With the White Sox's Arizona Complex League season in the books, the organization is giving a few of its more prominent teenagers a little taste of Kannapolis before the A-ball season comes to a close.
George Wolkow, Ryan Burrowes and Ronny Hernández all joined the Cannon Ballers' roster this week, although none are yet active. All three are starting out on the developmental list, and it's possible they'll spend the bulk of their time there. Players on the DL don't count against the active roster, but they are able to do just about everything around the team except appear in the games, whether it's taking part in practices, or serving as a bullpen catcher or a base coach.
Wolkow, the 17-year-old Downers Grove native selected in the seventh round this year, fared decently in his first exposure to pro ball, hitting .225/.392/.325 with nine walks to 17 strikeouts over 51 plate appearances. The combination of his youth and 6-foot-7-inch frame made me prepared for striking out every other plate appearance, but he's off to an encouraging start.
Burrowes, who turned 19 last week, hit .260/.330/.386 over his first 178 stateside plate appearances. He effectively held his ground in his transition from the DSL to the ACL, although the walk-to-strikeout gap that made him intriguing for a $70,000 signing last season (25 BB, 34 K) widened to something more typical (12 BB, 51 K).
Hernandez, an 18-year-old catcher signed out of Venezuela for an unreported amount, has been the breakout player on his roster two years in a row. He followed up his excellent DSL debut in 2022 (.268/.383/.526) with an even better hit tool in the ACL this year, hitting .338/.430/.493 over 172 plate appearances. He struck out just 35 times while drawing 22 walks, and all of his games in the field were behind the plate.
Charlotte 12, Memphis 9
- Seby Zavala went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Adam Hackenberg replaced him and struck out in both plate appearances.
Birmingham 5, Rocket City 1
- José Rodríguez went 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Colson Montgomery was 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras singled twice, walked once and struck out once.
- Alsander Womack, 2-for-5 with a K.
- Tim Elko went 0-for-5 with a K.
- Luis Mieses wore the collar.
- Terrell Tatum was 0-for-1 with two walks, an HBP and two stolen bases.
- Jonathan Cannon: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 51 of 86 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 14, Bowling Green 11
- Loidel Chapelli went 1-for-4 with two walks, two strikeouts and three stolen bases.
- Brooks Baldwin, 3-for-6 with two strikeouts.
- Wes Kath was 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- Josimar Cousin: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
- Andrew Dalquist: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 WP, 21 of 48 pitches for strikes.
Myrtle Beach 6, Kannapolis 5 (10 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with a walk.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- Jordan Sprinkle was 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Shane Murphy: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
