White Sox Minor Keys: July 8, 2026

It didn't quite come with the new prospect smell of Boston Smith winning the White Sox's minor league Player of the Month for June, but enough had changed under the hood with Pitcher of the Month Jairo Iriarte that his Zoom call served partially as a reintroduction to Chicago media members.

Iriarte talked about his pitch mix, which indeed features more two-seamers ...

I think one of the biggest factors that has helped my success this year has been adding the two-seamer. I think that's a pitch that I now can throw in any situation and specifically a pitch that I can throw to reset myself, my repertoire, my focus on the at-bat and the game. 

... but it turns out the pitch Statcast classifies as a cutter is what Iriarte merely calls a harder slider, and he says the pitches work well together.

It's a slider. A little bit shorter than it used to be. That was a pitch that also I started throwing more during spring training. That's a pitch that I also mix it up with the two-seamer. I've been saying that the two-seamer has been the big key for me because it's the pitch I've been throwing the most. But also the slider has been a big factor to because I was able to mix and match with those two pitches.

Given that his primary breaking ball has gained more than three ticks of velocity, you can understand why Statcast is confused.

Alongside the revamped arsenal, Iriarte also talked about a disappointing season-opening assignment in Birmingham providing motivation.

I think one of the biggest things that helped me this year was starting in Double-A. That was like a wakeup call for me. When I went there, I was like 'Wait a minute, I don't want to be here. I don't belong here. I know I can do better.' That was my focus, just trying to prove to everybody and myself that I could do better. That kind of helped me to really focus on the things that I really need to do to improve, to get better. Once I moved to Triple-A, I said 'OK, I'm here now but again, this is not where I want to be. This is not where I belong.' I know I need to keep getting better and doing the things that I need to do and focus on every pitch, in the moment, on the batter. I think that those two things were the ones that helped me to get over the hump of last year and over the hump of the struggles I've had before.

In other reliever news, Boston Smith was asked about some of the arms he's caught in the White Sox system, and he ended up stumping for a Mathias LaCombe promotion.

The other [reliever] that I remember in Winston-Salem that just had unbelievable stuff was LaCombe. He stood out to me, just whenever he got out on the mound and saw a hitter come into the box, it was a totally different guy from what you see off the field. His stuff is really, really good. I hope to see him here soon.

Nashville 6, Charlotte 3

• Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
• Munetaka Murakami played the whole game at first base, finishing 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.
• Edgar Quero was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
• David Sandlin: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 51 of 87 pitches for strikes.

Columbus 3, Birmingham 2

• Caleb Bonemer went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
• Anthony DePino was 0-for-4 with a walk.
• Boston Smith singled and struck out thrice.
• Colby Shelton singled and struck out thrice.
• Juan Carela: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Notes:

*The Barons struck out 17 times for a second consecutive game.

Winston-Salem 15, Asheville 9 (11 innings)

• Kyle Lodise went 1-for-7 with a double, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
• Jeral Perez went 3-for-5 with two doubles and an HBP.
• George Wolkow finished a triple shy of the cycle during a 3-for-6 night. He was also caught stealing.
• Mathias LaCombe: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 19 of 31 pitches for strikes.

Highlights:

*It just hit me that Asheville is finally streaming games, so you no longer have to take my word for the goofiness of McCormick Field's dimensions.

Kannapolis 9, Delmarva 8

• Jaden Fauske singled, walked thrice and struck out once.
• Nick McLain and Christian Gonzalez both were 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Alexander Albertus went 1-for-5 with a triple.
• Jurdrick Profar, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Blaine Wynk: 3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 40 of 58 pitches for strikes.

ACL Dodgers 8, ACL White Sox 7 (7 innings)

• Yordani Soto went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
• Jose Mendoza singled twice, walked and struck out.
• Landon Hodge tripled, doubled, walked and struck out.
• Eduardo Herrera delivered a pinch-hit single.
• Alandro Cruz walked thrice and got plunked.