White Sox Minor League Update: June 14, 2024

Two wins on the farm today, with some impressive individual performances

Durham Bulls 5, Charlotte Knights 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
A hot-and-cold start for Sox prospect Nick Nastrini doomed the Knights in this one. Durham managed to string together a three-run first inning that they’d ride into the sunset with. Nastrini, to his credit, managed to punch seven tickets in his four innings of work. He also allowed four free passes and four hits in that span, inflating his Triple-A ERA to 6.48.

A trio of Knights enjoyed multi-hit efforts, including Jared Walsh and his second homer in as many games.

Charlotte’s social media person deserves a raise after going with that caption.

There are two additional storylines of note in this loss:

• 32-year-old veteran infielder Wilmer Difo is hitting .325 with an OPS better than .800 with Charlotte, potentially having him in key position for a call to the bigs if the Sox need depth. He’s not on the 40-man roster, though, so there’s a chance his success in Charlotte will go unrewarded.
• Embattled reliever Prelander Berroa (from the Gregory Santos trade) was electric in relief. He pitched two hitless frames with just one walk and three strikeouts to his name, lowering his season ERA to 7.07. With an inflated figure like that, readers can assume the kind of season Berroa had been having. The White Sox are counting on the young righty to build on the momentum gained from this sterling effort.

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Birmingham Barons 6, Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3 (Gameday box)
It seems like I can always count on Birmingham pitching to make me smile. Mason Adams, who’s enjoying a sub-3.00 ERA season, took home the W with 5 2⁄3 innings of three-run ball. He scattered seven hits across those frames, fanned five, and only walked one.

Better yet, this potent Barons offense sprung to life with a 12-hit effort to back Adams’ great start. Tim Elko accounted for a quarter of those hits, with two doubles and a single to his credit and driving in a third of Birmingham’s runs in the process. Top prospect Edgar Quero was in fine form, belting yet another homer and adding three RBIs to his season line.

Not to be lost in all this excitement is recent promotee Eric Adler. Adler, who was dominant in High-A, recorded his third save at Double-A and lowered his season ERA to 2.63.

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Greensboro Grasshoppers 14, Winston-Salem Dash 5 (Gameday box)
Yikes. Consistency continues to elude Peyton Pallette. Despite a promising return to form his previous three starts, Pallette was chased in the first in this one, turning this a bullpen game. The recently-demoted Jordan Mikel comported himself well in relief, but Jared Kelley, Zach Franklin, and José Ramírez did not enjoy similar fates.

On the offensive side of the things, Winston-Salem managed to collect 10 knocks and turn those hits into runs. Cuban infielder Loidel Chapelli, uncharacteristically batting ninth in the order, was responsible for three safeties. DJ Gladney and catcher Calvin Harris would go on to record the only Dash extra-base hits of the game, with both tallying a double.

If the first inning went differently, this spirited Dash offense would have likely kept the team in the game. The reality, however, is that Winston-Salem was blown out in this one. Why don’t we search for a silver lining together, reader?

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3, Delmarva Shorebirds 1 (Gameday box)
Kanny pitchers threw a combined one-hitter, and got just enough offense in support to inch past the finish line in this one. Starter Tommy Vail continues to be way too good for the level he’s pitching in. In five full innings making his first career pro start, he allowed just one walk and struck out six en route to the win. His season ERA? A paltry 1.73. As a matter of fact, each pitcher Kannapolis rolled out in this one has a sub-2.00 ERA on the year. How wild is that? When the impending mass promotion of Birmingham arms comes to pass, the White Sox system won’t be at a loss for capable arms to replace the graduates.

Offensively, infielder Wilber Sánchez notched the only multi-hit effort for Kannapolis. The sole extra base hit came off of Mikey Kane’s bat. Kane and Sánchez were batting eighth and ninth, so the bottom of the order came up clutch for this Ballers offense.

Not much else left to add to this recap on my end, so why don’t we hand out some individual hardware, reader?

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ACL Rangers 3, ACL White Sox 2 (Gameday box)
You don’t see many low-scoring ACL games! It helped that today’s matchup was of the seven-inning variety. A trio of Sox prospects recorded multi-hit efforts, with Adrian Gil recording the lone extra-base hit.

On the mound, 27-year-old Davis Martin was saddled with the loss in two innings of one-run ball. He fanned five Rangers in that span, however, so not the worst rehab start in the world for the surprise fifth starter on the 2022 White Sox.

Today’s line was spectacularly unremarkable, which is a first in ACL Sox history (probably). Let’s close this out by handing out some hardware, reader.

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