Farm Fortnight: White Sox system could use boost from draft picks

The All-Star break also applied to the White Sox farm system, as the four full-season affiliates only played nine games over the last two weeks -- a full six-game series, followed by a three-game weekend set. Colson Montgomery and Noah Schultz had their workloads further reduced by travel to and from the Futures Game.

The position-player side of the system needed the rest, because with Brooks Baldwin in Chicago -- and looking a little out of sorts so far -- there are only a handful of players with detectable upward momentum. Others are merely getting by, with a disconcerting amount taking on water.

Fortunately, 20 freshly signed White Sox draft picks are entering the system. Some will get brief Arizona tune-ups, and others will be lucky to get a game or two over the remaining ACL schedule before participating in whatever informal bridge league comes after. Either way, the boards should look considerably different two weeks from now. It'll also be a good opportunity to revisit which prospects lost too much stock to keep tabs on the rest of the way, lest this become a review of a majority of White Sox minor leaguers. We're already touching on 70 players, as you'll see below.

Charlotte Knights

• Last two series: 3-3 vs. Durham; 2-1 @Gwinnett
• Record: 43-50 (10-9 in second half)
• Next two series: @Nashville, vs. Norfolk
• Individual stats

I don't mean to alarm anybody, but the Charlotte Knights have a rotation, as Davis Martin has replaced the perpetually achy Mike Clevinger as the rehabbing starter alongside prospects of varying excitement levels. They also benefited from the return of Lenyn Sosa, who is one of the few players who seems to understand that Charlotte is a place to pad power stats.

Edgar Quero notwithstanding, the lineup continues to sputter, so that'll be my primary point of interest when the Knights play six games 15 minutes from my house in Nashville this week.

Position Players

*Colson Montgomery looked refreshed in the extended All-Star break he received due to his appearance in the Futures Game, homering, doubling, singling and walking in a Saturday doubleheader against Gwinnett. Then he struck out three times and committed his second error of the series on Sunday, so I'm very much looking forward to watching him in person for a week to better understand the deal here.

*Bryan Ramos also was held hitless on Sunday, which ended a five-game hitting streak. The strikeouts are starting to ease up, so there's some hope. He's also hitting .193/.241/.292 against righties this year, his second year with a pronounced imbalance, so maybe there's the flaw.

*Edgar Quero is hitting .259/.394/.407 over his first eight games in Triple-A, with a homer, double and five walks. All good here so far.

*Dominic Fletcher had a decent series against Durham, followed by a quiet showing against Gwinnett, but it's still light on impact, as he couldn't muster an extra-base hit. He's been more noticeable on defense, where he's made a couple of wall-banging catches in center field. They're strong efforts, but considering he's in the minors because he injured his shoulder robbing a homer in Milwaukee, there's a risk-reward element he might not be considering.

*Zach DeLoach homered during the Durham series, his first one since May 19. He's also hitting .303/.400/.424 in July, which included a handful of days off and an All-Star break. It's worth keeping open the possibility that he was playing through something, because the lack of power -- at Charlotte, it can't be stressed enough -- has been a real disappointment.

*Oscar Colás homered on Sunday, his first since May 18. Unlike DeLoach, he'd been producing decently despite the lack of thump, but they've both contributed to the weird lack of slugging at Truist Field.

*Lenyn Sosa doesn't have a power problem, as he's slugging .608 over 88 games with the Knights. It shouldn't be that hard. He's played two games at second and one game at third since the White Sox optioned him last week.

Pitchers

*Nick Nastrini walked more batters (6) than he struck out (4) over his last two starts, which spanned just 8⅓ innings because he threw 167 pitches. There's still no traction here.

*Ky Bush has found Charlotte tougher sledding than Birmingham thus far, but he's also entered both games in the fifth inning after piggybacking on Mike Clevinger. With Clevinger's rehab stint paused, Bush should finally get some outings of his own to re-establish a routine.

*Mike Clevinger was returned from his rehab assignment as he deals with neck problems after his elbow problems, and there isn't a timetable to resume it. His existence in the organization continues to have no point to it.

*Sean Burke pitched his first walkless outing of the year on July 11, five innings of two-run ball against Durham. He's currently on the Development List, but we'll see if that's merely minor roster maneuvering during the All-Star break now that it's all full six-game series from here on out.

*Davis Martin has thrown two scoreless appearances with the Knights since his Tommy John surgery rehab advanced to Triple-A. He's thrown 60, 60 and 64 pitches his last three outings, but a rain delay would've cut his Saturday start short after four innings regardless, so it might not be indicative of his limits.

*Jake Eder was sent to Charlotte after his one day on the major league roster as the 27th man for a doubleheader, and his introduction to Triple-A was a rude one (2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K). He was one of the pitchers who threw a bullpen in front of Brian Bannister the previous weekend, so he continues to send mixed signals about Bannister's powers.

*Prelander Berroa hasn't been scored upon in July, but that only comprises four appearances, over which he's allowed nine baserunners over 4⅓ innings and throwing just 56 percent of his pitches for strikes. Blake Larson put a name to the 68th pick, and that's the most compelling reason for the Gregory Santos trade at the moment.

*Josimar Cousin is experiencing the bad part of regression right now. After giving up one hit over his first seven innings in Triple-A, he's allowed eight hits and five runs over his last 4⅔. He'd be advised to find his equilibrium, and soon.

*Matt Foster had his Tommy John surgery rehab trail interrupted by a back issue, but he should return to the mound this week.

Birmingham Barons

• Last two series: 2-4 @Mississippi; 2-1 vs. Chattanooga
• Record: 49-41 (8-13 in second half)
• Next two series: @Tennessee, @Montgomery
• Individual stats

There are two ways to watch the Birmingham Barons' record unfold over remainder of the season:

1. The second-half record, which isn't good.
2. The record against teams that aren't the Chattanooga Lookouts, which also isn't impressive.

The Barons are 35-38 against teams that aren't the Southern League's worst, and the offense continues to be the issue. They've scored just 47 runs over 15 games in July, which is eighth out of eight. They won two out of three from the Lookouts over the weekend, but one of their victories was 1-0, and on a walk-off walk.

The pitching remains solid, but that merely replicates a formula of the team most of here spend the week watching.

Position Players

*Jacob Gonzalez went 0-for-11 with five strikeouts over the three-game weekend series against Chattanooga. He hasn't walked in his last 11 games, over which he's 5-for-44 with 11 strikeouts. That's dragged his Double-A line down to .239/.299/.322, so it might be time to sound an alarm. Not the alarm, or multiple alarms. Just one will do for now.

*Wilfred Veras continues to be "not terrible," hitting .250/.333/.375 over the nine games since we last saw him, although that continues to be insufficient for his profile. If you're looking for something encouraging, he's hitting a respectable .278/.312/.460 against right-handed pitching this year. He's just abysmal against the Southern League's few lefties (.162/.216/.196, albeit over just 51 plate appearances).

*Tim Elko joined Gonzalez with a quiet weekend against Chattanooga, as he enters the fresh week with just one hit in his last 15 plate appearances. Unlike Gonzalez, he'd been decent before then, so merely consider it a dip in production that the rest of the lineup isn't making up for.

*Terrell Tatum isn't dead yet. He's 9-for-16 with three walks over his last five games. Over the 31 games prior, dating back to the start of June, he hit .118/.160/.160, so he has a lot more climbing to do.

*Jacob Burke also isn't dead yet. He'd been on the injured list since late June, but he returned for the Chattanooga series and 2-for-6 with two walks and three stolen bases.

*Adam Hackenberg was sent to the Arizona Complex League to hit the reset button after a miserable three months with Charlotte, but in his return to affiliated play with Birmingham, he's 0-for-7 with five strikeouts.

Pitchers

*Jairo Iriarte was among the group who briefly hit the Development List to throw in front of Bannister in Chicago, and he responded by throwing the first five innings of a combined no-hitter against Chattanooga on Saturday. That was his first strong start in more than a month, so even if it did come against the Southern League's worst team, he'll take what he can get.

*Mason Adams didn't get the kind of boost that Iriarte did in his quick trip to Chicago, as he threw five meh innings in the weekend's lone loss, but it boosted a profile that tends to go unnoticed.

*Noah Schultz ran into some bad luck at the Futures Game, but he returned to regular season play by throwing four no-hit innings against Chattanooga in the back end of the Saturday doubleheader, so that was a nice pick-me-up.

*Tyler Schweitzer was tasked with facing the Mississippi Braves twice before the break, and his second start (five innings of two-run ball) went better than his first (four innings of five-run ball). Despite the recent rockiness, he's still holding his own in Double-A thus far, with a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings.

*Riley Gowens has three walkless starts this season, and three outings where he's walked four or more. He's thrown one apiece for the Barons thus far, with five walks limiting him to just 4⅔ innings his last time out.

Winston-Salem Dash

• Last two series: 2-4 @Greensboro; 3-0 vs. Asheville
• Record: 43-47 (12-12 in second half)
• Next two series: @Bowling Green, vs. Greensboro
• Individual stats

The last time we checked on the Winston-Salem Dash, they had hit only two homers over the previous two weeks. This time around, the Dash hit 10 homers over nine games, so they're back to being middle-of-the-pack for the month. That makes the product a little easier to process, even if there isn't an identifiable position-player prospect worth staking significant hopes on.

The previously stable Dash rotation continues to undergo alterations, most notably in the form of lefty Lucas Gordon. Last year's sixth-round pick made a smooth transition from the University of Texas to full-season ball in Kannapolis, and the early returns in Winston-Salem have sustained the momentum. Now it's a matter of seeing whether Hagen Smith goes directly to the Dash for his rest-of-season assignment, or if they're content to let him get his up-and-downs in Low-A. If only the Bowling Green series were a week or two later, because I'd make that 70-minute drive with no hesitation.

Position Players

*Samuel Zavala turned 20 over the break, and perhaps he's feeling the effects of aging. He's just 1-for-15 with five walks and six strikeouts over his last six games, which knocked his average back below .200 for the season.

*DJ Gladney has homered three times over his last five games, giving the Dash a sorely needed source of power. The power is keeping him afloat in July, as otherwise it's been an erratic month with a number of missed games. He's hitting .220/.245/.400 with 19 strikeouts over 53 plate appearances.

*Loidel Chapelli continues to have a quiet July, without an extra-base hits or multi-hit games (.229/.342/.229). That doesn't pair well with a 33-percent strikeout rate.

*Wes Kath crossed the 100-strikeout threshold for his third time in as many seasons, but his K rate is still down by more than 10 percent from last season. He also continues to produce around those strikeouts just enough to keep him in the picture, as he's hitting .311/.415/.622 over 14 games in July.

*Calvin Harris and Jacob Gonzalez might explain why this year's White Sox draft class has far less Ole Miss in it. There continues to not be a whole lot here, as he went 4-for-21 with a double, no walks and six strikeouts over the last two series.

*Eddie Park continues to pick it up, hitting .292/.370/.417 over seven games against Greensboro and Asheville, including his first High-A homer. The strikeout total is likely to surpass the walk column by the next time we check in on him, which is the negative trend.

*Ryan Galanie is still finding it difficult to translate his Low-A success into a hot streak with the Dash. He did homer twice against Greensboro, giving him six in 34 games, but he's hitting .215/.329/.388 in the South Atlantic League, including a .560 OPS in July.

*Caden Connor could be in for the same learning curve. After posting a steady .830 OPS over 78 games with Kannapolis, he's 4-for-21 over his first six games with the Dash, although he's already hit his first homer.

Pitchers

*Peyton Pallette continues to be bullpen-exclusive this month, but the good news is that it's going well. A solo homer is the only thing marring an otherwise exceptional line over four games (7.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K). The question is whether he'll be able to stretch back out, as Tommy Vail is 2-for-2 in encouraging starts since joining the Dash rotation.

*Tanner McDougal spent the last two weeks getting knocked around by the Greensboro Grasshoppers, allowing 11 runs over 5⅔ innings. He's one good start (or two bad ones) away from matching his career high in innings, so I'm curious to see if the White Sox shake up his routine like they did Pallette's.

*Juan Carela was the lowest-ranking pitcher to throw in front of Bannister in Chicago, but he responded well to the break, as he set a season high with 10 strikeouts over five innings in a victory over Asheville on Sunday.

*Lucas Gordon made the jump from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem, and he looks like the same guy: stingy with the hits (just two over 10 innings), but with enough walks (seven) to invite questions about nibbling. It's only speculative right now, as the sub-2.00 ERA in his first full professional season can attest.

*Shane Murphy also fared well against the Tourists, allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings. That was his first strong start since May, so he needed a highlight to maintain his grip on a rotation spot.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

• Last two series: 2-4 @Myrtle Beach; 3-0 vs. Augusta
• Record: 53-37 (12-12 in second half)
• Next two series: @Charleston, vs. Salem
• Individual stats

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are likely to undergo the biggest transformation over the next two weeks, and they have the room to accommodate an influx of draft picks. The promotion of Caden Connor to Winston-Salem opened another outfield spot, and more could join him if the Sox are willing to change some playing-time allocations in the Dash lineup.

The rotation also has some vacancies, because Gordon was promoted to High-A and another one of their starters is on the shelf. Unlike the Barons, they don't figure to be drastically worse after the dust settles, because their teenage talent will probably stay in Kannapolis for the remainder of the season in order to get the extra games.

Position Players

*Ronny Hernandez keeps chugging along, as he's hitting .342/.419/.447 with four doubles over 43 plate appearances in July. He still has plenty of growth ahead, but it's enough to crack Baseball America's top 20 prospects after the midseason update.

*Rikuu Nishida has scored 81 runs over 85 games, for those paying attention. Caden Connor is second with 53, which shows you 1) how well Nishida is doing his job at the top of the order and 2) how Nishida is due for a bigger challenge, but it's fun watching somebody run up the score this year. The incoming draft class should push him ahead, right?

*George Wolkow followed up his Player of the Week performance against Fayetteville at the start of the month by going 0-for-19 with five walks, an HBP and 11 strikeouts against Myrtle Beach. Then he hit safely in all three games versus Augusta. Basically, if you're feeling excited or discouraged by him at any point, be prepared to feel the opposite in short order.

*Ryan Burrowes missed the entirety of the Myrtle Beach series, then played one game with the ACL White Sox. He returned to Kannapolis for Sunday's game and hit his first homer of the season, so there..

Pitchers

*Seth Keener last pitched on July 4, when he allowed one run while walking four, plunking three and throwing just 23 of 55 pitches for strikes. The 2023 third-round pick is currently on the Kannapolis injured list alongside 2023 second-round pick Grant Taylor.

*Aldrin Batista is now the leader of the staff with Keener and Taylor out, and Gordon up in Winston-Salem. He bounced back from his worst outing of the season against Myrtle Beach with six innings of two-run ball against August on Friday.

*Jake Peppers needed to get his control back on track after issuing eight walks over his previous six innings, but his last start on Saturday was cut short after two scoreless innings due to rain.

ACL White Sox

• Record: 23-33
• Individual stats

Up until this season, the ACL White Sox would normally be rejuvenated by the incoming draft picks. But play started a month earlier this season due to the changing compensation for minor-league players, which means the ACL regular season ends Thursday. As you might be able to ascertain from the record, the ACL White Sox won't be in any playoff games, so the players who would normally be ticketed for this roster will instead bide their time with unofficial games generating unofficial reports.

Position Players

Yoán Moncada had his rehab stint paused at the same time as Clevinger, except the explanation behind it was far more opaque ("anticipated soreness," which is new).

As for the prospects, Javier Mogollon missed a week due to injury, but he's hitting .429/.581/.810 with nine walks and eight strikeouts over 31 plate appearances since returning on July 9, so he might be figuring out that leg kick after all. Stiven Flores added a triple and a double to go along with the grand slam he'd hit earlier in the month, so the hits are starting to fall, and with more authority. Abraham Nunez would be an effective sparkplug at the top of the order (.395/.472/.465 in July) if he could run the bases better (three steals in eight attempts).

Adrian Gil is running in the opposite direction, as he's 2-for-29 with 16 strikeouts over his last 10 games. Angelo Hernandez has been able to pull out of his slump over the last two weeks, but the other Hernandez continues to be a bench player despite the seven-figure international bonus.

Pitchers

Is it just me, or are you enthralled by the contest between Christian Oppor, Luis Reyes and Jordany Chirinos to see which one is going to lead the ACL White Sox in innings? You better not be, because I'm just trying to find something interesting to say about them. If Jimmy Lambert challenges them for the team lead in innings, then he needs a new agent. He's just working his way back from a shoulder problem.

DSL White Sox

• Record: 10-23
• Individual stats

The Dominican Summer League season will continue weeks after the ACL season closes, creating a weird, rookie-ball-shaped gap in the Minor Keys, but we'll persevere. They'll need to extra runway to see if they can generate anything worth tracking stateside next season. They have the fourth-worst record in the league, and second-worst among organizations with a single DSL team. Their run differential is the second-worst in the DSL, with only an Arizona Diamondbacks split squad keeping them from the cellar.

Position Players

Eduardo Herrera returned to the lineup on July 15 after missing three weeks, and while he's still trying to find his way (2-for-16, eight strikeouts), he did hit his second triple. 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 is also slumping to a similar degree, Jesus Premoli has just two hits in his last 29 at-bats.

On the bright side, Jehancarlos Mendez is hitting a contact-oriented .324 in July, and Christian Gonzalez continues to get on base, and he's on trend to get his stolen-base success rate over 50 percent.

Pitchers

Yhoiker Fajardo only threw two innings his last time out, and it's too recent to know if that's due to workload control or an injury. Angel Bello threw the best start of his young career two outings ago, throwing four innings and allowing just one unearned run on two hits while striking out five.