Wetting the beak: Andrew Dahlquist made his pro debut with a solid AZL outing. (Sean Williams/South Side Hit Pen)
Charlotte Knights — 2 GA in Wild Card, 1 1/2 GB in IL South Division
Yermín Mercedes: .346 BA, 3 HR, 8 R, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Nick Madrigal: .333 BA, 1 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 SB
Luis Robert: .357 BA, 3 HR, 9 R, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 SB
Danny Mendick: .400 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Zack Collins: .528 BA, 4 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K **MVP of the Week**
Seby Zavala: .294 BA, 2 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Matt Foster: 3 IP, 2.61 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 3.0 BB/9
Sheesh, what a week for the top prospects in Charlotte, as it seems quite a few of them are tired of being in the minors. The lowest batting average came from Seby Zavala (.294) and every single one of them hit a homer. Even Matt Foster, the hard-throwing righty reliever, did work in his three innings without allowing a run. Zack Collins took the cake, though, with his monster week at the plate. He batted better than .500 and clobbered four home runs. Seems like the catching trio in Charlotte is, well, too good for Charlotte.
Birmingham Barons — 7 1/2 GB in Southern League
Gavin Sheets: .333 BA, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K
Luis González: .211 BA, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
Luis Basabe: .143 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Blake Rutherford: .278 BA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Alec Hansen: 2 1/3 IP, 2.40 FIP, 3.86 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Tyler Johnson: 1 IP, 1.26 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Codi Heuer: 2 IP, -0.74 FIP, 18.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Kodi Medeiros: 1 IP, 1.26 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Blake Battenfield: 6 IP, 3.76 FIP, 7.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Lincoln Henzman: 12 1/3 IP, 2.85 FIP, 5.11 K/9, 1.46 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**
Bernardo Flores: 5 IP, 3.46 FIP, 10.8 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
It was not a great week for the Birmingham offense aside from Gavin Sheets, but the pitching though, they were good. Nobody in the top prospect realm, from starters to relievers, disappointed. Even Alec Hansen has had a good two-week scoreless stretch, and though his strikeouts are down, he’s not walking batters. The Barons also now have a trio of soft tossers all working well in the rotation. Lincoln Henzman had the best week of the three (Blake Battenfield and Bernardo Flores being the other two) with two quality starts, quite an improvement for him.
Winston-Salem Dash — 2 1/2 GB in the “Wild Card”
Steele Walker: .333 BA, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Andrew Vaughn: .318 BA, 4 R, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K
Andrew Perez: 1 2/3 IP, 2.80 FIP, 10.8 K/9, 5.4 BB/9
Jacob Lindgren: 2 1/3 IP, 2.12 FIP, 11.57 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Bennett Sousa: 3 IP, 1.07 FIP, 15.0 K/9, 3.0 BB/9
Will Kincanon: 4 IP, 1.40 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**
Jonathan Stiever: 6 IP, 6.73 FIP, 4.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Konnor Pilkington: 4 IP, 2.40 FIP, 11.25 K/9, 4.5 BB/9
The top prospects just keep on doing well, no matter what level right now. Steele Walker and Andrew Vaughn might not have brought a ton of power this past week, but they got on base at a good clip and kept the strikeouts down. The pitching, especially from the bullpen, was otherworldly. Will Kincanon stood out among the rest with three scoreless appearances this week, two of which were for saves. He currently has a 1.70 ERA in Winston-Salem; why he hasn’t been promoted is a mystery to me, as he clearly should be.
Kannapolis Intimidators — 9 1/2 GB in SALLY Northern Division
Ian Dawkins: .261 BA, 4 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 SB
Lenyn Sosa: .167 BA, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Davis Martin: 5 IP, 3.28 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 5.4 BB/9
Jason Bilous: 3 IP, 9.48 FIP, 6.0 K/9, 6.0 BB/9
Sam Long: 11 IP, 2.39 FIP, 9.82 K/9, 2.45 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**
It seems like yesterday that the I’s had a plethora or top prospects, but alas, the old wave has crashed onto greener pastures and the high school draft picks from the past couple of seasons are not there yet. Ian Dawkins and Lenyn Sosa had subpar weeks at the plate, as did Jason Bilous from the mound. Davis Martin, who is interesting from a stuff and pedigree standpoint but has been up-and-down this season, had a good start this week. Sam Long was the clear best of the best. He had two great starts, including a six-inning scoreless outing. Since becoming a starter in June, Long has a 3.54 ERA with a K-rate near 30%, not too shabby.
Great Falls Voyagers — 6 1/2 GB in Pioneer League North Division
Harvin Mendoza: .357 BA, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Caberea Weaver: .455 BA, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K **MVP of the Week**
Luis Mieses: .000 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Karan Patel: 2 IP, 3.05 FIP, 4.5 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Caleb Freeman: 3 IP, -0.62 FIP, 21.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Once a few of these guys get promotions, the I’s will be a team to watch again. Harvin Mendoza and Caberea Weaver are guys who could and should make the jump to full-season baseball in 2020. Both had very good weeks (though abbreviated due to postponed games). Mendoza keeps showing his power stroke, as, don’t look now, first base has oddly become a position of strength in the Sox minor league system. Weaver is not having the year everybody expected, but he has started to put it together in recent weeks and it earns him the GFV MVP. Mieses, though his hitting has improved, will probably need more seasoning in the rookie leagues, unless something drastic happens in the last couple weeks. Freeman was promoted after dominating the AZL, and is now just as dominant in the Pioneer League — another young bullpen arm to keep an eye on.
AZL White Sox — eliminated from playoffs
DJ Gladney: .100 BA, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
José Rodriguez: .133 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Logan Glass: .143 BA, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Micker Adolfo: .125 BA, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K
Chase Krogman: .143 BA, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Bryce Bush: .000 BA, 0 BB, 1 K
Matthew Thompson: 1 IP, 2.24 FIP, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9
Andrew Dalquist: 2 IP, 5.74 FIP, 0.0 K/9, 4.5 BB/9
Jeremiah Burke: 10 IP, 3.64 FIP, 10.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 **MVP of the Week**
DSL White Sox — eliminated from playoffs
Benyamin Bailey: .133 BA, 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K
Yolbert Sánchez: .143 BA, 3 R, 5 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Elijah Tatís: .333 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Anthony Espinoza: .385 BA, 4 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K **MVP of the Week**
Ronaldo Guzman: 9 IP, 3.09 FIP, 12.0 K/9, 2.0 BB/9
South Side Hit Pen 