White Sox Minor League Update: August 6, 2023

Jake Eder and Juan Carela make their debuts, while Johan Domínguez finally makes his way back in Charlotte

Johan Domínguez is back in Charlotte after a long time off from Tommy John surgery and rehab in Winston-Salem. And he pitched like he never left: Three shutout innings, with, of course, great command. It remains to be seen what the White Sox starting pitching depth chart will look like next week let alone next season, but in a re-set type of MLB season in the stretch run or in 2024, Domínguez could be a guy we see often in Chicago.

Because Domínguez only went three, it was a bullpen day, with six Charlotte arms getting into the game. Not many notables from the bullpen, but the performance as a whole was great. The pen combined for six innings with seven strikeouts. Haylen Green and Cam Gallagher collected all of their outs with Ks.

On the offensive side of the diamond, the hitters did their duty — not great, but good enough to win. Korey Lee, newly-acquired and having seen sparse action so far, got his first Charlotte hit.

Oddly enough, the hope is that this is not one of many hits in Charlotte — not because we wish ill on Korey, but because he should be getting MLB at-bats. Lee may just have to wait until September.

The top of this lineup is a who’s-who in the Sox Top 30 right now, and they delivered enough for a win. José Rodríguez led off the game, had a couple of singles and stole his 19th stolen bag of the year. Colson Montgomery didn’t come away with a hit, nor did Wilfred Veras. However, Montgomery walked twice, so he’s still doing High-A things in Double-A. Terrell Tatum reach base twice as well, and a single and a walk got him there. The big line belongs to Bryan Ramos, though. It took until the last swing of the game, but it was the biggest: a walk-off homer.

On the mound, again, a Top 30 who’s-who, with a new guy, and an old one. Jake Eder made his debut today, and struggled with control. He walked four batters and only lasted two innings. Jared Kelley piggybacked Eder’s two frames with three of his own, and was very successful (no runs, really good control). Kelley struck out four, and hopefully this is the start of a few good outings to end his season.

The game was suspended in the 10th inning, so don’t feel too bad that ticket purchasers can’t exchange or get a refund. Though the game isn’t actually done, Juan Carela made his White Sox organizational debut today, and was phenomenal. He went six innings, with one earned run.

The team isn’t comprised of the 2023 draft class (yet), but three new bats played a big role in the win. Eddie Park, Jacob González, and Calvin Harris all played today for Kannapolis, and all had at least one hit. Harris led the way with three, and he suddenly has a good Low-A OPS. One of Harris’ hits was his first A-ball extra-base hit. The same for González, who doubled for his only hit. Park had to live on singles, but he had two and added a walk, so a nice day on getting on base for the eighth-rounder.

From the others, Drake Logan and Chris Lanzilli had good days at the plate. Logan reached base each time up, and Lanzilli had three hits, including two doubles. There should be more 2023 draft class players to come, but three is a good start for a lineup.

The bump is where the Cannon Ballers won the game, and it started with Mason Adams. He had a quality start, going six innings with just one run allowed. He relied on seven ground outs to get through those six frames, because he only recorded two punchouts. The pen needed to be good behind him, as the Kannapolis bats didn’t put up many insurance runs. Emerson Talavera went the final two innings for a six-out save: No hits, no runners, no runs, easy peasy, right?