreless outings streak to six with three more over the last two weeks, and it's been seven outings since his last earned run. Two of his appearances were limited to one-third of an inning, finishing off the fourth inning behind Davis Martin, and the fifth inning behind Mike Clevinger. Perhaps he's joining innings in progress as part of some medium-leverage reliever training for when he joins the White Sox bullpen.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 6-0 @Biloxi; 3-0 vs. Knoxville
• Record: 52-38 (14-7 in second half)
• Next two series: vs. Montgomery, @Rocket City
• Individual stats

Having missed out on the first-half division title because they didn't control their destiny and the Chattanooga Lookouts ran the table by going 7-0 in the last week, the Barons are doing their best to build more of a cushion, taking a four-game lead in the Southern League North on the strength of a nine-game winning streak.

Characteristically, the Barons are tied for the fewest runs allowed in the second half with 74 over 21 games, but the offense has come to life of late. They outscored the Biloxi Shuckers 37-21 over six games in Mississippi, then averaged a tidy four per game against the Smokies. That's the Southern League average of runs per game, and as long as the Barons own the league's best ERA by far (2.97), average will do just fine.

Position Players

*Jacob Gonzalez opened the Biloxi series with his sixth homer of the season, but it was a quiet two weeks otherwise, as he went 5-for-31 with no extra-base hits and walks over the remaining eight games. He hit three sac flies over that stretch, which gives him the kind of OBP-AVG deficit you seldom see from a slash line (.161/.147/.161).

*Sam Antonacci opened the second half by making his Double-A debut after a successful first half in Winston-Salem. He went 3-for-8 with two walks and an HBP over his first three games with Birmingham.

*Wilfred Veras made some noise during this time, going 10-for-27 with a pair of homers over seven games against Biloxi and Knoxville. He's up to 246 career games at Birmingham, so it kinda feels like now or never.

*DJ Gladney hasn't played since taking a fastball to right forearm/elbow area on July 3.

*William Bergolla had an eight-game hitting streak come to a halt on Sunday, but he tore it up with hot local singles before then, going 15-for-35 with a triple, a walk and four stolen bases. It's been 40 plate appearances since his last strikeout.

*Rikuu Nishida broke his extra-base and stolen-base drought that we wrote about the last time, registering one (1) double while going 6-for-7 on the basepaths. He's maintained a .400 OBP over his last 200-plus plate appearances somehow, which probably bodes well for Antonacci's game holding together in Birmingham.

*Ryan Galanie had an 11-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday, although he did draw a walk, so he's reached in 19 straight. Fun fact: He's leading the organization in RBIs with 74, and it's not even close. Braden Montgomery is second with 53, and Miguel Vargas and Luis Robert Jr. just reached 40 at the major league level.

Pitchers

*Hagen Smith came out of the break with a frustrating three innings against Knoxville. He retired the first five batters he faced, but a two-out single on Smith's 10th pitch of the second inning kept it alive, and then he needed 22 pitches to get the final out, with a pair of walks around a two-run double.

*Riley Gowens threw five innings of one-run ball against Knoxville on July 12, snapping a streak of five traffic-laden outings.

*Tanner McDougal is working on a 21-inning scoreless streak after throwing a complete game's worth of innings over the last two weeks. His combined line against Biloxi and Knoxville: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP.

*Tyler Schweitzer was sent back to Double-A, and he threw three scoreless innings in his return to Birmingham on Friday. He hasn't been scored upon in 13 innings for the Barons this year, but Charlotte was a different matter (7.92 ERA over 50 innings).

*Lucas Gordon hasn't pitched in a month, but he's supposed to be back in action this week. Let's see if that happens.

*Shane Murphy has no such workload restrictions, as he followed up his eight strong innings against Chattanooga with seven more against Biloxi on July 9. He and Jake Palisch (who threw five innings of one-run ball on just 58 pitches Sunday) continue to provide an instructive counterpoint to the struggles of the more highly regarded lefties.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 3-2 @Greenville; 1-2 vs. Greensboro
• Record: 33-55 (8-15 in second half)
• Next two series: @Aberdeen, @Greenville
• Individual stats

Despite the promotion of its most consistent offensive threat to Birmingham, the Winston-Salem lineup still bounced back to life, leading the South Atlantic League with 44 runs over the last two weeks, even though the Dash only played eight games. Sam Antonacci is in Double-A, but the White Sox compensated with a pair of mildly interesting promotions from Kannapolis, with Lyle Miller-Green playing first base, and T.J. McCants in the outfield. Ryan Burrowes is now on the way, and others could join him once draft picks sign.

Position Players

*Braden Montgomery didn't get the All-Star break off like all but two of his organization-mates at the full-season levels, but he looks energized regardless. He went 7-for-19 with a homer, two doubles and four walks over six games against Greenville and Greensboro surrounding his appearance in the Futures Game.

*Jeral Perez broke out of his slump during the Greenville series. He's hitting .300/.313/.433 over his last eight games. While he hasn't drawn a walk over those 32 plate appearances, he's also limited the K's, striking out just four times.

*Samuel Zavala is back to drawing walks in lieu of action. He collected six walks and an HBP over nine games, but went just 5-for-29 at the plate and grounded into a pair of double plays. He's hitting .168 over his last 30 games, which dates back to the end of the Asheville series where it looked like he might've turned a corner.

*Lyle Miller-Green raised his Kannapolis OBP up to an even .400 before getting the promotion to Winston-Salem. He's still waiting for his first High-A hit, but he's drawn three walks over his first 10 plate appearances, going 0-for-7 with a strikeout thus far.

*T.J. McCants showed enough in just 29 games at Kannapolis to get promoted to Winston-Salem ahead of other outfielders who were there earlier. He hit .306/.409/.417 over 127 plate appearances with the Cannon Ballers, but Sally League pitchers are giving him fits thus far (1-for-10 with six strikeouts).

Pitchers

*Christian Oppor was among the pitchers limited to three innings his last time out, and he allowed just one run on two hits and a walk while striking out four Greensboro Grasshoppers. He's gone two consecutive outings without allowing a homer for the first time in his Winston-Salem career.

*Seth Keener will get his second crack at Winston-Salem after turning in his second-best start of the season with six innings of one-run ball against Myrtle Beach on July 8. He hasn't yet been able to tie together successful starts this year.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Myrtle Beach; 3-0 @Columbia
• Record: 43-47 (11-13 in second half)
• Next two series: @Carolina, vs. Delmarva
• Individual stats

The Kannapolis lineup also rediscovered its spark in a weekend sweep of Columbia, and now we'll see how much the roster is overhauled. It's starting with Ryan Burrowes, who has been promoted to Winston-Salem after 152 games at Kannapolis over the last two seasons. Third-round pick Kyle Lodise and sixth-round pick Colby Shelton will be candidates to take his infield reps, and Rhode Island third baseman Anthony DePino might also have some say in this conversation, especially if the White Sox get aggressive with Caleb Bonemer.

Two other possibilities? Ronny Hernandez has played 159 games in Low-A, and the White Sox selected Texas catcher Rylan Galvan in the 13th round. George Wolkow has matched Burrowes with 152 games, but could easily stay put given the inconsistency in his output, and I'm not sure the college outfielders drafted after the 10th round have enough juice to displace him.

Position Players

*Caleb Bonemer has continued to ride the roller coaster over the second half of his first professional season, as he enters the fresh week in a 1-for-22 slump. He's only struck out four times over this stretch, and the four walks and two stolen bases give him a little value around the lack of hits.

*Javier Mogollón hasn't yet played in July due to the hamstring injury. His last game was on June 29.

*Ronny Hernandez added a couple of extra-base hits -- a homer and a double -- to his account over the last two series, which is the only area where he's lacking offensively. He's hitting .295/.367/.396 with just three strikeouts over 49 plate appearances this month.

*George Wolkow seldom looks like the same hitter in consecutive fortnights. His slump bled into the Myrtle Beach series, as he was 0-for-28 with 17 strikeouts over a nine-game stretch. Over his last six games around the All-Star break? 9-for-23 with a homer, and just five strikeouts. Go figure.

*Ryan Burrowes became the second White Sox player to 30 steals this year, and the first White Sox prospect (24-year-old Jordan Sprinkle has 37 steals between the A-ball levels). The strikeout rate continues to drop -- just 12 in 65 plate appearances this month -- which is a good sign as he prepares for steeper competition, since the power hasn't been there.

*Abraham Nuñez broke out of his slump with a 4-for-4 game against Myrtle Beach on July 8 ... and then he went 3-for-14 over the remaining five games he played over the last fortnight. It was still enough to get him to the Mendoza Line on the season.

Pitchers

*Luis Reyes endured a crooked number to pitch six innings in a loss to Myrtle Beach on July 12, and then came back from the break to throw three hitless, walkless innings with five strikeouts before he hit his limit.

*Pierce George took 27 games, but he finally allowed a single run in an outing, which happened against Myrtle Beach on July 10. He's surrounded it with three scoreless outings before and two afterward, so his ERA is finally coming down in a meaningful fashion.

*Blake Shepardson has settled into a string of non-disastrous performances, but he's walked seven batters and plunked two others over his last 6⅔ innings, so the level of refinement has plateaued for the time being.

ACL White Sox

• Record: 31-27
• Individual stats

There are only two games remaining in the Arizona Complex League regular season, and the ACL White Sox have to win both games to have a chance of making the postseason, as they're 1½ games behind the ACL Rangers in the West Division. They're still guaranteed to finish above .500, which hasn't happened since 2018, when it was only called the Arizona League (or the Fire League). That team featured no future White Sox of note, at least ones who weren't just rehabbing.

Position Players

Christian Gonzalez made the uncommon midseason jump from the Dominican Summer League, and it's been a smashing success thus far, as he's hitting .429/.474/.571 over his first 10 games in the ACL. The only difference is that he's striking out three times for every walk thus far, but the rest of his production looks the same, including the pitiful returns on the basepaths.

Adrian Gíl is slumping, with just six hits against 19 strikeouts over his last 13 games. Judrick Profar is in the middle of a third month with a sub-.600 OPS.

Pitchers

Neither of these pitchers are in Arizona. Noah Syndergaard will start for Charlotte at some point during the Nashville series, while Mathias LaCombe will presumably spend the rest of the season in Kannapolis.

DSL White Sox

• Record: 17-15
• Individual stats

The DSL White Sox have also popped above .500 by winning seven of their last 10, and they're doing it on both sides. They own the league's fourth-best OBP, taking advantage of the DSL's scattershot control to reach base at a .408 clip. The pitching has made even bigger strides, with their ERA improving from 7.20 to 6.65 to 5.84 over the past three Fortnights. While the ACL schedule wraps up shortly, there's still roughly a full month left on the DSL slate, so there's plenty of time for this progress to further take hold if it wants to.

Alejandro Cruz is figuring it out, at least in the OBP department. Over his last 10 games, he's 7-for-20 with 11 walks, three HBPs and eight stolen bases in as many attempts. That's good for a .645 OBP, and he's mixed in a homer and a double as well. Frank Mieses is also reaching base more than half the time during this stretch (.387/.513/.645 over 39 PA).

On the cooler side, Yordani Soto broke out of a slump with a three-hit game on Monday, but Eduardo Herrera is getting further away from getting out of the DSL, as he's currently mired in an 0-for-23 skid. Orlando Patiño is done for the year.

Yobal Rodriguez gave up his first two runs over 2 ⅔ innings in his last start, but it doesn't show on his official record yet because the suspended game hasn't been completed. He hasn't pitched for the White Sox since July 7, but he did appear in the DSL All-Star Game on Sunday, throwing a scoreless inning. Diego Perez had a fortnight to forget, as he recorded a total of five outs over two starts. His combined line: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 3 HBP.

White Sox Minor Keys

ACL Mariners 7, ACL White Sox 5

• Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Adrian Gíl doubled, struck out thrice, and was picked off/caught stealing.
• Jurdrick Profar was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

DSL White Sox 10, DSL Blue Jays Blue 4

• Frank Mieses walked, was plunked twice, struck out once and stole a base.
• Alejandro Cruz went 0-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout.
• Eduardo Herrera was 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
• Yordani Soto doubled, singled twice and struck out twice.

Notes:

*The DSL White Sox drew 10 walks and got plunked four times.