White Sox Minor League Update: April 27, 2024

The big club wins, the minors (mostly) lose

Well, it was bound to happen: The White Sox win a couple of games, and the farm system flips cold. But at least Kannapolis stood proud.

Here are the standings for each club in the organization:

Chicago White Sox (5-22), fifth place (of five), MLB AL Central
Charlotte Knights (11-14), seventh place (of 10), Triple-A IL East
Birmingham Barons (14-6), first place (of four), Double-A SL North
Winston-Salem Dash (8-12), fifth place (of six), High-A SAL South
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (11-8), third place (of six), Low-A CL South

Four games better than .500, and with a likely playoff team to boot. Hopefully Birmingham can sustain its blistering pace even after sure-promotions Drew Thorpe, Jairo Iriarte and Edgar Quero move to Charlotte or Chicago.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8, Charlotte Knights 4 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
Charlotte has been cruising, taking six of its last 10 and chiseling its run differential down to -26, and things started here the same, as the Knights rushed to a 2-0 lead straight away and a 4-3 edge in the fourth. Thanks, not needed in the majors Oscar Colás!

Then, bottom four, disaster struck starter Nick Nastrini, and he was unable to escape the inning. When the dust cleared, Chase Plymell had to put out NN’s fire, and Charlotte was buried, 8-4. The final five frames of the game passes uneventfully, and without tallies.

Chattanooga Lookouts 4, Birmingham Barons 1 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
The Barons matched Charlotte’s hit output, four, and result, loss. The club has been red-hot, winning eight of 10, but the bats got soggy on Saturday night.

Wanna see the one run?

Mason Adams was hot or cold tonight, depending on the batter. He pitched six strong, but was touched for three longballs — so when he was off, he was OFF. That said, he had the second-most swing & misses in Double-A on Saturday, with a prodigious 20.

Rome Emperors 8, Winston-Salem Dash 7 (12 innings) (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
The Dash were up early in this one, 3-0 through two and 6-1 an inning later. Then, it simply fell apart, as Rome rallied to tie in top of the ninth and had the staying power to take the game in extras.

Noah Schultz got the start and matched his normal season output in his four innings: 50 pitches, two earned, no-decision. Shane Murphy took the fifth in his 2024 debut and went scoreless over eight pitches.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4, Charleston RiverDogs 2
Game box not loading, will check back in a.m. to write up game plus polls.