White Sox Minor Keys: Sept. 5, 2023

Between his batter's box calisthenics and his outgoing public presence, Rikuu Nishida is unusually magnetic for an 11th-round draft pick.

Scott Merkin talked to Nishida about how he arrived at baseball, the University of Oregon and the White Sox, and at the end, he hits on one of my pain points about the White Sox franchise: It's incredible that they have one of the biggest branding successes in the world, and can't support it with anything resembling decent baseball.

Playing for the White Sox has been “amazing,” according to Nishida. It was the team he wanted coming from Oregon, but not necessarily for baseball reasons.

“I know the White Sox logo. That’s the thing for me,” said Nishida, who has five stolen bases, eight walks and six strikeouts over 14 Minor League games. “I like the cap. I know the hat. I have a couple of White Sox hats. So that was good."

Durham 8, Charlotte 7

• José Rodríguez went 1-for-5.
• Carlos Pérez, 1-for-3 with a double and a sac fly.
• Cristian Mena: 5 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 55 of 87 pitches for strikes.
• Jordan Leasure: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Biloxi 9, Birmingham 2

• Alsander Womack went 0-for-4.
• Colson Montgomery, 1-for-3 with a homer, HBP and strikeout.
• Bryan Ramos went 1-for-4, and homered for the other run.
• So did Wilfred Veras, with a strikeout.
• Edgar Quero went 1-for-2 with a walk.
• Tyler Elko and Terrell Tatum both were 0-for-3 with a K.
• Luis Mieses went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
• Matthew Thompson: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 48 of 84 pitches for strikes.

Highlights:

*Montgomery's homer was a no-doubter:

*Ramos hooked a hanger:

Hickory 4, Winston-Salem 3

• Loidel Chapelli went 1-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
• Brooks Baldwin went 2-for-3 with a double and a sac fly.
• Wes Kath singled, struck out thrice and stole a base.
• Norge Vera: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 40 of 62 pitches for strikes.
• Andrew Dalquist: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP

Kannapolis 7, Lynchburg 0

• Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.
• Eddie Park, 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts
• Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a strikeout and an HBP.
• Calvin Harris, 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Jordan Sprinkle went 2-for-4 with a walk.
• Lucas Gordon: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.