White Sox Minor League Player of the Week (June 3-9): Edgar Quero
Birmingham’s catcher took a major step in the right direction this week
Charlotte Knights
Record 2-4 (last week), 25-37 (overall)
Knights Player of the Week
Wynton Bernard .455/.455/.773, 22 at-bats
Colson Montgomery .133/.316/.133, 15 at-bats
Bryan Ramos .250/.280/.417, 24 at-bats
Carlos Pérez .250/.269/.542, 24 at-bats
Mark Payton .304/.407/.565, 23 at-bats
Rafael Ortega .333/.444/.533, 15 at-bats
Touki Toussaint 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Johan Domínguez 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K
Chad Kuhl 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Sean Burke 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
It was an unremarkable week for the Knights as a whole, as they swept a doubleheader but were outplayed in their other four games. Despite the 2-4 week, though, outfielder Wynton Bernard could not be stopped. Bernard finished 10-for-22 with one homer and two stolen bases in two attempts. Bernard, 33, has only had a brief taste of Major League Baseball, and that was in 2022 with the Rockies. Bernard is now slashing .300/.325/.418 in Triple-A, and with more performances like this, he could find himself back in The Show.
2024 Charlotte Knights Players of the Week
Robbie Grossman (April 1-7)
Danny Mendick (April 8-14)
Danny Mendick (April 15-21)
Lenyn Sosa (April 22-28)
Colson Montgomery (April 29-May 5)
Jake Woodford (May 6-12)
Wilmer Difo (May 13-19)
Jared Walsh (May 20-26)
Oscar Colás (May 27-June 2)
Wynton Bernard (June 3-9)
Birmingham Barons
Record 4-2 (last week), 37-20 (overall)
Barons Player of the Week
Edgar Quero .619/.704/1.143, 21 at-bats
Brooks Baldwin .280/.333/.440, 25 at-bats
Jacob Gonzalez .190/.286/.190, 21 at-bats
Tim Elko .300/.333/.400, 20 at-bats
Wilfred Veras .227/.280/.636, 22 at-bats
Jason Matthews .286/.389/.500, 14 at-bats
Ky Bush 13 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 10 K
Drew Thorpe 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K (called up to White Sox on June 11)
Jairo Iriarte 5 1⁄3 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Jake Eder 3 2⁄3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Noah Schultz 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Mason Adams 5 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 5 K
After an uncharacteristic 3-4 record last week, the Barons recovered by taking four of six, and they are now 17 games better than .500. Many deserve credit for this strong week, but out of everyone, catcher Edgar Quero deserves the most. Quero, at 21 still one of the youngest players in all of Double-A, lit up the scoreboard, finishing 13-for-21 with three home runs and five walks. It is highly unusual for any player to provide that kind of spark, and it is even less common for catchers to hit this well. With this phenomenal week, Quero has boosted his season OPS to .838, and all of that has come with Birmingham. Regions Field in Birmingham is a relatively pitcher-friendly park, so Quero has performed quite well overall. There is an unserious movement to send a certain MLB catcher to the All-Star Game, but Quero would most likely be a significantly better option right now for a major league team.
Although Drew Thorpe’s start was not enough for him to earn Barons Player of the Week, he pitched very well. As of Sunday night, Thorpe is set to join the White Sox in Seattle, so congratulations to him on this life-changing promotion.
2024 Birmingham Barons Players of the Week
Drew Thorpe (April 8-14)
Edgar Quero (April 15-21)
Ky Bush (April 22-28)
Bryan Ramos (April 29-May 5)
Mason Adams (May 6-12)
Brooks Baldwin (May 13-19)
Jacob Gonzalez (May 20-26)
Mason Adams (May 27-June 2)
Edgar Quero (June 3-9)
Winston-Salem Dash
Record 3-3 (last week), 28-29 (overall)
Dash Player of the Week
Samuel Zavala .353/.500/.647, 17 at-bats
Mario Camilletti .313/.313/.313, 16 at-bats
Wes Kath .273/.304/.455, 22 at-bats
Loidel Chapelli .143/.300/.143, seven at-bats
Bryce Willits .273/.385/.273, 22 at-bats
Colby Smelley .600/.667/1.400, five at-bats
Drew McDaniel 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Riley Gowens 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Tanner McDougal 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Peyton Pallette 4 2⁄3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Tyler Schweitzer 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Juan Carela 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K
Although the Dash have a -54 run differential, amazingly they are still hovering right around the .500 mark after another 3-3 week. As for the Player of the Week, it was a tight race, but outfielder Samuel Zavala got the job done. Zavala finished 6-for-17 with a homer, five walks, and he stole two bases in as many attempts. Zavala was ice-cold a week ago, but this week was an entirely different story, and hopefully, we will see more of this version of him in the near future.
Honorable mentions goes to Riley Gowens, who was lights-out during his start. Gowens pitched eight shutout innings while only allowing two hits. Gowens lowered his season ERA to 3.90 with his fantastic outing on Sunday.
2024 Winston-Salem Dash Players of the Week
Jacob Gonzalez (April 8-14)
Juan Carela (April 15-21)
Manuel Veloz (April 22-28)
Jacob Gonzalez (April 29-May 5)
DJ Gladney (May 6-12)
Shawn Goosenberg (May 13-19)
Tyler Schweitzer (May 20-26)
Bryce Willits (May 27-June 2)
Samuel Zavala (June 3-9)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Record 5-1 (last week), 36-20 (overall)
Cannon Ballers Player of the Week
Ronny Hernández .538/.667/.769, 13 at-bats
Matt Hogan .353/.389/.765, 17 at-bats
Caden Connor .316/.417/.421, 19 at-bats
Rikuu Nishida .385/.433/.385, 26 at-bats
Wilber Sánchez .455/.500/.727, 11 at-bats
Lucas Gordon 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K
Aldrin Batista 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 K
Seth Keener 4 1⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Jake Peppers 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Grant Taylor 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Jake Bockenstedt 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Well, what do you know? The Cannon Ballers had yet another 5-1 week, and they now have a +140 run differential, almost exactly the opposite of the one at the MLB level for the White Sox (-144). No Ryan Galanie (due to his promotion to Winston-Salem), no problem.
There was some stiff competition for this week’s Cannon Ballers Player of the Week award, but this time, Ronny Hernández took the cake. Hernández went 7-for-13 with a home run, and he drew five walks on top of his sky-high batting average. That resulted in a .667 OBP for the week, as pitchers simply could not retire him.
2024 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Players of the Week
Aldrin Batista (April 8-14)
Albertson Asigen (April 15-21)
Caden Connor (April 22-28)
Rikuu Nishida (April 29-May 5)
Ryan Galanie (May 6-12)
Ryan Galanie (May 13-19)
Drew McDaniel (May 20-26)
Ryan Galanie (May 27-June 2)
Ronny Hernández (June 3-9)
ACL White Sox
Record 1-4 (last week), 9-16 (overall)
Arnold Prado .333/.429/.417, 12 at-bats
Leandro Alsinois .167/.211/.500, 18 at-bats
Stiven Flores .571/.571/.571, seven at-bats
Edrick Felix .273/.500/.364, 11 at-bats
Christian Oppor 3 2⁄3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Luis Reyes 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Jordany Chirinos 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Carson Jacobs 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Carlton Perkins 3 2⁄3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K
DSL White Sox
Record 1-2 (last week), 1-2 (overall)
Jesús Premoli .364/.417/.455, 11 at-bats
Jurdrick Profar .250/.308/.250, 12 at-bats
Eduardo Herrera .308/.308/.385, 13 at-bats
Christian González .571/.667/.571, seven at-bats
Yhoiker Fajardo 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 10 K
Reudis Díaz 4 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 K
Ángel Bello 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K