BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- According to my trusty Eephus League scorebook, the Barons' 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Rocket City at Regions Field on Tuesday night marked my fourth time seeing Jake Palisch pitch, but the first time I'd made a point in doing so.
In the three other games, he was the last of several pitchers to throw for Birmingham, usually well after the main event. I probably shouldn't even count the last time I saw him, which was his first appearance of the 2025 season. He came on to record the final out on two pitches, and neither of them were strikes (he instead got the out by applying the tag at the plate after a not-that-wild pitch). That was well after Hagen Smith struck out 10 over four hitless innings in his Double-A debut, so Palisch's low-90s form didn't really register.
But the Palisch taking the mound on Tuesday was coming off an award-winning May. The White Sox named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Month after allowing just two runs on seven hits and six walks over 24 innings. Though he isn't a serial bat-misser, he managed to strike out 22 of 82 batters (26.8 percent), and the four different Southern League teams he faced combined to hit just .092/.159/.145 against him.
If you and I didn't see it coming, we can take solace in the fact that Palisch apparently caught everybody off-guard.
"I expected that he was going to be able to cover some innings for us and be a bulk guy," said Barons pitching coach John Kovalik, "but I think the whole organization is surprised by just the sheer amount of success that he's had, and the dominance that he's shown."
Kovalik echoed the points that James touched upon in his write-up of Palisch's post-award Zoom session in Tuesday's Minor Keys -- a deceptive delivery, a four-pitch mix, increased usage of his cutter, and forcing other teams to beat him.
"He's relentlessly attacked the strike zone, not really letting hitters up for air," Kovalik said. "It's honestly really fun to watch, just the amount of aggression he has, just the way he goes out and challenges guys. With the unique angle, the unique arm slot, the deception he has in his delivery, it really makes that 90-91 mph fastball play up."
Palisch then went out and lowered his ERA from 1.03 to 0.88 by going six strong against Rocket City, although he allowed a pair of unearned runs in a second inning that required four outs due to a William Bergolla error.
True to form, Palisch walked just one batter and needed just 71 pitches to complete six innings (45 strikes). He allowed five singles, including three consecutive first-pitch hits -- one on the most excuse-me of swings -- that drove home the two unearned runs on his tab.
So what's the catch? He only struck out two, and generated a mere five swinging strikes against a Rocket City team that's last in batting average (.206) and OPS (.618) while striking out the most.
And really, the Southern League is scuffling as a whole, hitting .224/.320/.336. It's like they replaced the core of the baseball with cookie dough, which makes it a perfect environment for the strike-thrower to thrive. Sure enough, Palisch isn't the only one exploiting the glitch. Starting this afternoon at Rickwood Field for the Barons is Shane Murphy, a strike-throwing lefty whose fastball doesn't even sit 90. Because he walked just two batters all month, his May nearly keeps pace with Palisch's (1.37 ERA, .179/.194/.274 line allowed over 26⅓ innings).
Before them, Tyler Schweitzer started his season with 10 scoreless innings for the Barons. The White Sox then promoted him to Charlotte, where he gave up 10 homers over his first 23 ⅔ Triple-A innings. That precedent came to mind while watching Palisch log a succession of quick, occasionally loud outs, but with Juan Carela out for the year, Schweitzer in Charlotte, Hagen Smith on the IL (he's playing catch, but no timetable) and Grant Taylor in the bullpen, there are innings to cover in Birmingham, and Palisch is free to continue smothering them.
Lehigh Valley 10, Charlotte 6
- Brooks Baldwin hit the first IronPigs pitch of the night for a homer, and finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel was 1-for-5.
- Andrew Vaughn, 1-for-4.
- Tim Elko was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Dru Baker singled and struck out thrice.
- Peyton Pallette: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 12 of 19 pitches for strikes.
Rocket City 3, Birmingham 2 (10 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- William Bergolla was 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Jacob Gonzalez was 0-for-3 with a sac fly.
- Wilfred Veras, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- DJ Gladney was 1-for-4 with one K.
- Jake Palisch: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 45 of 71 pitches for strikes.
- Grant Taylor: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 16 of 21 pitches for strikes.
Asheville 6, Winston-Salem 2
- Jeral Perez was 4-for-5 with two doubles.
- Braden Montgomery, 1-for-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Samuel Zavala singled in all four plate appearances.
Notes:
*The Dash outhit the Tourists 15-9, but went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Myrtle Beach 5, Kannapolis 1
- Javier Mogollón was 0-for-5.
- Abraham Nuñez went 0-for-4 with a K.
- Caleb Bonemer walked thrice, struck out once and stole two bases.
- Ronny Hernandez doubled, walked and struck out twice.
- George Wolkow went 3-for-4.
- Pierce George: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 9 of 15 pitches for strikes.
- Blake Shepardson's ERA is down to 9.00: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 5 of 10 pitches for strikes.
ACL White Sox 7, ACL Mariners 2
- Sam Antonacci went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two strikeouts.
- Adrian Gíl doubled, singled and struck out thrice.
DSL Giants Orange 21, DSL White Sox 5 (7 innings)
- Alejandro Cruz went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Orlando Patiño, 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Frank Mieses went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- Eduardo Herrera singled once, walked twice and was plunked once.
- Alan Escobar was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Diego Natera doubled in his only plate appearance.
