After 660 minor-league games and 2,741 minor-league plate appearances, Blake Rutherford finally made his long-awaited MLB debut this weekend.
Unfortunately for the White Sox, it came as a member of the Washington Nationals.
Rutherford had his contract selected after a successful 62 games split evenly between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, hitting .345/.395/.583 with 11 homers, two triples and 19 doubles over just 261 plate appearances. For context, he set his career-high in homers with the Charlotte Knights in 2022, but he hit 13 of them over 467 PAs, and while playing half of his games in the league's friendliest power park.
Rutherford seemed to appreciate the change of scenery:
“I just wanted a fresh start with an organization to go and play, learn from new coaches, learn from everybody, learn from the players around me,” he said. “And I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made. It’s been an amazing opportunity. I couldn’t have better things to say about this place.”
It's worth monitoring his progress the rest of the season. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his debut, so it's entirely possible that he might be a 26-year-old whose third year at Triple-A was the charm, and that happens to represent his ceiling. If this newfound production represents newfound potential, then that's another fun thing to second-guess the Sox about.
Norfolk 8, Charlotte 2 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Carlos Pérez was 0-for-1.
- Korey Lee replaced him ands truck out in both plate appearances.
- Adam Hackenberg was 0-for-2 with an HBP and a strikeout.
- Luis Patiño: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Norfolk 6, Charlotte 2 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 2-for-3 with his 17th homer and a walk.
- Adam Hackenberg singled, walked and struck out.
- Jordan Leasure: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Rocket City 8, Birmingham 4
- José Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Colson Montgomery was 0-for-4 with an HBP and two strikeouts.
- Edgar Quero, 2-for-5.
- Wilfred Veras doubled, singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Terrell Tatum was 1-for-5 with two strikeotus.
- Luis Mieses, 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Ky Bush fared better: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Bowling Green 5, Winston-Salem 1
- Jacob Burke went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- DJ Gladney was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
- Wes Kath, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Josimar Cousin: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 61 of 90 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 4, Charleston 3 (10 innings)
- Jacob Gonzalez went 1-for-5 with a strikeout. He was picked off.
- Brooks Baldwin, 0-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Calvin Harris went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Eddie Park, 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Noah Schultz: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 39 of 68 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*Schultz's night:
ACL Brewers 4, ACL White Sox 3
- Jordan Sprinkle doubled twice, singled twice, struck out once and stole a base.
- Ryan Burrowes, 1-for-4 with a double.
- Erick Hernandez went 1-for-2 with two walks.
- Seth Keener's pro debut: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- Christian Oppor's pro debut: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
DSL White Sox 2, DSL Phillies Red 1
- D'Angelo Tejada went 1-for-4 with a sac fly. He was also picked off.
- Abraham Nunez was 0-for-2 with two walks.
- Rafael Alvarez, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Luis Reyes is figuring it out: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
