Farm Fortnight: White Sox reshape rosters in second half

With the first half in the books and the 2024 MLB draft around the corner, the tectonic plates under the White Sox farm system are starting to shift. Two first-half division titles guaranteed the Birmingham Barons and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers extra games at the end of the season, so now the focus can turn to matriculating individual players for their respective next steps.

Most notably, the White Sox promoted Edgar Quero and Brooks Baldwin to Charlotte, with the hope that some combination of those two, Colson Montgomery and Bryan Ramos will be ready to stake their claim to a big-league job entering spring training. The White Sox's pitching pipeline has built a critical mass of arms to cycle through over the next few baseball months, but the position-player side of the equation is sorely lacking unless the newest Knights are able to hit the ground running.

Let's run through the prospects of those prospects at Charlotte on our way to providing biweekly progress reports on more than 70 White Sox prospects or rehabbing players through the farm system.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 3-2 @Norfolk; 2-3 @/vs. Jacksonville
• Record: 38-46 (5-5 in second half)
• Next two series: vs. Durham, @Gwinnett
• Individual stats

With the White Sox no longer prioritizing team success at Birmingham, the Knights finally have access to the best performers at Double-A. That includes Baldwin and Quero on the position-player side, as well as Ky Bush in the rotation. With Drew Thorpe going straight from Birmingham to Chicago, Bush will be the first starting pitcher to be exposed to the unforgiving environment of Truist Field in the summer. The hope is that the fears are overstated.

The Knights also received Dominic Fletcher, who is technically on a rehab stint for his shoulder, but could end up hanging around Triple-A until Tommy Pham is traded, because the at-bats aren't readily available in the corners until then.

Position Players

*Colson Montgomery will scuffle into next weekend's Futures Game, barring a sudden turnaround. He went 4-for-33 with a homer over the past nine games, striking out 13 times in 40 plate appearances, and he hasn't a multi-hit game since June 2, a stretch spanning 25 games.

*Bryan Ramos plays every time I'm about to ask James whether he's heard anything about Ramos' condition. He missed two consecutive games in the Jacksonville series, which is his third straight series where he didn't appear in every game. He hit just .182/.206/.273 with 12 strikeouts over 35 plate appearances, underscoring the concerns.

*Brooks Baldwin was promoted to Charlotte just as he ended an 0-for-20 drought with a walk-off single in his final game for Birmingham. The question was whether that hitless stretch, while extreme, was merely a form of regression counterbalancing the otherworldly April, and based on the way he's started his Charlotte career -- 4-for-7 with a homer and a walk -- you'd probably have to say "yes."

*Edgar Quero also homered in his first game in Triple-A, followed by an 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday. He'd finished his stint with Birmingham hitting .371/.440/.608 over 28 games since the start of June, so his promotion caught him at the height of his Double-A powers.

*Zach DeLoach is firmly in Charlotte after a couple of stints with the White Sox, but he hardly looks settled. He hit .194/.235/.258 and struck out in half of his 34 plate appearances over the last two series. Also, he hasn't homered at any level since May 19.

*Oscar Colás also is in Charlotte for the foreseeable future, but he looks happy to be playing anywhere. He hit .351/.415/.513 with two triples and two doubles over nine games against Norfolk and Jacksonville.

*Adam Hackenberg was moved to the development list to make room for Quero on the Charlotte roster, while Chuckie Robinson is still the third catcher on the 40-man roster. It's too early to say his window has closed, but he's certainly not in control of his professional destiny right now.

Pitchers

*Nick Nastrini is still struggling to throw strikes. He issued seven walks and hit a batter over his last 6⅓ innings in starts against Norfolk and Jacksonville. Four unearned runs in the former outing spared his ERA a bit, but not nearly enough to mask the greater problems.

*Ky Bush had his Charlotte debut delayed by rain, but whenever he's able to take the mound for the Knights, he may provide a template for the rest of his former Barons rotationmates. He wrapped up the Birmingham portion of his season with five innings of one-run ball against Tennessee, a fine finishing touch on three months that restored his prospect status.

*Mike Clevinger was also affected by the rain. Saturday's postponement delayed the resumption of his rehab stint, which was interrupted by a neck issue.

*Sean Burke looks like he's advanced through the ramp-up period, pitching every five days and hitting 80-something pitches during his starts. His pitch count is limited more by inefficiency than any mandate, because walks are still a problem. The splits suggests that he's not comfortable against lefties. They're hitting .237/.395/.492, with a walk rate that's nearly double what Burke posts against righties.

*Prelander Berroa still hasn't made any progress distinguishing himself at Triple-A, which wasn't a problem when Gregory Santos was injured, but the Mariners just activated Santos from the 60-day injured list, so Berroa and DeLoach are now on the clock. Either that, or everything rests on what the White Sox do with the 68th pick on Sunday.

*Josimar Cousin suffered his first truly rough outing of the season, giving up a three-run homer against Jacksonville after missing nearly two weeks on the temporarily inactive list. He rebounded with a scoreless inning three days later. He's been the steadiest of the off-roster options, at least when he was available.

*Matt Foster has thrown three scoreless appearances in three chances for the Knights as he progresses through Tommy John surgery rehab, but his fastball has only averaged 91 mph on Statcast in his last two outings.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Tennessee; 1-5 vs./@Rocket City
• Record: 41-28 (4-8 in second half)
• Next two series: @Mississippi, vs. Chattanooga
• Individual stats

The Barons went from being the jewel of the White Sox farm system in May to shockingly thin in July. The roster has lost a lot of weight -- partially to its own success, and partially to emergencies. The White Sox promoted Drew Thorpe, Edgar Quero, Brooks Baldwin and Ky Bush -- honorable mention to Duke Ellis as well -- and that's what you want to see. But the Barons are suddenly short on outfielders and DH-quality bats, especially since there haven't been any bats at Winston-Salem demanding tougher competition. Instead, guys like Matt Hogan and Jhoneiker Betancourt have been called up from Kannapolis and the Arizona Complex League to fill lineup spots on an emergency basis.

That's put a lot of pressure on the remaining Barons to step up, and the position-player corps has been collectively slumping, and while the Barons continue to pitch pretty well, the advancements of Thorpe and Bush make the rotation less likely to cover for the offense's flaws this time around. Weathering this uncertainty will be a good test of Sergio Santos' soft skills, because the rock-solid one-through-six rotation made everything just a little bit too easy over the first 2½ months.

Position Players

*Wilfred Veras finally stabilized after the longest slump of his professional career, hitting .268/.311/.366 with four doubles and five stolen bases over his last 12 games. Everything's fine but the lack of home run power, which his profile needs to overcome the lack of plate discipline and so-so defense.

*Jacob Gonzalez is back to being an everyday shortstop after the promotion of Baldwin, and he hit a grand slam in the middle of the series against Tennessee, but it continues to be tough sledding otherwise. He hit just .204/.264/.268 over the last two weeks despite the slam, and he has a sub-.600 OPS since the start of June.

*Terrell Tatum is back to playing everyday due to the shortage of outfielders, but it hasn't helped his slump any. He went just 4-for-36 with no extra-base hits over the last two weeks, and he's putting up a Martín Maldonado-like line of .126/.171/.171 over 29 games since June 1.

*Tim Elko broke a 24-game homerless drought in the series against Tennessee, and then he went deep again versus Rocket City. He was quiet otherwise, hititng .192/.240/.319 over the 12 games. Unlike the teammates listed above, he'd been hitting well enough to absorb a slump.

*Jacob Burke went on the 7-day injured list before the Tennessee series, and he didn't appear in a game over the last two weeks.

Pitchers

*Jairo Iriarte has thrown a couple of quality starts over the last two months, but he hasn't shown MLB-caliber form since Memorial Day. The plummeting strikeout rate is the biggest concern, as he's only fanned 13 over his last 23 innings.

*Jake Eder had been making those on the White Sox's side feel a little better about the Jake Burger trade, but he, too, has fallen into his first sustained slump of the season. He's given up 14 runs over his last 13 innings, and he's allowed homers in five consecutive starts after limiting opponents to just one homer over his first 51⅔ innings. Brian Bannister might have to go back to the drawing board.

*Mason Adams is the unquestioned top dog on the staff, now that Drew Thorpe is in Chicago, Ky Bush is in Charlotte, and Noah Schultz is still limited to four innings a start. He's allowed just three runs total over his last three starts, as he continues to be surprisingly regression-proof.

*Noah Schultz reached another milestone in his workload, as he's now throw more than twice as many innings in 2024 (54⅓) than he had in his entire professional career entering the season (27). It's convenient that the Futures Game will be played on Saturday, which means that Schultz can continue adhering to his existing schedule.

*Tyler Schweitzer suffered his first rocky outing as a Baron, giving up six runs (four earned) over four innings in a loss to Rocket City on Tuesday. He'd been 3-for-3 in satisfactory starts before then.

*Riley Gowens is the latest pitcher to make a smooth transition to the Birmingham rotation, striking out seven over five scoreless innings in his Double-A debut. Enthusiasm about his success at Winston-Salem could be slightly diminished by age-for-level concerns, but a 24-year-old in Double-A looks far less out of place, so he's worth watching closer now.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Rome; 3-3 @/vs. Hickory
• Record: 38-43 (7-8 in second half)
• Next two series: @Greensboro, vs. Asheville
• Individual stats

The Winston-Salem Dash continue hovering around .500, and most of the members of the Dash roster continue to tread water, looking neither overmatched by the competition nor ready for more. The exception is on the pitching side, where Tyler Schweitzer and Riley Gowens earned promotions to Birmingham to replace Drew Thorpe and Ky Bush, and they've made smooth transitions to date. The arrival of Davis Martin on his rehab stint should help cover innings in an above-average fashion, but when he leaves, it'll be up to guys like Peyton Pallette and Tanner McDougal to make the next step -- unless the White Sox have others in mind, as you'll read below.

On the position-player front, a few young bats have made strides over the past couple weeks, but the progress remains within the normal range of hot-and-cold fluctuations. The lack of power is particularly problematic, as the Dash offense only hit two homers over the last two weeks. That's by far the fewest in the South Atlantic League over that time period, as the Brooklyn Cyclones are the closest with seven Greensboro hit 22 over the last 12 games, and they're on the schedule next.

Position Players

*Samuel Zavala finally raised his average over .200, which had been surprisingly challenging because he'd been producing around the lack of hits, drawing walks and providing some extra-base power. He still drew the crazy amount of walks, resulting in a wacky .280/.526/.260 line over nine games between the Rome and Hickory series.

*DJ Gladney also picked up his hitting as the lat injury shrinks in his rear-view mirror. He hit .289/.319/.378, although an 0-for-9 slump to close out the Hickory series cooled him off.

*Loidel Chapelli was probably due to regress considering he posted a .613 OBP over the previous fortnight, although he'd have probably preferred it to be gentler than the .185/.267/.185 line that followed.

*Wes Kath pulled out of a nosedive, overwriting a 4-for-29 slump that closed out his June with an 8-for-20 heater to open July. He's only homered once over the last month of games, which is the biggest problem right now.

*Calvin Harris cut his already respectable strikeout rate further with only four K's over 29 plate appearances the past two weeks, but it's not translating to any offensive production (.192/.276/.231).

*Eddie Park answered the knocks about his lack of extra-base hits or stolen bases from the last Farm Fortnight by logging one double and two steals against Rome and Hickory. The walks that he drew in Kannapolis are starting to return to his profile, as he hit .250/.364/.286 with five walks over eight games.

*Ryan Galanie continues to run hot and cold, as he followed up a seven-game hitting streak by going 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts over the final four games of the Hickory series.

Pitchers

*Davis Martin advanced to Winston-Salem to continue his recovery from Tommy John surgery. He's given up five runs over six innings in two starts with the Dash, although most of that can be attributed to one bad inning.

*Peyton Pallette gave up five runs over 3⅔ innings against Rome on June 28, his third consecutive start with more runs than innings pitched on his line. His next appearance was a two-inning appearance out of the bullpen, where he struck out five while allowing just a solo shot. We'll see if that more a way of hitting the reset button, or whether the Sox were looking for a way to give 25-year-old undrafted free agent Tommy Vail some run at High-A. Vail, a lefty out of Auburn, has struck out 66 over 38 innings, the first 33 of which came with Kannapolis.

*Tanner McDougal was in a similar rut as Pallette, but he managed to climb out of it over the last two weeks, allowing three runs and striking out 12 over 9⅔ innings. Efficiency remains an issue, but the effectiveness around the walks returned.

*Juan Carela continues to deal with control problems, walking six batters and plunking two more over nine total innings. He's only averaging 4 ½ innings per start due to control, so he doesn't look like a good bet to reach 100 innings for a third straight season.

*Shane Murphy has given up eight homers over his last four starts spanning 19⅓ innings, which undermines the value of his strike-throwing.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 1-5 vs. Columbia; 4-2 @/vs. Fayetteville
• Record: 48-33 (7-8 in second half)
• Next two series: @Myrtle Beach, vs. Augusta
• Individual stats

With so many prospects on the Winston-Salem Dash in individual holding patterns, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers roster remains largely stable. Ryan Galanie has been the only prospect promoted.

Outside of Galanie and Eddie Park and a couple of older pitchers, the Cannon Ballers haven't lost much talent to promotion, even though experienced collegiate bats like Rikuu Nishida, Caden Connor and Mikey Kane continue to look good for something tougher, while the experienced collegiate pitchers like Lucas Gordon and Seth Keener continue to build up the number of up-and-downs against competition that doesn't stress them too much. Depending on how many players Sunday's draft eventually adds, the Ballers could be sitting prettier than any other White Sox affiliate in the second half.

Position Players

*Ronny Hernandez ended June on an upswing, finishing the month hitting .279/.444/.344. That carried into July, as he went 0-for-4 in the first of his five games against Fayetteville, then finished the series with four multi-hit games, including three doubles.

*Rikuu Nishida is now up to 74 runs over 76 games. The last White Sox prospect to score 100 runs in a season was Luis Robert Jr., who scored 108 runs in 122 games back in 2019. One difference: Robert hit 32 homers, whereas Nishida hasn't driven himself in this season, which makes it more impressive.

*George Wolkow is generating astounding highlights on a daily basis, maximizing his production around a strikeout rate that's falling, but still too high against Low-A pitching (52 over 28 games). James wrote about Wolkow's gargantuan brand of precociousness today.

*Ryan Burrowes had gone 18 straight games without an extra-base hit before doubling in the finale against Fayetteville on Saturday. Momentum has been fleeting.

Pitchers

*Grant Taylor was placed on the 60-day injured list for his right lat strain, so while the White Sox didn't call it serious, that automatically gives it a certain amount of significance. This is the first injury of consequence to a White Sox pitching prospect in 2023, and it'll explain when he's not on the board two weeks from now.

*Seth Keener led a combined nine-inning no-hitter by throwing the first six scoreless against Columbia, yielding only one walk while striking out seven, and throwing just 62 pitches. Then he went out and needed 55 pitches to record five outs, with four walks and three hit batters over 1⅔ innings against Fayetteville. That's the low minors for you.

*Lucas Gordon has been the White Sox's most effective pitcher, but if you were looking for a nit to pick with a sub-2.00 ERA, you could say the 12 percent walk rate is higher than you'd like to see from a pitchability lefty in Low-A. So it's noteworthy that he posted his first walkless start his last time out in five innings against the Woodpeckers.

*Aldrin Batista replicated Gordon's success from the right side, in that he allowed just two runs over nine innings, but because he gave up walks (seven) instead of hits (four) while striking out 12.

*Jake Peppers has thrown just two innings in each of his last three starts. Over those six innings, he's allowed 23 baserunners (13 hits, eight walks two HBPs). He'd throwing five innings in each of his previous eight starts before this stretch, so this has been an abrupt development.

ACL White Sox

• Record: 19-28
• Individual stats

The ACL White Sox have been without the services of their most dynamic player over the last week, but it's only shown in the stolen-base category thus far. The ACL White Sox are somehow just 6-for-14 in stolen bases over the last two weeks, which seems like it should be impossible against rookie-ball defenses.

Position Players

Javier Mogollon last played on July 1, when he reached base three times (two doubles and a walk) while only striking out once, but committing two errors. That was just another eventful day in an action-packed season, but his strikeout rate has decreased over the season, so he could use all the reps he can get this season. Abraham Nunez had a nice two weeks, hitting .313/.429/.438 over 11 games, but he went 0-for-4 in stolen bases. Adrian Gil draws enough walk to still get on base at an average clip when he's not hitting.

Stiven Flores maximized the effect of his first extra-base hit, and only one to date. It was a grand slam, and marked the start of his current five-game hitting streak. That stands in contrast to fellow catcher Angelo Hernandez, who went 1-for-16 over his last six games. Erick Hernandez isn't getting reps, so we'll see how long his $1 million signing bonus keeps him on this board.

Pitchers

While we said a fortnight ago that Christian Oppor's numbers seem besides the point this season, he's starting to rack up the strikeouts, with 20 over his last 13 innings, so strides are being made. He's now trailing Jordany Chirinos by just an inning for the team lead, as control problems limited him to just 5 ⅓ innings over his last two starts. Luis Reyes is splitting the difference between the two in terms of effectiveness.

DSL White Sox

• Record: 7-17
• Individual stats

At .638, the DSL White Sox have the 10th-lowest OPS of any DSL team. That doesn't sound bad until realizing 1) there are 51 DSL teams, and 2) seven of the nine teams below them are an organization's second squad. Only the Mariners and Marlins are worse among teams representing all of the organization's best recently signed Latin American talent.

The same can be said for the pitching staff's ERA, which at 6.87 is only better than the Mariners, Nationals, and then the Pirates' and Padres' second squads.

Position Players

Eduardo Herrera hasn't appeared in a game since June 25, when he reached base three times for the first time all year with two singles and a walk. Jurdrick Profar has also cooled off, hitting .211/.302/.264 with an increase in strikeouts (14 over 42 plate appearances), while Jesus Premoli and Jehancarlos Mendez have also scuffled. Even Christian Gonzalez's .390 OBP during this stretch is buoyed by walks (.219/.390/.250), and with a sub-.500 success rate on the basepaths (3-for-7).

Pitchers

It's better on the pitching side, if only because Yhoiker Fajardo has distinguished himself with three consecutive strong five-inning starts, a stretch that landed him on Baseball America's list of 30 DSL standouts. Without him, there wouldn't be one player on the DSL White Sox distinguishing himself.