I didn't notice that Jacob Gonzalez was fielding grounders from Sergio Santos before Charlotte's game against Nashville Saturday night, mostly because I was distracted by the sight of Mike Clevinger taking shortstop reps in his group.
But it made sense -- the Gonzalez portion at least -- what with the trade of Tristan Gray to the Rays opening a spot on the infield, and Gonzalez having played 183 games at Birmingham over the last two seasons. The 2023 first-round pick never really lit the Southern League on fire at any point, and nothing stands out about his .244/.305/.369 line this season, but his form had more or less cemented itself in the form of doubles power, lots of contact, and the question about whether enough of it would be useful.
If nothing else, Gonzalez's promotion could be instructive. It's almost August, and Gonzalez is the first Barons hitter to get promoted to Charlotte, and he could have something to say about how much the offense-deprived Southern League could have been dampening his impact. He didn't hit for power in Birmingham, but nobody's hitting for power in Birmingham, and the other seven teams aren't finding it any easier. Gonzalez's .674 OPS is pretty disappointing until realizing it's above the Southern League average (.659). Then it's merely disappointing, but murky enough to keep an open mind.
The amount of players on the Charlotte roster who cleared waivers on their way down to Chicago reduced the need for promotions from Double-A, and all the unimpressive performances at Birmingham meant nobody forced the issue. The White Sox had to make it happen, and they finally did.
Gonzalez opened his Charlotte career by going 0-for-4 with two groundouts and two flyouts.
Nashville 5, Charlotte 4
- Will Robertson went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos went 1-for-3 with a sac fly and a stolen base.
- Jacob Gonzalez made his Triple-A debut, going 0-for-4.
- Dru Baker was 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Jairo Iriarte: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 11 of 19 pitches for strikes.
- Peyton Pallette: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 18 of 31 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 6, Montgomery 4
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with a sac bunt, a strikeout and two stolen bases.
- William Bergolla was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-4.
- Sam Antonacci went 1-for-4 with an HBP, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Jake Palisch: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 43 of 64 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 5, Aberdeen 4 (10 innings)
- Braden Montgomery was 1-for-4 with a triple and a strikeout.
- Jeral Perez, 1-for-4.
- T.J. McCants was lifted after grounding into an odd-looking double play in the second inning.
- Lyle Miller Green wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Ryan Burroews was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Kannapolis 5, Carolina 4 (10 innings)
- George Wolkow went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Ronny Hernandez, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Caleb Bonemer went off: 3-for-4 with a homer and two doubles.
- Adrian Gíl made his A-ball debut, singling and striking out thrice.
- Abraham Nuñez was 2-for-4, and was caught stealing.
- Blake Shepardson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 20 of 31 pitches for strikes.
DSL Tigers 1 14, DSL White Sox 6 (7 innings)
- Alejandro Cruz was 0-for-1 after entering as a pinch runner.
- Eduardo Herrera was 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jose Mendoza singled twice and walked once.
- Yordani Soto was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
