White Sox Minor Keys: April 3, 2026

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- A year after successfully leading the Birmingham Barons' Southern League title defense, Guillermo Quíroz is back to managing the Winston-Salem Dash.

When the White Sox released their player development staff list in January, a couple of Sox Machine commenters noticed the shift and interpreted it as a demotion, or at least an absence of a reward. When I broached the topic to Quiroz ahead of the Dash's 2026 opener against the Hod Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark Friday night, however, he said there's no reason for concern.

"It's not a bump down, it's actually an upgrade for me," he said. "I'm going to be working with a legit group of prospects again, and I'm looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity. I mean, I know the league, I came down here, I've been here for the past couple of years. Seeing this group in spring training and seeing what they can do, I'm excited for it."

Watching the first iteration of the Dash on Friday night, they're running the longest lineup in the organization, at least in terms of intrigue. They're not quite deploying six Caleb Bonemers, but it's a mix of guys who should perform, guys who could perform, and guys who need to perform, and it's an open question as to how they'll respond to the challenge the South Atlantic League presents.

From what Quiroz saw in spring training, he thinks the talent is there, and he expressed satisfaction in being tasked with helping them take their next steps.

That's what I do, develop players," he said. "Obviously, they like something they saw last year with me creating that winning culture with those guys, and obviously they want me to implement that with this group as well."

Nashville 7, Charlotte 6

• William Bergolla Jr. exited after grounding out in his first plate appearance. Nothing seemed terribly off, except for a little hop on his way back to the dugout.
• Tanner Murray was 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout.
• Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Jarred Kelenic, 0-for-4 with a K.
• Duncan Davitt: 4 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 40 of 63 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*The second inning accounted all of Davitt's runs and free bases, and all but one of the hits. He was one strike from getting out of it with minimal damage before a hanging 1-2 slider turned into a grand slam.

Knoxville 9, Birmingham 6

• Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Braden Montgomery homerd, singled, walked and struck out twice.
• Jeral Perez's Double-A debut: 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Samuel Zavala's: 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout.
• Lucas Gordon: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 49 of 83 pitches for strikes.

Highlights:

*Montgomery's blast:

Bowling Green 4, Winston-Salem 2

• Ryan Burrowes was 0-for-3 with a walk.
• Kyle Lodise also went 0-for-3 with a walk, but with two strikeouts and a stolen base.
• Caleb Bonemer, 0-for-4 with a K.
• Anthony DePino was 1-for-2 with a walk and an HBP.
• George Wolkow, 1-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP. He also had two errors in the field -- one errant throw to second, one dropped fly on the warning track.
• Colby Shelton wore the collar.
• Ely Brown, 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Grant Umberger: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 55 of 81 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*Bonemer and Shelton joined Wolkow with errors, and Umberger committed a balk that turned into a run.

Hill City 8, Kannapolis 2

• Jaden Fauske and Billy Carlson both were 1-for-4 with a double, walk and two strikeouts.
• Javier Mogollón went 0-for-2 with three walks and a strikeout.
• Truman Pauley: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 36 of 67 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*This game is a point in favor of those who see the talent level at Low-A deteriorating, at least in terms of cohesion. The teams combined for four errors, 19 walks, 29 strikeouts, a hit batter and seven pitch timer violations.