The Futures Game is only seven innings, which forces managers to make a bunch of awkward changes in order to play as many participants as they can.
Noah Schultz got his money's worth by throwing 23 pitches, the third most of the 16 pitchers used at Globe Life Field on Saturday. Unfortunately, that's because he struggled to get anybody out. He retired just one of the six batters he faced, including three straight singles by lefties to open the inning.
Termarr Johnson muscled a 97-mph high fastball into left field to start things off, and that foreshadowed the struggle to come. He got ahead 0-2 on another lefty, Bryce Eldridge but after a slider off the plate that Eldridge watched, fought off a high fastball, then lined an elevated slider to left-center. Schultz then put a 95-mph fastball up and in to Ethan Salas, who chopped it toward first, but it happened to be the perfect swinging bunt in between the mound, the first baseman and second baseman, and the NL loaded the bases on eight pitches, seven strikes.
Then came the non-strikes, as Schultz walked Druw Jones on five pitches to bring in a run.
He was able to win the fourth lefty-lefty matchup by striking out Cam Collier, surviving a 2-0 fastball challenge that just tickled the top of the strike zone to get back into the count. Schultz missed with a slider, pumped a fastball for a full count, and then blew another challenge fastball for the first out.
It turned out to be the only out, because he clipped Aidan Miller on the toe with a 1-1 cutter to bring home another run, and that ended Schultz's day. A sac fly added a third run to his tab, so he finished with an uninspiring line: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP.
Despite the lack of success, Keith Law still liked what he saw:
Schultz was probably the most impressive pitcher of the day, coming at hitters from a low three-quarters slot. You could say he looks like Chris Sale, and I think Eury Pérez from the other side. Either way it’s got to be very uncomfortable for left-handed hitters — with 95-97 with life and a very good changeup. He threw two different breaking balls that looked like sliders, a mediocre one at 79-81 and a plus one at 87-88.
As for Colson Montgomery, the White Sox's other representative, his day was far more productive, and far less eventful. He reached base in both of his plate appearances, albeit in the least exciting methods possible. His 1-0 swing ticked Ethan Salas' mitt, resulting in a catcher interference his first time up, and then he drew a walk featuring two swinging strikes and three relatively easy takes. He did manage to reach base against lefty Tyler White after falling behind 1-2, so there was a little more temptation to chase the outside sliders than normal. He resisted.
Charlotte 7, Durham 5
- Dominic Fletcher went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Oscar Colás was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. He was also picked off/caught stealing.
- Brooks Baldwin also went 1-for-3, but with a homer, walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Zach DeLoach was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
Highlights:
*Fletcher once again hit the wall and lived to tell the tale.
*Baldwin showed some opposite-field power on a hanger.
Mississippi 3, Birmingham 2
- Jacob Gonzalez went 1-for-4.
- Tim Elko was 2-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Terrell Tatum went 2-for-3, but he was caught stealing.
- Riley Gowens: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 43 of 82 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 4, Winston-Salem 2
- Loidel Chapelli went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Eddie Park was 1-for-4 with a K.
- DJ Gladney went 2-for-4 with his seventh homer.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-4.
- Wes Kath was 1-for-4.
- Caden Connor, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Lucas Gordon's High-A debut: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 45 of 73 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 4, Myrtle Beach 2
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
ACL White Sox 5, ACL Dodgers 0 (7 innings)
- Adam Hackenberg went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Javier Mogollon walked twice and struck out twice.
- Angelo Hernandez was 3-for-4.
- Adrian Gil went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and an HBP.
DSL White Sox 9, DSL Giants Black 7
- Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Same for Jurdrick Profar, though he doubled and struck out.
- Jehancarlos Mendez went 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Angel Bello: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 WP
