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Sox Scoops 40.146: "Two Sox Minor League Teams Vie For Playoffs"

Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:05 am
by HoosierVic
The Chicago Black Sox have played themselves convincingly out of playoff contention in the BBA, but a couple of their affiliate teams are still battling it out for postseason slots as the minor league seasons wind down.

Here, as of Aug. 11, is a look at how Chicago’s minor league teams have fared this season:

The Carolina Flight – AAA
Record: 67-53, .558
Place In Standings: 2nd Place in the GL East Coast Division, 3 games behind leader.
Place In Wild Card Standings: 1st Place in the GL Wild Card Race, 3 games up.

Key players:
1B Aarnoud Budding, .302/.372/.598, with 29 HRs; 91 RBIs; 4.0 WAR.
3B Tomás Durán, .296/.359/.574, with 27 HRs; 86 RBIs; 2.5 WAR.
RP Justin Archer, 0.70 ERA; 1-1-5 W/L/Sv record; 20 Ks; 13 BBs; 0.8 WAR
RP Cliff Reuss, 1.88 ERA; 3-2-18 W/L/Sv record; 32 Ks; 14 BBs; 0.5 WAR
CL Gilberto Sosa, 3.00 ERA; 1-2-10 W/L/Sv record; 9 Ks; 4 BBs; 0.1 WAR

Comments:
The Flight are going for a third straight appearance in the postseason. Last year, they made it to the championship series, losing 3-1 to the Los Cabos Corsairs … This season’s edition of the Flight has a fair-to-middling starting rotation, backed up by some studs in the bullpen. Sosa came late in the year, promoted from AA Beloit when the major league club poached Raúl Jaramillo and Brian Smith … The team flies or crashes with its offense, paced by Budding and Durán. There are plenty of other weapons, too, though: LF Clarence Terry (.309/.387/.654 with 21 HRs and 50 RBIs) and RF Pete McGrath (.347/.412/.679 with 14 HRs and 45 RBIs), to name a couple … With four weeks left in the season, the Flight are right in the thick of things.

The Beloit Blue Sox – AA
Record: 63-57, .525
Place in Standings: 4th place in DNL Mid-Central Division, 18 games out of first.
Place in Wild Card Standings: 5th in the DNL Wild Card race, 9 games out.

Key Players:
RF Wally Poole, .257/.367/.480 with 21 HRs; 72 RBIs; 2.8 WAR
SS José Gonzáles, .242/.339/.383 with 7 HR; 32 RBIs; 69 R; 3.5 WAR
SP José López, 3.63 ERA; 13-8 W/L record; 144 Ks; 45 BBs; 5.0 WAR

Comments:
Not a terrible season, by any stretch, but the Blue Sox are all but out of the running for a playoff spot. They lost Gilberto Sosa, their bullpen stud, in July when he was called up to Carolina … None of those guys listed under “Key Players” are really major league prospects, so Beloit has been doing it with meat-and-potatoes career minor leaguers, for the most part. If Beloit can finish over .500, it will mark the club’s fifth consecutive year with a winning record. The B. Sox haven’t made the AA playoffs, however, since 2032.

The Grand Junction Gold Sox – A
Record: 77-43, .642
Place in Standings: First in the PL West Central Divison, 5 games ahead.
Place in Wild Card Standings: N/A

Key Players:
LF Hao Hang, .351/.398/.703 with 33 HRs; 93 RBIs; 7.4 WAR
RF Ricardo Torres, .334/.356/.586 with 24 HRs; 106 RBIs; 5.2 WAR
3B Juan De La Cruz, .280/.320/.512 with 22 HRs; 56 RBIs; 3.8 WAR
SP Andresa Frederico, 3.74 ERA; 13-4 W/L record; 145 Ks; 27 BBs; 2.1 WAR
SP Thomas Kirchmann, 3.16 ERA; 15-3 W/L record; 48 Ks; 20 BBs; 1.5 WAR
RP Weston Etheridge, 3.13 ERA; 2-1-3 W/L/Sv record; 23 Ks; 2 BBs; 0.0 WAR
RP Francisco Salgado, 2.45 ERA; 4-3-18 W/L/Sv record; 56 Ks; 5 BBs; 1.5 WAR
RP James Matarazzo, 2.86 ERA; 3-4-15 W/L/Sv record; 39 Ks; 13 BBs; 0.0 WAR

Comments:
The Gold Sox have been a powerhouse from day 1. They’ve got several big league prospects on the roster, including Chicago’s 2039 first round pick, Hao Hang. Salgado and Frederico also appear BBA bound, with Matarazzo and Torres outside shots … The Gold Sox are in prime position to take a post-season berth, their first since 2031. In fact, Grand Junction has not had a winning record since that year. Things could be about to change!

The San Pedro De Macoris Green Sox - Short Season A

Record: 36-34, .514
Place in Standings: 4th Place in the SL2 Big Islands Division, 7 games back, eliminated from postseason.
Place in Wild Card Standings: 5th Place in the SL2 Wild Card race, 7 games back, eliminated from postseason

Key Players:
Of/SP Paul Kemp: .395/.460/.669 with 9 HRs; 31 RBIs; 2.8 WAR
SP/OF Paul Kemp, SP/OF: 3.83 ERA; 9-4 W/L Record; 57 Ks; 23 BBs; 1.4 WAR
RF Danny Bennett: .241/.291/.485 with 14 HRs; 47 RBIs; 1.2 WAR
LF Robby Clements: .317/.376/.564 with 13 HRs; 43 RBIs; 1.9 WAR

Comments:
With a week left in the Short Season schedule, the Green Sox are out of it. With little beyond two-way sensation Paul Kemp on the pitching staff, the G. Sox struggled to stay above .500 despite a fairly potent offense. Kemp and Clements seem headed for the BBA at some point, with Bennett a possibility. Now, with just 6 games remaining, they have a shot at their first winning record since 2034 if the offense can keep producing.

The Monclova Aqua Sox – Rookie League

Record: 32-36, .471
Place in Standings: 3rd Place in the HL Mexican-American Division, 9 games behind the leader. Eliminated from postseason play.
Place in Wildcard Standings: 7th in the HL Wildcard Race, 6.5 games out. Eliminated from postseason play.

Key Players:
C Pablo Montalvan: .263/.298/.516 with 10 HRs; 30 RBIs; 2.6 WAR
SP Felipe Méndez,: 2.15 ERA; 8-1 W/L Record; 110 Ks; 17 BBs; 3.9 WAR
SP Romeu Tameiro: 3.62 ERA; 4-9 W/L Record; 63 Ks; 19 BBs; 2.1 WAR

Comments:
With a pretty meh draft class, outside of Tameiro, the Aqua Sox were not exactly loaded for bear. They flirted with .500 most of the season, but ultimately fell short. Monclova has not had a winning season since 2031. Méndez had a surprising season, despite pretty terrible skill ratings. He may bear watching, though. Maybe a prospect league candidate at some point?