With the White Sox idle, I used the free time to drive up to Bowling Green to see the Winston-Salem Dash in person for the first time this season, and to also get an idea of what Oscar Colás is all about. The Dash rolled out a lineup with all notable position-player prospects accounted for. Ideally Colás would've played the outfield instead of DHing, but I'll take what I can get.
I'm planning to head back on Sunday to see Matthew Thompson, assuming the rotation holds. I'm hoping Lorenzo Bundy's Sunday lineups don't resemble Tony La Russa's, but here are a bunch of first impressions in case my return comes up empty-handed for second looks.
*Duke Ellis has been a mainstay of Julie's Week in Winston recaps, and he wasted no time laying out the terms for the Duke Ellis Experience. He opened the game with a ground-rule double, stole third despite being picked off, then came home on a sac fly. He also made a nice sliding catch in the slim bit of foul territory in the left-field corner to strand a runner on second in the third inning.
Ellis is hitting .313/.392/.464 as a 24-year-old in Winston-Salem after hitting .200/.274/.277 there last year. On one hand, he's old for the level. On the other, he was thrown into High-A last year after being a non-drafted free agent signed after the five-round 2020 pandemic draft. It's worth keeping an eye on him as an unusual development curve befitting of the times, but he seems like he's worth having around to fill out a roster if nothing else.
*Bryan Ramos went 1-for-4 with a solid single, but he stood out more in the field. He made a ranging play to his left, with plenty of time to gather his momentum and make an accurate throw to first. Later in the game, he made a tricky catch near the side wall in foul territory, covering some ground after starting from near the shortstop position.
*Garrett Schoenle benefited from the strong defense, throwing an easy five scoreless innings. Schoenle, like Ellis, is a non-drafted 2020 free agent who is trying to make up for lost time at the age of 24. He needed just 66 pitches, and has delivered two strong starts since the Dash put him into the rotation this month. He's a lefty out of the University of Cincinnati, so I'm just assuming he's another Charlie Leesman.
*Adam Hackenberg had a quiet night at the plate, but he caught a strong game. He seemed to win the strike zone for his pitchers (eight strikeouts, three looking), and his mitt seemed to come back toward the plate on most of the pitches worth presenting. His throwing arm was tested once, and he lost a close call at second. He's hitting .269/.343/.423 over 42 games this season.
*Luis Mieses is listed at 6'3" and 180 pounds, and he hasn't filled out yet, still moving with a gangle about him (gangly doesn't have a noun form, but it should). He also apologized to me when he realized the spot that he took on deck blocked my initial camera angle, which nobody has ever done because it's not necessary, so points for politeness.
*Oscar Colás had a weird night. It's been hot and dry for about a week straight in the area, and it ended up playing like Astroturf, to his benefit. In the sixth inning, he pounded one into the ground that hopped over both the first and second baseman. (I left Moises Castillo hurting himself sliding into third, because his reaction reminded me of so many arid youth baseball fields growing up.)
Colás caught it off the end of his bat and was shaking out his hand after the at-bat, making me wonder if he'd take his next PA as DH. Sure enough, he came up in the ninth and hit another hard grounder that hopped up and bit the first baseman on the neck.
It was almost the perfect crime, but when Ramos followed with a high fly ball that both outfielders lost in the dusk, Colás -- who was moving on a hit-and-run -- stood on second, retreated to first, and when he saw the ball wasn't caught, bolted to third without retouching second. They caught him on an appeal, and Ramos lost what would've been a free second hit.
Jacksonville 10, Charlotte 4
- Tim Anderson DH'd and went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Adam Haseley was 1-for-4 and was picked off/caught stealing.
- Carlos Pérez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Gavin Sheets, 3-for-4 with a homer.
- Yolbert Sánchez was 0-for-4 with a K.
Notes:
*Anderson's single should've been a double, and he thought it was a homer.
Birmingham 6, Mississippi 5
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Yoelqui Céspedes, 0-for-3 with a walk, HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
Winston-Salem 3, Bowling Green 1
- Oscar Colás went 2-for-3 with a sac fly.
- Bryan Ramos, 1-for-4.
- Luis Mieses was 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Adam Hackenberg, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
ACL White Sox 13, ACL Royals 10
- Cam Butler went 1-for-6 with two strikeouts.
- Luis Pineda, 2-for-6 with three strikeouts.
- Ben Norman raised his average to .500 by going 4-for-5 with two doubles.
- Dario Borrero and Alvaro Aguero both were 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Yohemy Nolasco: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 WP
DSL White Sox 18, DSL Reds 6
- Erick Hernandez went 3-for-6 with two doubles, a walk and a strikeout.
- Ryan Burrowes, 1-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Deuces wild for Loidel Chapelli: 2-for-5 with two doubles, two walks and two strikeouts.
- Ronny Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Leandro Alsinois, 2-for-4 with a walk and a double.
