With the White Sox optioning Dominic Fletcher to Charlotte on Friday, it made me wonder how Cristian Mena is faring in Arizona. The last I heard of him, he'd been popping 96 early in spring training, causing some real new-prospect optimism among Mike Hazen and Co., and some trepidation that the White Sox didn't understand who and what they had.
Five starts into the Triple-A season, that leap hasn't quite happened. He dominated over five shutout innings in his Reno debut, but it's been tougher sledding since. Mena has issued 14 walks over his last 19 innings, and his fastball has settled in at 92, so it appears as though he's still a guy who exhibits inconsistent control with an arsenal that often has to emphasize breaking balls due to a lack of outstanding velocity.
Of course, Mena still has time on his side, given that he'll be 21 years old all season long. He was five years younger than Fletcher at the time of the trade, and that another thing about his profile that hasn't changed. If I understand the passage of time like I think I do, he'll probably continue to maintain that advantage.
Charlotte 6, Lehigh Valley 4 (10 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and sac fly.
- Colson Montgomery was 0-for-2 with four walks.
- Oscar Colás, 1-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Zach DeLoach went 2-for-3 with two walks.
- Adam Hackenberg, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Jared Shuster: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Birmingham 7, Chattanooga 5 (10 innings)
- Terrell Tatum went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Jacob Burke, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Brooks Baldwin was 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Wilfred Veras, also 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Tim Elko was 1-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos went 1-for-3 with a double, walk, HBP, strikeout and stolen base.
- Jake Eder: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Winston-Salem 5, Rome 3
- I missed Mario Camilletti 's activation on Wednesday, but he went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a double.
- Calvin Harris went 0-for-3 with a K.
- DJ Gladney, 2-for-4 with a triple, double and strikeout.
- Juan Carela: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 WP
Charleston 4, Kannapolis 3
- Eddie Park went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and a stolen base.
- Ronny Hernandez was 1-for-5.
- Rikuu Nishida struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance.
- Seth Keener: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 43 of 74 pitches for strikes.
