The Winston-Salem Dash are now 2-12 against the Bowling Green Hot Rods in Kentucky, and I got my first first-hand look at their latest loss during their 7-2 defeat on Wednesday afternoon.
As a team, there wasn't much to report. Their line had as many errors as hits (three), and that's not all. Two of those hits came in the first two innings, and both were infield singles. Wes Kath finally registered a palpable hit when the Dash were down to their last strike, but I still don't think they had one hard-hit ball all game.
Nevertheless, I'm happy I made the drive up from Nashville, because I came away from the game with a better idea of three White Sox prospects in particular.
Kohl Simas: I saw Simas pitch with Project Birmingham last September, but for just one inning, and from a camera well down the first-base line, so I couldn't form any impressions besides, "Hey, scoreless inning."
A couple innings into watching him behind home plate, I could actually articulate some opinions about him. The first one was, "He seems a lot more comfortable facing lefties than righties," which is unusual since Simas is right-handed. He just seemed to like his four-seamer and a sharp curveball against lefties, but he went fastball-slider to righties, and that breaking ball just didn't seem like much of a pitch.
Then I looked up the numbers, and yep:
- vs. LHB: .204/.355/.306
- vs. RHB: .343/.424/.548
That lefty line will take a bit of a hit because Bob Seymour* slugged a three-run homer in Simas' final inning of work. His fastball command escaped him as he hit 80 pitches, so he tried to throw a 3-2 curveball to get the final out of the inning, and oops:
But I think Simas pitched better than his line. The radar gun was out, but it wouldn't surprise me if he were hovering around 94 mph with ride. He got quite a few swings and misses early on it, and the curveball had some power until the last few he threw. He's still worth following, even if his 6.69 ERA doesn't suggest it.
(*Always good to see a baseball Bob, given the famine and all.)
Terrell Tatum: He certainly embraces the leadoff role. When he gets to two strikes, he'll shorten his stride, slap the ball and run like hell. He led off with an infield single and eventually stole home on a double steal with DJ Gladney, and he came around in the eighth inning by forcing an E4 on a high chopper that allowed him to advance to second, taking third on a balk that he coaxed, then scoring via #WILDPITCHOFFENSE.
He also was picked off. He's tied for the Sally League lead in stolen bases with 25, but he's second in unsuccessful attempts with seven, and he's been picked off a few times as well. The numbers said he lives and dies by his wheels, and that's what I saw Wednesday afternoon.
Loidel Chapelli: Somebody with his stature -- listed at 5'8" and 187 pounds -- shouldn't have such problems with his center of gravity, but he twice fell over after ranging to his right. The first one allowed a runner to score from second on an infield single ...
... and the other resulted in a throwing error.
He drew three walks and has an idea of what he's doing at the plate, which is why he's hitting .245/.374/.413 as a 21-year-old making his stateside debut in High-A. I just don't know where you play him.
Gwinnett 8, Charlotte 5
- Carlos Pérez went 1-for-4 with an HBP and a K.
- Oscar Colás, 1-for-5.
- Jimmy Lambert rehabbing: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 12 of 26 pitches for strikes.
Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 2
- Alsander Womack went 1-for-=4.
- Bryan Ramos, 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Yoelqui Céspedes wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Luis Mieses singled twice and struck out twice.
- Adam Hackenberg was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Bowling Green 7, Winston-Salem 2
- Terrell Tatum went 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and a steal of home, but he was also picked off.
- Loidel Chapelli walked three times during an 0-for-1 day.
- DJ Gladney struck out thrice while going 0-for-4, but he stole second on the double steal with Tatum.
- Wilfred Veras went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Wes Kath singled twice and struck out twice.
- Kohl Simas: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 54 of 87 pitches for strikes.
Lynchburg 11, Kannapolis 7
- Jacob Burke went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Brooks Baldwin was 1-for-2 with a walk.
- Shane Murphy: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
