White Sox Minor Keys: Aug. 20, 2021
Maybe the White Sox just wanted to let the Barons get some Birmingham-specific history out of Romy Gonzalez before they took him away. A day after Gonzalez homered to post the Barons’ first 20/20 season since Aaron Rowand’s 20 homers and 22 stolen bases in 2000, the White Sox promoted Gonzalez to Triple-A.
The call to Charlotte was a little overdue for Gonzalez. He hit .267/.355/.502 over 78 games with the Barons, which makes his accomplishment even more remarkable (Rowand played 139 games in Birmingham to get to his numbers). Then again, considering Gonzalez wasn’t on any prospect list before the season, you can’t quite fault the White Sox for making sure what they saw was real.
Charlotte may or may not test him, but no matter what he does there, I imagine the White Sox will have to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the season, given his age (24) and versatility. That’s quite a triumph for an 18th-round pick who was previously seen posting a .693 OPS in Kannapolis two years ago.
Norfolk 4, Charlotte 1
- Blake Rutherford accounted for half of Charlotte’s hits with a 3-for-4 night, including his seventh homer.
- Yasmani Grandal caught seven innings and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets both were 0-for-4.
- Yermín Mercdes went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Micker Adolfo struck out all three times.
Tennessee 3, Birmingham 2
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 2-for-4.
- Yolbert Sanchez was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Carlos Pérez, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, but was caught at home after Mitch Roman was caught in a pickle trying to steal second before the pitcher released the ball.
Hickory 5, Winston-Salem 1
- Jose Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.
- Luis Curbleo had the only other Dash hit during a 1-for-4 night, striking out twice.
- Luis Mieses went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Caberea Weaver went 0-for-3.
Down East 3, Kannapolis 2
- James Beard went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Shawn Goosenberg made his A-ball debut, going 1-for-4 with a triple and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos was 0-for-4 with a K.
- Harvin Mendoza went 0-for-4.
- Adam Hackenberg also played his first game for Kanny, doubling, singling and striking out twice.
- Chase Krogman was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- DJ Gladney went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts
- Misael Gonzalez was 0-for-3.
- Wilber Sanchez singled, struck out twice and stole two bases.
ACL Reds 9, ACL White Sox 3
- Colson Montgomery went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Wes Kath, 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Benyamin Bailey was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Sean Burke’s pro debut: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
- Tanner McDougal is no longer immaculate, still impressive: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
- Ronaldo Guzman: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
- Erick Bello: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
DSL White Sox vs. DSL D-backs1, suspended
Is it necessary to rest Tim and Robert today?
No.
It’s not obligatory, no. However, it makes sense— day game after extra inning night game on turf— and really the goal is to prevent injury so the Sox are operating at 100% capacity come October, because the division’s locked up and has been for a while.
How many games they get to play at home in Oct is important, and yet to be determined.
How much time does Tim even spend on the turf? Artificial turf fields have dirt infield’s nowadays there aren’t cutouts around the base anymore. He is essentially on dirt most of the time like a grass field.
Should add Laz Rivera to the list of guys to pay attention to. He’s been hot since getting promoted to Charlotte with a BABIP-assisted .317/.369/.483 line. Charlotte offensive numbers of course have to be taken with a large grain of salt, but the almost 27 y/o Rivera is a guy to watch compete for a utility role with Mendick. So far as I know, he can play a true SS, and I’d wager the Sox are having him take reps at multiple positions in preparation for his now likely utility role.