Farm Fortnight: Birmingham has company

While the Birmingham Barons have gained early Team of the Year consideration from Baseball America, they're no longer the only promising White Sox affiliate. Kannapolis, which had been hovering around .500 for most of the year, exploded over the last two weeks to seize first place in the Carolina League South. Even Winston-Salem is only a couple of games out of first place despite a sub-.500 record, so everything below Charlotte is in pretty good health, and holding together fairly nicely.

Pitching has been a strength -- again, below Charlotte. Birmingham's rotation has been stout all year, and now it's gained Noah Schultz, who is the opposite of stout. The Dash have benefited from a couple of surprising performances from unheralded lefties, and Kannapolis got a big shot in the arm with the addition of 2023 second-round pick Grant Taylor.

Catch up on how more than 50 White Sox prospects fared over their last two series in another installment of Farm Fortnight.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 4-2 vs. Durham; 1-5 @Nashville
• Record: 20-30
• Next two series: vs. Worcester, vs. Jacksonville
• Individual stats

Every week the Charlotte Knights avoid being in last place is a victory, because while the White Sox are using whatever talent can best support the 26-man roster (Zach DeLoach, Nick Nastrini, Dominic Fletcher, Justin Anderson), the Knights aren't getting any reinforcements from the deep and cohesive Double-A roster.

They've gotten a little bit of a boost from minor-league signings with ample big-league experience like Jared Walsh and Wilmer Difo, both of whom have four-digit OPSes over the last two weeks. The pitching staff seems like it's barely holding together, although four no-hit innings from Touki Toussaint in his first start of the season might be able to help things.

Position Players

*Colson Montgomery backslid the last couple weeks, hitting just .205/.289/.256 over the last 10 games (he had a couple games off during the Durham series). Having seen him in Nashville, I have a better idea of the tug-of-war he's encountered with the automatic strike zone. He had three ABS challenges over two games. He successfully overturned a strike three against him, but two pitches originally called in his favor were changed to strikes because a seam clipped the border, so it was a net negative in a very small sample.

*Zach DeLoach hit his first two home runs of the season before the White Sox briefly called him up to the 26-man roster after Eloy Jiménez's injury. He returned to the Knights on Sunday and picked up three hits. James talked to DeLoach about the good (reduced strikeout rate) and bad (lack of power, too many grounders) in Monday's Minor Keys.

*Oscar Colás is now one off of Montgomery's team lead in walks. In fact, he had more walks (10) than hits (eight) over the last two series, giving him a strange line of .242/.444/.394 during that time. Like DeLoach, he's not pairing the improved plate discipline with much power.

*Adam Hackenberg has taken a backseat to Chuckie Robinson when it comes to playing time, as he went 1-for-11 with four walks and two HBPs over 18 plate appearances between Durham and Nashville. That gives him a weirder-looking line than Colás' (.091/.389/.091).

Pitchers

*Jonathan Cannon succeeded in two of three starts, bouncing back from a tough four innings on Tuesday in Nashville with six innings of two-run ball in the finale. He didn't walk anybody, but he plunked a pair of batters, giving him four HBPs in 10 innings against the Sounds.

*Prelander Berroa resumed recording strikeouts, after going four consecutive games without a K to start his month in the minors. But he was also scored upon in three of four outings, so there isn't any detectable progress. Yet Gregory Santos keeps experiencing one setback after another, so the bar for "winning" the trade remains low.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 4-2 vs. Chattanooga; 6-0 @Biloxi
• Record: 30-14
• Next two series: vs. Rocket City, @Tennessee
• Individual stats

The six-game losing streak the Barons suffered shortly after the White Sox called up Bryan Ramos directly from Double-A looks more and more like an aberration. Then again, the White Sox effectively replaced Ramos with Jacob Gonzalez to restore some depth to a still inconsistent-lineup.

The Barons' pitching has been a model of consistency, owning a staff ERA of 2.56, which is eight-tenths of a run better than second-place Rocket City. That staff grew even deeper with the promotion of Noah Schultz, who will continue throwing every Saturday while the five-man rotation makes appearances on its own schedule. It's an embarrassment of riches right now.

Position Players

*Edgar Quero is seeing a tough May all the way to its bitter end, but the shape of his struggles has changed. He's drawn nine walks over his last 11 games, which is characteristic of his historical plate discipline, but he's not doing much else around it right now (.125/.300/.225). At least he can claim some credit for the performance of the pitching staff.

*Wilfred Veras will record his second-worst month of his professional career, assuming he doesn't drastically improve upon his .250/.281/.393 line in May over the four remaining games. It merely drags his season line back to where it usually ends up -- an OPS nearing .800 -- so we'll soon see how much is regression versus some sort of plateau.

*Brooks Baldwin has been bumped off the starting shortstop job with the arrival of Gonzalez, but the return to the utility lifestyle hasn't affected his production any. He's riding a six-game hitting streak, with two hits in five of those games. He homered once in each of the last two series, walked more than he's struck out (seven to six) while going 5-for-5 in stolen bases, so you can't really ask for anything more at the moment.

*Jacob Gonzalez has acquitted himself well to Double-A, going 13-for-29 with a homer, three doubles and a walk over his first 31 plate appearances with Birmingham. He's started three games at shortstop and three games at second, which he’s been told is a potential avenue to the 26-man roster.

*Terrell Tatum has already topped his Double-A home run total from last year, hitting three in 191 plate appearances after just two homers over 276 PA with the Barons in 2023. He's gained 40 points of ISO while cutting his strikeout rate by more than 4 percent. Every little bit of pop helps for his profile.

*Tim Elko has awoken. He's riding a 13-game hitting streak, including a .362/.400/.617 line over 50 plate appearances between the Chattanooga and Biloxi series. He's still striking out too much for it to feel sustainable at higher levels, but that's not the point right now.

*Jacob Burke is starting to see the hits fall, as he went 12-for-37 with three walks, along with 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts. That's good for a .324 average, but also a .324 slugging percentage.

*Duke Ellis stole eight bases in eight attempts over his last 10 games, and leads the Southern League in steals by 11.

Pitchers

*Drew Thorpe didn't get called up to the majors like I thought he might, but he rewarded my faith in his skills by allowing just one run over 11⅔ innings. He's now 7-1 on the season, and it's a win-loss record that reflects how well he's been taking care of the first two-thirds of a game.

PERTINENT: Drew Thorpe is still in Double-A, but has a mindset built for the next step

*Jairo Iriarte had to piggyback on Noah Schultz his last time out, but he still managed to throw five strong innings to carry the game the rest of the way. After alternating between acceptable and unacceptable control in his starts, he's walked just four batters over his last three starts spanning 18⅔ innings.

*Noah Schultz needed only 40 pitches to throw four scoreless innings against Biloxi in his Double-A debut. I wrote up his start in Sunday's Minor Keys, but the immediate takeaway is that his sweeper plays at the higher level.

*Jake Eder is the least impressive pitcher in this 5½-man rotation, but even he's holding up his end of the bargain, with helpful performances in three of his last four starts. He invites a lot of traffic on the basepaths, but he's holding opponents to just one homer and a sub-.100 ISO, so contact quality is on his side for the time being.

*Ky Bush has tightened up his control over the course of the season. He allowed just two runs over 13 innings between starts against Chattanooga and Biloxi, and he managed to complete seven innings on just 80 pitches his last time out.

*Mason Adams still has as many HBPs as walks, dealing out three apiece over his most recent two starts. He's also allowed fewer than two earned runs in six of eight starts this season.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 4-2 @Greenville; 3-3 vs. Bowling Green
• Record: 22-23
• Next two series: vs. Hickory, @Rome
• Individual stats

The Dash lost two of their stars with the promotions of Schultz and Gonzalez, while DJ Gladney hit the injured list in the middle of a hot streak, but they're managing to fill in the gaps with some strong OBP-oriented lines from some of the guys you'll see below, as long as others like Shawn Goosenberg and Mario Camilletti.

On the pitching side, they replaced Schultz with Drew McDaniel, a 23-year-old righty who threw two consecutive scoreless outings lasting seven innings, with 20 strikeouts against zero walks. That earned him the honor of Carolina League Pitcher of the Week, and he made his South Atlantic League debut on Monday. See the Minor Keys at the bottom of this post for more details.

Position Players

*Samuel Zavala isn't quite getting hot, but he's showing signs of life. He hit just .231 over the 10 games he played in against Greenville and Bowling Green, but he drew 12 walks against 10 strikeouts, and four of his six hits went for extra-bases, including two homers. That gave him a line of .231/.462/.539, which maxes out a .267 BABIP.

*Loidel Chapelli is no longer a fixture at the top of the order following another lengthy slump. He went just 4-for-29 with four walks and two doubles over the last two weeks, making it three consecutive series where he's been largely absent.

*Wes Kath has also cooled off during the month of May, and the strikeouts are starting to get away from him again. He struck out 17 times over his last 10 games, giving him 28 over 69 plate appearances this month.

*Calvin Harris is another one of those players who is getting on base, drawing 10 walks over his last eight games. That's good for a .200/417/.320 line over the last two series. The bigger concern is that he's yet to cut down a basestealer, giving up 20 steals in 20 attempts. His struggles with the running game at Ole Miss were blamed on the pitching staff, and while that could be the case here, the other catchers on the roster, Colby Smelley and Weston Eberly, have five CSes apiece.

*Eddie Park was overqualified for Kannapolis, as his 17 walks in 15 games attested, and Winston-Salem is proving to be more of an appropriate level. He's hitting .280/.280/.300 with zero walks against six strikeouts over his first 11 games.

Pitchers

*Peyton Pallette hasn't yet posted consecutive strong outings, but he threw his second-best start of the season his last time out against Bowling Green, allowing just a solo homer, two walks and a hit batter over four innings, striking out six.

*Tanner McDougal had issues with control and efficiency over the last two series, walking seven batters and throwing 166 pitches over seven innings. Lefty-heavy lineups are making him work harder (.310/.388/.466).

*Juan Carela is getting grounders at a significantly higher rate compared to his time in Winston-Salem last year, with FanGraphs showing a jump from 37.2 percent to 53.9 percent. That helps offset the step backward with his walk rate, which is back up to 12.6 percent this year.

*Tyler Schweitzer has stepped up to become Winston-Salem's most reliable starter, as he's allowed just one run in each of his last three outings, and each has lasted at least six innings. He's also issued just two walks over that time, so he's been able to slash his walk rate by nearly 50 percent from his first exposure to High-A in 2023, to a comparable sample size in 2024.

*Shane Murphy still doesn't have a rotation spot even after Schultz's promotion, but he's still excelling as a piggyback rider. He threw four hitless, scoreless innings against Greenville, then followed it up with five innings of one-run ball against Bowling Green, which happened to be the first earned run he's allowed all year.

*Shane Drohan took the next step in his rehab stint, going from the ACL to High-A. He retired just one of the four batters he faced in his Winston-Salem debut, but followed it up with 1⅓ scoreless innings. He still has nearly two weeks left in his 30-day rehab stint, but there hasn't been anything in his body of work that suggests the White Sox need to make an extraordinary effort to keep their Rule 5 pick.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 5-1 vs. Fayetteville; 5-1 @Augusta
• Record: 26-18
• Next two series: vs. Columbia, @Fredericksburg
• Individual stats

The Birmingham Barons no longer have to do it alone, as the Cannon Ballers went 10-2 over the past two series to climb to the top of the Carolina League South standings, leading Columbia by 1½ games.

By run differential, they should be even better. They're a league-best 93 runs in the black, and they did a lot of that damage over the past two weeks, outscoring Fayetteville and Augusta by a combined score of 97-24, including a 22-1 drubbing of the Woodpeckers on May 15, and a 17-2 thumping of Augusta in the front end of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Their May stats are gaudy, as you might expect. Their .382 OBP is the best in the Carolina League by more than 40 points, and they've scored 156 runs this month, with Fredericksburg a distant second with 119. Pair it with a pitching staff that's been among the league's best all year, and the White Sox could have two playoff teams come September.

Position Players

*Ronny Hernandez broke out of the slump that consumed the first two weeks of May by going 11-for-31 with four walks against three strikeouts against Fayetteville and Augusta. He also contributed a couple of doubles. The power doesn't impress right now, but as a 19-year-old with an equal numbers of walks and strikeouts, he's keeping his head above water.

*Rikuu Nishida reached base more often than not, hitting .317/.509/.415. He drew 14 walks in 12 games and was plunked a couple of times as well. He's somebody who could probably stand to be tested in the Sally League, but if the White Sox want a boost to their organizational winning percentage, he's doing plenty of damage right now.

*Ryan Burrowes is another 19-year-old hanging tough at an ambitious assignment. He's hitting .244/.340/.268 through his first 10 games at Kannapolis. Strikeouts are an early issue, as he's racked up 16 K's over 47 plate appearances, including three silver sombreros, but he did manage to get through a game without striking out for the first time on Sunday.

*With regards to letting the offense rake in pursuit of a postseason appearance, we could continue to see 23-year-olds Ryan Galanie (.359/.440/.573) and Caden Connor (.308/.384/.462) continue to look advanced for the level. They're helping knock down what Nishida sets up, but it won't be until Winston-Salem that we'll have a better idea of any latent prospect status.

Pitchers

*Grant Taylor was worth the wait, as he's sitting in the high-90s with a dynamic slider after coming back from Tommy John surgery. He's struck out 12 hitters without a walk over eight innings with Kannapolis, and he's thrown just 115 pitches. It all looks very easy right now.

*Seth Keener has been more good than bad. His start against Fayetteville was limited to two innings due to rain, but he made hay with better weather against Augusta, striking out nine over 5⅔ scoreless innings. The walk rate is coming down as well.

*Lucas Gordon continues to excel at limiting damage no matter how much trouble he makes for himself. He hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his eight outings, and limited Fayetteville and Augusta to one run over 11 innings. The six walks is the problem, but opponents are only hitting .157 against him, so he's absorbing them for now.

*Aldrin Batista has pitched at least five innings in every one of his seven starts this season, although they're starting to get bumpier as of late, as he's allowed 11 runs over his last 16 innings.

*Jake Peppers threw a pair of quality starts over the last two weeks, although the walks bunched up on him again last week against Augusta, with five free passes over six innings.

ACL White Sox

• Record: 7-8
• Individual stats

The ACL White Sox are off to a decent start, even after losing Ryan Burrowes and Grant Taylor to Kannapolis. They did receive a guy named Luis Robert Jr. -- still awaiting confirmation whether it's pronounced "Robert" or "Roh-BAIR" -- but after homering in his first plate appearance, he hasn't yet made a mockery of the competition at a time where everybody following the White Sox could use a good laugh.

As for the roster that's in the ACL for the short-term long haul, it's very much an early 2000s offense right now, as these White Sox are top five in homers, walks and strikeouts. Which makes sense, as most of these players were born in the early 2000s.

Position Players

Mogollon hasn't played since May 18, and Wolkow since May 21, which is unfortunate since both were rolling. Wolkow notched three consecutive two-hit games, and avoided striking out in his last two.

Gil, who stood out for walking 25 times against 21 strikeouts over 188 plate appearances in the DSL as a 17-year-old last year, is doing the same thing in the ACL at age 18. He's also topped last year's stolen base total in a third of the playing time. Nunez's production is following a similar shape, but with the volume turned down a notch.

Pitchers

Burke struggled throwing strikes in his first two rehab appearances, but then he struck out 11 batters over four innings his last time out, so maybe he'll gain some escape velocity out of Arizona. Also, here's a Barlow sighting for those wondering about bullpen reinforcements.

Among pitchers who aren't old for the level, Oppor has been tough when he's in the strike zone -- and there's more good news on that front below -- and Chirinos has thrown two consecutive scoreless three-inning outings. Reyes got roughed up his last time out, and Martinez isn't looking like much.

White Sox Minor Keys: May 27, 2024

Hickory 6, Winston-Salem 4

• Loidel Chapelli went 0-for-3 with a walk, strikeout, HBP and stolen base.
• Calvin Harris was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
• Wes Kath singled, walked, struck out, got plunked and stole a base.
• Samuel Zavala was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Drew McDaniel's Winston-Salem debut: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Columbia 5, Kannapolis 4

• Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
• Ronny Hernandez was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Ryan Burrowes, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

ACL White Sox 3, ACL Rangers 1

• Abraham Nunez went 0-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
• Adrian Gil was 0-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
• Stiven Flores was 1-for-2 with two walks.
• Erick Hernandez, 1-for-3 with a K and an HBP.
• Christian Oppor: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K