White Sox Minor League Update: May 25, 2024

Almost all good news, with mostly-splendid starts across six games, in a busy Saturday slate!

Saturdays are starting to shake out as six-game Updates, and that’s even before the DSL gets rolling. All in all, in was an excessively delicious day to follow the White Sox minors — there was even a win over the Cubs! For an Update that has a little bit of everything, read on.

Nashville Sounds 5, Charlotte Knights 3 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
It might not be the most compelling storyline for 2024, but when (if?) some of the excessive Birmingham talent (Edgar Quero, Jacob Gonzalez, Brooks Baldwin, Terrell Tatum, every starting pitcher, plus more guys I either can’t remember at the moment or whom listing would push this recap over 1,000 words) gets to Charlotte, do the Knights end up making a heroic push to .500 and/or postseason play?

Well, those are questions for another day, when some of that Barons talent triggers some releases from veteran AAAA bats and arms. One of those arms on the bubble is Touki Touissant, who did everything he could on Saturday to stick even in a future, fortified Charlotte rotation; like a year ago with the White Sox when he made his debut appearance with four no-hit innings (becoming just the second White Sox pitcher ever to do so), Toussaint had four no-hit innings in his first Knights start of the season.

Some obligatory batting footage, featuring Jared Walsh’s third home run in two days:

Birmingham Barons 7, Biloxi Shuckers 1 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Strange doings in a couple of these games tonight with how starters/piggyback pitchers are being used. Jairo Iriarte, who’s been aces for the Barons and promotion-worthy, piggybacked Noah Schultz’s debut in Double-A. Before we get to fawning over how incredible Schultz was in his start, this head-scratcher needed to be brought up.

OK, let’s fawn! WOW.

The angles are not great in on the Biloxi Shuckers/Beach Chickens feed, so great defense is about the best we can give you. But Ian Eskridge at Future Sox watches a lot more MiLB action than anyone on the planet, and if he’s fawning over Schultz, get on the bus, people.

Also, if you’re chuffed about the White Sox system, particularly the three ace shortstops sprinting toward the South Side (Colson Montgomery, Brooks Baldwin, Jacob Gonzalez), you may have paused a moment to think, uh-oh, three guys for one position! The White Sox seem to be anticipating that:

Sure, just a chopper-two-hopper, but Jacob plays it with derring-do if not fundamental soundness, so all-good for him anywhere around the keystone.

Winston-Salem Dash 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 5 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
This one is weird, no matter how you cut it. First, you have Manuel Veloz, who has now owns five of Winston-Salem’s 22 wins on the season (22.7%) despite a very up-and-down start and a 5.92 ERA. Someone has a very active guardian angel on his shoulder.

Next, it’s not often a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle is determined by sacks-packed free passes, but this one sure was:

Before the plate discipline drama for the win, Mario Camilletti got the Dash back even with a round-tripper:

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 17, Augusta GreenJackets 2 (Game 1) (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
Seventeen runs is extraordinary in any circumstance, but particularly in a SEVEN-INNING doubleheader game. There really are too many highlights (I mean, scroll down for the one-sided polling in this one), so let’s share two pinch-hit home runs. First, Mikey Kane:

Matt Hogan’s wasn’t pinch-hit, but he was a defensive sub and this was his first at-bat, so let’s just count it.

Swinging 2-0 up 16-0, eh Hoag? Better hope Grandpa Tony isn’t watching.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Augusta GreenJackets 0 (Game 2) (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
This one was just more of a good, old-fashioned, seven-inning beat-down by the red-hot Cannon Ballers. Although let’s be honest, fewer than one run per inning, Kanny? Weak.

Seth Keener was murderous on GreenJackets bats, and Ronny Hernández completed an almost-perfect twinbill. Kannapolis is ON FIRE!

ACL White Sox 6, ACL Cubs 2 (Gameday Box)
These days, it’s pretty weak to stoke any true Crosstown rivalry, right? Sure, it’s amusing that the Cubs were supposed to run away with the Central yet can’t hit for beans and are hovering around .500, but the White Sox are historically awful.

Well, some of us still revel in Cubbie pain. And if we have to take it in the form of a Complex League victory, we will.

Sean Burke bounced back from his terrible second start just five days ago to pen a gem. Unsure whether he scoots right back to the Knights or makes a tour of the affiliates on his way back to that beautiful ballpark in Charlotte, but Sean might be ready to bid adieu to Camelback Ranch for 2024. Ditto Tristan Stivors, who has been nearly perfect in his rehab at Camelback (five of six killer outings, 2.35 ERA, nearly two Ks per inning). Perhaps the White Sox will super-save a two-for-one ticket and send both straight to Triple-A.

On the flip side, someone who shouldn’t be hitting on the South Side soon is Luis Robert Jr., who not only struck out all three times he stepped to the plate, but on nine pitches. (At least, that was the scouting report from Papa Stivors, at Camelback to watch his son today.)