White Sox Minor Keys: May 24, 2018

Carlos Rodon looked just about ready to return to the majors, because he looked way too good for Triple-A. Here’s what he did to the first seven Norfolk Tides he saw:

  1. Strikeout looking
  2. Single
  3. Fielder’s choice
  4. Strikeout swinging
  5. Strikeout swinging
  6. Strikeout swinging
  7. Strikeout swinging
  8. Strikeout swinging

Unfortunately, the ninth batter hit a line drive directly back at Rodon, hitting him in the forehead.

 

Rodon bounced back up immediately and tried to downplay concern from the training staff, but he ended up leaving the game. The White Sox didn’t provide an update on his situation tonight.

Norfolk 5, Charlotte 4

  • Carlos Rodon: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
  • Thyago Vieira: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

More:

*What if Michael Kopech’s idea of a changeup was the slow reveal of a curveball?

“That was just overpowered, overmatched,” Charlotte Knights pitching coach Steve McCatty said. “His curveball is a plus pitch. It’s not just a get-me-over. It’s a plus pitch. That’s the best way to put it. It’s a plus pitch. We talked with the other staff when we were in Columbus. They liked his fastball–dominant. They liked his slider–really good. But talking to their pitching coach ‘Whatever it was he was throwing at 82, 81 mph, they had no chance.’ And that’s his curveball. I’m not saying the other ones won’t. The slider still, plus pitch, but this was…it’s not just more back and forth and change of speeds, it’s good!”

Birmingham 9, Jackson 8

  • Danny Mendick went 1-for-4 with a homer, two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
  • Zack Collins had a night: 3-for-3 with three walks and a stolen base.
  • Eloy Jimenez was 1-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
  • Tito Polo was 0-for-2.
  • Dane Dunning: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP
  • Ryan Burr: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP
  • Ian Hamilton: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Winston-Salem 3, Buies Creek 1

  • Luis Alexander Basabe went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Alex Call, 0-for-4.
  • Micker Adolfo went 1-for-4.
  • Gavin Sheets was 1-for-4 with a K.
  • Yeyson Yrizarri went 1-for-3.
  • Joel Booker, 0-for-2 with a walk.
  • Dylan Cease: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 67 of 103 pitches for strikes.

More:

*James Fegan was in Winston-Salem and said that Cease benefited from a wide zone, but also threw plenty of changeups to go along with a high-90s fastball he maintained to the end.

Greensboro 5, Kannapolis 2

  • Luis Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
  • Justin Yurchak, 1-for-4.
  • Carlos Perez was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
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sausalito pale hose

Pretty bright future for end of this season and into the next years; Cease, Rodon, Kopeck, Cease, Dunning, Guerrero, Hamilton, Hansen, Burdi

sausalito pale hose

I would say Cease and Kopeck are ready. Why not bring them up. They can learn more getting MLB activity

jorgefabregas

Re: Cease
Unless a starting pitcher is Jose Fernandez, it’s customary to let them pitch to AA batters before calling them up to the big leagues. Kopech will probably be up in the next couple of weeks.

ParisSox

Cease needs innings.  See if you feel the same way if he tires in July.  

Holland23

Innings are overrated for starters, look at our current starters… they don’t pitch to many of them either…

Flitcraft

That’s some pretty easy heat from Cease in Fegan’s clip. Quite exciting.

Probables: Fulmer, Adams, Martinez, Rigler

Smclean09

It’s the All-Underperformance team

lil jimmy

I watched Cease last night. Pretty darn good. Better than I expected.

oljeto

Still don’t understand why an obviously not ready Giolito gets to learn in the Bigs, but Ko & Cease don’t. 
Cease has perfect form and doesn’t need to be “fixed”.  Could be the Ace of Future Sox.

NDSox12

Kopech/Giolito is a reasonable debate. But Cease? He has pitched a grand total of nine games at high A. What makes you think he’s ready to skip two levels and jump to the majors?

DinderMufflin

With the durability and fragility concerns of prospect pitchers in general, is there any benefit to having them pitch more than 6 innings ever?…Outside of the notion to just see if they can?

Trooper Galactus

So long as their pitch counts aren’t being racked up to absurd levels, innings pitched isn’t as much of an issue.

NDSox12

Going to see the Dash play at Potomac on Sunday. Too bad Cease won’t be pitching in that series.

jorgefabregas

Hey…
Luis Curbelo made his season debut at Kanny yesterday.

Trooper Galactus

Looking forward to seeing what he can do. I’ve always had a greater curiosity for players signed over slot (Trey being another notable example).

lil jimmy

Corey Zangari at the ripe old age of 21 is dead to you?

Brett R. Bobysud

As of this moment, Collins has a higher wRC+ than Eloy does.

Collins: 162
Jimenez: 161