With neither Yolmer Sánchez nor Jose Rondón doing anything to suggest they're long-term solutions either at second base or on the bench, a lot of eyes are turning to Danny Mendick, who is being groomed for superutility work at Charlotte.
Mendick's hitting .271/.367/.441 for the Knights, and it undersells what he's been doing as of late. Over his last 30 games, he's hitting .308/.388/.492, and he's 9-for-9 in steals. The strikeout rate is a respectable 17.3 percent, which is within a rounding error of his K rate at Birmingham. The 12.5 percent walk rate is a new high. If I had to guess about how the crazy environment at Triple-A is most affecting his numbers, I'd point to the fact that he has more homers (eight) than doubles (six). It seems like those should be flipped.
If you're wondering about his defensive assignments:
- Third base: 18 starts
- Shortstop: 16 starts
- Second base: 10 starts
- Left field: Two starts
And while errors aren't anything, it's worth noting that he's only committed one, which came at short. The two outfield appearances are the first of his career, which started when the White Sox selected him in the 22nd round of the 2015 draft.
Durham 10, Charlotte 0
- Danny Mendick went 1-for-4.
- Zack Collins, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Joel Booker was 0-for-3 with a K.
Winston-Salem 6, Salem 1
- Nick Madrigal and Steele Walker both were 2-for-5.
- Carlos Perez went 1-for-4.
- Lincoln Henzman: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Kannapolis 4, Lakewood 1
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-5 with a double.
- Romy Gonzalez, 1-for-4 with a strikeout and a sac fly.
- Corey Zangari, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Amado Nunez was 0-for-4.
