White Sox Minor Keys: May 23, 2018
Michael Kopech’s starts had tilted between successful and ugly this season, so in a way, his outing on Wednesday was overdue.
He filled the box score, which isn’t necessarily great for a pitcher — 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 WP, and just 57 of 100 pitches for strikes. The upside: Unlike other starts, where a lack of control did him in, this time he was able to endure less-than-optimal command to hack his way through five innings despite averaging 20 pitches per inning from the very start.
Here are Kopech’s postgame thoughts, courtesy of our man in Charlotte:
#CLTKnights P Michael Kopech reacts after his performance tonight. @SoxMachine pic.twitter.com/1kSJZtlunI
— Jonathan Lee (@followmefor3) May 24, 2018
#CLTKnights P Michael Kopech on his failure to get ahead of hitters which lead to extended counts and raising his pitch count. @SoxMachine. pic.twitter.com/u6CYN8US2u
— Jonathan Lee (@followmefor3) May 24, 2018
#CLTKnights P Michael Kopech on what he can do within a start to combat mental issues that can arise during any rough stretch. @SoxMachine pic.twitter.com/RMu9fbchA1
— Jonathan Lee (@followmefor3) May 24, 2018
Norfolk 6, Charlotte 3
- Charlie Tilson went 3-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Eddy Alvarez, 0-for-4.
- Michael Saunders made his Charlotte debut, going 1-for-4 with a double.
- Michael Kopech: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 WP
Jackson 9, Birmingham 5
- Danny Mendick went 1-for-5 with two strikeotus.
- Zack Collins, 1-for-3 with two walks.
- Eloy Jimenez also went 1-for-3 with two walks, but struck out once.
- Jameson Fisher went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Tito Polo went 1-for-3 with a sac bunt.
Winston-Salem 3, Buies Creek 1 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Luis Alexander Basabe and Ti’Quan Forbes were both 0-for-3.
- Alex Call also went 0-for-3, but with two strikeouts.
- Gavin Sheets homered for the second straight day, and tripled and singled as well.
- Micker Adolfo singled, walked and struck out.
- Yermin Mercedes went 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Joel Booker struck out and bunted.
Buies Creek 10, Winston-Salem 4 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Joel Booker went 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Luis Alexander Basabe went 3-for-4 with a homer.
- Alex Call, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Micker Adolfo was 1-for-4.
- Gavin Sheets went 0-for-2 with two walks.
- Ti’Quan Forbes, 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Yeyson Yrizarri was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
*More:
*Here’s Sheets’ homer via James Fegan:
Gavin Sheets said yesterday that the home runs will come, and when they do, they come in bunches. He’s now 3-for-3 and a double short of the cycle pic.twitter.com/kzK8aRhpfr
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 23, 2018
*Fegan also provided an update on Dylan Cease’s season, which is currently in a mustache phase.
Kannapolis 3, Greensboro 2
- Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Justin Yurchak was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Evan Skoug, 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
- Carlos Perez went 0-for-4 with a K.
- John Parke: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
- Tyler Johnson: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Loving Eloy’s 16% K rate. So nice to have a prospect without massive swing-and-miss issues.
Supposed to get Rodon bumped up to Charlotte today for his second outing (not listed at MiLB, but that was the announced plan) plus Dunning, Cease, Z. Lewis.
Craig Dedelow went 4-for-5 yesterday for Kanny and had an outfield assist. That’s a good day at the office.
With the injuries and suspensions, maybe this will force their hands to start moving some of these guys up the ladder.
With Gonzales up, catcher Yermin Mercedes promoted to Charlotte from W-S.
Our organizational catcher depth is atrocious, and even our best hopes at the position are likely to be horrible framers and defenders. Fans and the front office really didn’t appreciate Flowers enough.