Maybe Sergio Santos is some sort of sorcerer after all, because after a weekend sweep of the Gwinnett Stripers at Truist Field, the Charlotte Knights are 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
If you're less inclined to believe in the occult, a prospect-heavy offense that can take advantage of one of Minor League Baseball's friendliest hitting environments is another difference. The Knights scored 30 runs over 24 innings in the three games, with Kyle Teel standing out among a slew of hot starts.
Teel went 6-for-12 with two homers, a double, two walks and nine RBIs while catching once and DH-ing twice during the series. The performance merited International League Player of the Week honors, even if it was only for a weekend.
Teel looks like he'll enjoy the short porch in right field for as long as he has it. Both homers he hit were well struck -- 102.9 mph and 110.9 mph, respectively -- but with a low-enough launch angle that would've introduced a shred of doubt in bigger ballparks. In Charlotte, outfielders began peeling off immediately understanding that a loud carom probably wasn't coming.
It's an auspicious beginning for the headliner of return in the Garrett Crochet trade. Considering Crochet has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $170 million extension with the Red Sox, both sides must be feeling pretty bullish right now.
Among the many topics he discussed with James, White Sox Director of Hitting Ryan Fuller was the opposite of a wet blanket when talking about Teel. You can decide for yourself whether the opposite of a wet blanket is a dry blanket, or an oxygen canister.
"Kyle Teel is a baseball rat," Fuller told him. "He loves being challenged. He wants to go through his routine everyday and then it's 'OK, try and break me down. Try to find where my bat path isn't covering and I'll find a solution.' He's just an ultra competitor. He chirps people around him, makes it competitive and just elevates the entire environment. I see him as a guy who obviously has pop but also a hitter with a ton of different clubs in his bag. When he needs to shoot a ground ball through the six hole, he can do that. When he needs to go big fly pull-side, he has that ability too. That guy goes in and he's not afraid of any at-bat that's going to come his way."
Teel distinguished himself thanks to his four-digit slugging percentage, but he had plenty of company when it came to hot bats ...
- Edgar Quero: 5-for-11, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 K
- Chae Meidorth: 3-for-11, 1 HR, 4 BB, 1 K
- Tim Elko: 3-for-8, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 K
... and the Charlotte lineup hit .314/.431/.569 as a whole over the three games.
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One notable player who didn't get in on the fun was Colson Montgomery, who finished the series 1-for-13 with nine strikeouts. At least the hit was a palpable one, both because it was a homer, and an opposite-field one at that.
That's a novel development, because none of Montgomery's 18 homers in 2024 qualified as opposite field. His spray chart from last season shows one three inches left of dead center, and the rest are to the pull side.
Montgomery came into the season wanting to use more of the field, and a hit like that certainly qualifies as such, so that's good.
What's not? Most of his other plate appearances. He swung at 39 of 69 pitches and whiffed 18 times, including a lot of chases on pitches below the zone. Perhaps he's trying to make up for the time he missed in the spring due to back spasms, because that's an uncharacteristic reversal of his discipline. Let's see if he settles down.
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When seeing that Dan Altavilla picked up the victory with 1⅔ scoreless innings of relief on Sunday, my first thought was "Didn't he opt out of his deal and into free agency at the end of spring training?" Indeed he did, but he returned to the White Sox after exploring his options, probably because the fringes of the White Sox bullpen are more promising than the fringes elsewhere.
Dominic Fletcher also remains in the organization after clearing waivers following his Opening Day DFA, but his partner in attempted outrighting, Jake Eder, was traded to the Angels for cash considerations on Monday.
White Sox Minor Keys
The daily Minor Keys summaries won't start until the other full-season affiliates get underway on Friday, but the hope is that other White Sox rosters will reveal themselves beforehand, and we can sneak in the Knights lines underneath season previews.
In the meantime, here's a recap of Charlotte's first three box scores.
Charlotte 9, Gwinnett 1 (Friday)
- Chase Meidroth went 1-for-3 with two walks.
- Colson Montgomery was 1-for-5 with an opposite-field homer and two strikeouts.
- Edgar Quero caught and went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel DH'd with a homer, single, walk and two strikeouts.
- Tim Elko homered, singled and struck out twice.
Charlotte 12, Gwinnett 4 (Saturday)
- Chase Meidroth went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Colson Montgomery struck out thrice, was plunked twice and got picked off.
- Edgar Quero DH'd and went 1-for-3 with two walks and two strikeouts.
- Kyle Teel drove in six and came a triple shy of the cycle during a 3-for-5 night.
- Tim Elko went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Greg Jones Jr. made his org debut in center, going 2-for-3 with a double, strikeout, a stolen base and a CS before getting ejected in the eighth.
- Nick Nastrini stuffed the box score: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 45 of 79 pitches for strikes.
Charlotte 9, Gwinnett 6 (Sunday)
- Chase Meidroth went 1-for-4 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
- Colson Montgomery wore the golden sombrero while going 0-for-5.
- Edgar Quero caught, going 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel, 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Jairo Iriarte: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 46 of 80 pitches for strikes.
