White Sox Minor League Update: June 10, 2023
Sure, only a couple of wins, but outstanding pitching from Chase Solesky, Jared Kelley and Horacio Andujar
In the just to show you never can tell category, outfield Caberea Weaver, seemingly on the verge of being cut from the White Sox system completely, was advanced to High-A Winston-Salem and has been mashing in seven games since. This is a player who was utterly, completely, absolutely lost in 2022, hitting just .179 across three levels (rookie to High-A), with an astounding 103 strikeouts in 252 at-bats. And this year in Kanny was hardly brighter, as Weaver was slashing .236/.277/.360 before his (injury- or advancement-pushed) call-up back to the Dash, where he’d hit .176 in 2022 and .177 in 2021.
So far in a week’s worth of games in W-S, Weaver has already put two over the fence and stolen two bags, slashing .250/.308/.500. His inability to get on base remains troubling, as does his prodigious swing-and-miss. But hey, he’s thriving, and having had some personal interactions with Caberea, it couldn’t be happening to a better guy.
Another Knights game, another White Sox sixth starter’s hopes dashed against the rocks. Sean Burke, still clawing back from injury and a late-2022 shelling in Charlotte, had another rough one, five earned in five frames. Possible saving grace is that the big damage was done in the fifth inning, so maybe we’re just looking at a fatigue issue.
At any rate, five runs coughed up by your starter is hard for any offense to weather, and even the high-octane Knights offense could not surmount the deficit. Five hits — none for extra bases — and four walks led to nine left on base. Re-rack it for Sunday, fellas.
It was a pitchers’ duel in Chattanooga on Saturday, with Chase Solesky both the hard-luck loser and suddenly surpassing Sean Burke for most likely emergency starter call-up, at least among the youngsters. Solesky winnowed his ERA down to 3.23 with a superb three-hit, two-run, no-walk effort; Andrew Pérez in one frame of relief couldn’t even match Solesky’s stinginess.
In a recurring theme, the B-ham offense took the night off, not even bothering to score until the ninth. Seven hits, one for extras, and four walks led to eight LOB. Adam Hackenberg, perhaps the only catcher in the system who can be projected into a MLB backstop, was the only Baron with two hits.
As you might predict, the first winning team on the docket, the Dash, won. And again, sorry productive W-S offense, the story here is on the mound, where Jared Kelley has emerged as the pitcher the White Sox thought they stole at No. 47 overall in 2020. Kelley earned his first win of 2023 (and second career, against 15 losses!) with a yeoman effort in relief of a mediocre Brooks Gosswein start. Kelley put up four innings of scoreless, one-hit ball and now sees his relief ERA at 0.93 over 9 2⁄3 innings after five starts that led to a 9.42 ERA over 14 1⁄3 innings.
Kelley was the key to the game, as his holding the fort in the middle innings allowed Caberea Weaver, DJ Gladney and Keegan Fish to power the Dash back into control of the ballgame.
The logical procession of the four full-season clubs completes, as winning Kanny earns another win. This one was the best balance of arms and bats in the bunch, as the key arm was Horacio Andujar, remaining perfect in his White Sox career, now through five games. Why have you never heard of Andujar? Well, the White Sox didn’t acquire him until the cusp of the 2023 season, and he just joined up with Kanny on May 18. His three frames equaled Jared Kelley’s with the Dash for sheer relief brilliance.
I hate to say I told you so, but from Draft Day 2022 I was telling you Jacob Burke was an 11th-round steal, and while he is playing about a year older than his level, Burke is killing it. The center fielder’s two hits paired nicely with (two years too old for level, gulp) same from Bryce Willits, giving the Cannon Ballers all the fuel they needed on the offensive side.
Pre-draft ACL ball plays like Advanced DSL, and so far these DSL grads are struggling, now with four losses in five games. Traditionally, the ACL White Sox have been awful, though, so let’s not pin it on the first Stateside play for a lot of these guys; Chicago just can’t hack in Arizona — even fielding just one team! This DSLesque seven-inning game was simply miserable, with just three hits on offense and no one distinguishing themselves among the arms. Let’s just move on and hope for a better future from the ACL crew.
And in another rookie morning game (it’s already HOT closer to the equator, people), the DSL White Sox put up a fight but ultimately fell short against the Blue Jays after leading, 6-2 and 8-4, early.
The arms struggled hard with control, issuing 10 walks against 11 Ks, and it seems most stung were José Malave (three runs/two earned and four walks in his second pro appearance) and Halan Dishmey (now with seven earned in 2 2⁄3 innings in 2023). Among the bats, it was leadoff man Leandro Alsinois bring the heavy power-speed game early to his second shot in the Dominican.