White Sox Minor Keys: June 10, 2022

Atrium Health Ballpark

Thanks to Ben Spanier, White Sox prospects comprised 20 percent of Baseball Prospectus’ Thursday Morning Ten Pack, as Colson Montgomery and Kohl Simas made the cut.

Montgomery, who is hitting .311/.413/.492 with a respectable 20.6 percent strikeout rate, gets a write-up that reflects his stat line.

Despite the swing length that naturally accompanies his frame Montgomery has good feel for the barrel, squaring up pitches in a variety of locations and managing his strikeouts by spoiling inconvenient pitches in two-strike counts. The approach and plate discipline are excellent for this stage of development, which should allow him to drive up the OBP while allowing his other hitting skills to play up. The pop is driven more by strength than bat speed, but there should be plenty of it coming for the large-framed lefty with some loft in his swing. Montgomery could end up looking like good value for a pick in the back third of the first round, and as the current White Sox core ages out, it might feel like an angel has flown in from Indiana.

As for Simas, his origin story hasn’t really been fleshed out since he was signed as an undrafted free agent during the pandemic year, then spent his first full season excelling an inning at a time in Kannapolis.

Returning to the Cannon Ballers in a starting role, the 22-year-old righty has 56 strikeouts against 42 baserunners over 41 innings, with a 2.41 ERA reflecting the peripherals. The performance is enough for Spanier to provide a summary:

Simas is on the older side for the level, but the arsenal is advanced. Listed at just over six-foot, the 22-year-old is a quick worker with a strong build, good athleticism, and four usable pitches. The fastball comes in 91-93 mph with some heft and occasional run, though it will get hit when located towards the center of the plate. The good news is that I feel comfortable making an above-average command projection here; it’s already better than what you generally see at this level, and he shows an ability to repeat his delivery despite an uptempo delivery with a substantial leg kick. His best secondary is a low-80s slider that showed best at right around 80 mph, with short horizontal action and late vertical bite. The low-80s change has some fade and is a legitimate weapon against lefties, while the mid-70s curve provides a nice change of pace and significant velo separation from the fastball. It’s a solid package overall and there is big league potential here, either as a back-end command and pitch mix starter or as a middle-innings reliever who is primarily fastball/slider. I do wonder how the heater will play against higher levels of competition, but there is only one way to find out.

Louisville 6, Charlotte 0

  • Yolbert Sánchez had half of the Knights’ hits by going 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Tanner Banks in his return to Triple-A: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
  • Kade McClure: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Pensacola 9, Birmingham 8

  • José Rodríguez went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
  • Lenyn Sosa, 0-for-4 with a sac fly.
  • Yoelqui Céspedes was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Winston-Salem 4, Greensboro 2

  • Oscar Colás went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Bryan Ramos went 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
  • Luis Mieses hit his 20th double during a 2-for-4 night.
  • Adam Hackenberg went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Down East 9, Kannapolis 2

  • Wes Kath went 1-for-4 with a homer and two strikeouts.
  • DJ Gladney, 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
  • Wilfred Veras was 0-for-4 with a K.
  • Noah Owen: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

ACL White Sox 3, ACL Padres 0 (7 innings)

  • Dario Borrero went 1-for-3.
  • Manuel Guarmin walked in both plate appearances, getting picked off once.

DSL White Sox 2, DSL Angels 1 (7 innings)

  • Guillermo Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases.
  • Erick Hernandez went 1-for-3 with one steal.
  • Ronny Hernandez, 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
  • Carlos Jimenez was 1-for-2.
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a-t

When was the last time the Sox had a high school 1st rounder who panned out?