White Sox Minor League Update: April 16, 2024

Powered by Mason Adams, the Barons keep rolling, while the bullpen saves a thriller for Kannapolis

Syracuse Mets 9, Charlotte Knights 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Hey, great news: The Knights scored two in the first inning, courtesy of the second batter of the game:

And the fourth:

The bad news? Well, that’s the final eight innings of the game, all Mets.

Starting pitcher Brad Keller pitched like he did NOT want the White Sox brass to know he’s a longtime Royal, with five innings of four-run ball, with four walks to boot. Bailey Horn pitched like he had Cubbie stink all over him (yes, I understand when you’re a White Sox fan no other team is fair to criticize, but this old dog will not learn that new trick when it comes to the Cubs) with a horrendous four-run outing while retiring only two batters.

A lot of familiar Charlotte themes in this one, including glaring walks totals; on the bad side, the pitching giving up nine, and the badder side, hitters taking two (against 11 Ks). Blech.

Birmingham Barons 2, Mississippi Braves 1 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Dissed the Charlotte rotation about a week ago, so let’s give it up to how excruciatingly good the Barons arms have been through 10 games this year:

SP1 Drew Thorpe 2-0, 0.82 ERA, 0.727 WHIP, 15 Ks/2 BB
SP2 Jake Eder 0-1, 7.27 ERA, 1.961 WHIP
SP3 Jairo Iriarte 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.250 WHIP
SP4 Mason Adams 1-1, 3.27 ERA, 1.091 WHIP, 14 Ks/1 BB
SP5s Connor McCullough/Ky Bush 1-1, 3.60 ERA, 1.100 WHIP

Adams took the ball tonight and was absolutely golden after a poor start in his first turn. He strangled Missy with six scoreless frames and was efficient at 12 pitches per inning — somehow squeezing nine Ks in there as well.

The arms overall (with relief help coming from Drew Dalquist and particularly Adisyn Coffey in a high-leverage outing) did everything asked of them, and the offense did just enough.

And the defense? Boy howdy.

These Barons are fun to watch.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 7, Winston-Salem Dash 6 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
This one hurt, as the Hot Rods rallied to tie in the seventh and moved ahead in the eighth; great game, but the Good Guys came up short.

Tanner McDougal had a rough start (three earned in four innings) and Garrett Schoenle took the loss and a blown save to boot with two earned in two frames, but in-between Ernesto Jaquez was pretty tight in his two frames. The offense boasted a few highlights, too, including homers from Wes Kath, Shawn Goosenberg and Bryce Willits, plus a double and triple from Loidel Chapelli.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
This one doesn’t appear to be as close as the final score indicated, as Kanny honored the efforts of a lights-out bullpen (4 2⁄3 scoreless innings across four arms) by eking out the win.

On offense, it was just a two-hit game. But when those two hits are round-trippers, you’re certainly maximizing effort. The pair of homers that made the difference included a Matt Hogan two-run shot in the second inning, while Albertson Asigen’s first homer in the White Sox organization provided the deciding third run, in the third inning. Check the polls for the full bullpen heroics, but Jesús Mendez and Bryce Collins took the final two innings and split four Ks between them in HIGH leverage.