Brooks Baldwin cannot be stopped, Lenyn Sosa continues to mash, and other storylines from the farm
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7, Charlotte Knights 6 (Gameday score) (Statcast box)
Lenyn Sosa was demoted three days ago. He seems to have taken that personally.
LENYN. SOSA. HOME. RUN. WOW.
3rd homer in 3 days! pic.twitter.com/ceujBEOBE5
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) April 26, 2024
The young infielder has been on a Danny Mendick-like tear at the plate, but unfortunately his two-hit performance (which also included a double) wasn’t enough to lift the Knights past the IronPigs in this one.
Tonight’s matchup was a topsy-turvy affair, with a certain unceremonious signing going 3 1⁄3 innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen. Triple-A starter Chad Kuhl would piggyback off of the spokesperson for bad dads everywhere and go an additional 3 1⁄3 innings with six runs allowed, a deficit that the Knights would prove unable to claw back from.
Prelander Berroa and Chase Plymell, the other two bullpen arms to see play in this one, comported themselves well. Combined, they allowed zero hits, a walk, and a strikeout.
Prelander Berroa had 2/3 of an inning scoreless for the #Knights tonight. 1K. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/0Qadb13dq5
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 26, 2024
Other notable offensive performances include a two-hit night by eventual major-leaguer Tommy Pham out of the 3-spot, and a longball in a multi-knock performance from infielder Angelo Castellano, who was lifted for pinch runner Brett Phillips in hopes of completing a comeback victory that, well, never quite came back.
Despite being handed a rare loss, the Knights did comparatively well tonight. It’s up to our readers to decide who takes home the hardware.
Birmingham Barons 8, Chattanooga Lookouts 3 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
The juggernaut that is the Birmingham Barons collected 15 (!!!) hits in this dominating win against the Chattanooga Lookouts. Your correspondent was in Tennessee to snap pictures of the previous two games, so you know that today’s edition will feature frames from this series in addition to the typical videos we’d show.
Brooks Baldwin, who is showing he has very little left to prove at the Double-A level, elevated his batting average to a sky-high .435 with a four-hit performance that included two doubles and a pair of runs batted in.
Top prospects Wilfred Veras and Bryan Ramos, who have both been experiencing a bit of a slump at the plate, broke out with emphatic multi-hit performances. Ramos, with hopes of seeing Triple-A this year, belted his first homer of the young season.
BRYAN RAMOS WITH A 2 RUN BOMB
His first of the season!
5-3 Barons#bhambarons pic.twitter.com/k9l2PW0vU3
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) April 26, 2024
This would stand up as the Barons’ sole longball in this blowout win.
On the mound, young top prospect Jairo Iriarte made the best of a performance in which he did not have his best stuff. He threw 81 pitches through 4 2⁄3 innings of work, walking five while only allowing a single hit and a lone tally on the scoreboard for the IronPigs. Multi-inning potential starter Connor McCullough piggybacked off of Iriarte for 2 1⁄3 innings and gave up a trio of hits and a duo of earned runs before turning the ball over to Caleb Freeman. Adisyn Coffey would go on to finish this matchup, continuing his dominance on the mound with a scoreless performance that included just one hit; he has a 1.13 ERA for the Barons this season.
Rome Emperors 8, Winston-Salem Dash 0 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
What positive vibes were enjoyed by the Barons did not carry over to High-A level and the Dash. The offense was stifled to the tune of a two-hit shutout thanks to a dominant 10-strikeout performance by Braves prospect Owen Murphy. This Dash team is far from his only victims this year, as Murphy has pitched to a 1.13 ERA in 24 innings of work so far.
On the flip side of the starting pitching coin, starter Peyton Pallette started off shaky in this one, but bounced back to turn in one of his better performances of the year. By the time all was said and done, he’d allow three runs in four innings of work while also striking out three and being saddled with the L.
Peyton Pallette had 1 and 2 BB’s to lead off the 1st and 2nd and they all scored in long innings escalating his pitch count (46 thru 2). He rebounded and the 3rd and 4th innings were quick and efficient (22 pitches). 4IP, 3R on 5H & 3BB. He K’s 3 on 44/68. #Dash #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/36vgdwU4eo
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 26, 2024
The bullpen, with the exception of Cole Duensing, was money in this one. Offensively, both hits the Dash managed to put up went for extra bases. Leadoff batter Loidel Chapelli roped a triple, and catcher Weston Eberly collected a double.
Loidel Chapelli breaks up the no-no with a shot that just misses going out over the big wall for a lead off triple. #Dash #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/bOIEs4nGUL
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 26, 2024
Reliever Zach Franklin lowered his ERA to 4.15 with a two-inning performance in which he recorded five of his six outs via the strikeout. Max Roberts, who also turned in two frames, struck out three in his scoreless appearance. All in all, despite being thwarted offensively, there were some successes to build on for this young Winston-Salem squad.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 9, Charleston RiverDogs 4 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
Another day, another dub for Low-A Kannapolis. A sextet of Ballers notched multi-hit performances in what would turn out to be a 16-hit affair for the home team. While none of the 16 hits left the park, four of them went for extra bases, which shows that Ballers hitters were still squaring up the baseball with regularity.
Ryan Galanie bombs one off the wall for a RBI triple. Rikuu Nishida (BB) comes in to score from 2B. #Ballers up 6-1. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/S5DxezLMfA
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 26, 2024
Rikuu Nishida singles up the middle to bring home Hernandez and Luis Pineda (1B). #Ballers up 4-1 on the Rays 9th ranked (#1 RHP) prospect Santiago Suarez. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/8t21s0XMmZ
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 25, 2024
On the mound, starter Aldrin Batista continued a dominant start to his 2024 season, going five innings strong while allowing just one earnie and striking out six. He’d record the dub in this one, lowering his season ERA to a miniscule 1.17 while making a strong case for an early-season promotion.
Aldrin Batista with his 5th strikeout to end the 4th. Some deep counts, but no damage done. #Ballers up 4-1. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/hZrCZ9Smng
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 25, 2024
A convincing win to round out a mixed bag of performances on the farm is always a welcome way to end these updates. The only thing left for you, the reader, to do is dole out the hardware in this one!