Yolmer Sánchez and Trayce Thompson were among the Chicago White Sox minor-leaguers to get at-bats at both Class A Winston-Salem and Triple-A Charlotte in 2012, the season both teams reached the playoffs.
That was the last time multiple White Sox affiliates qualified for the postseason in the same year. Until 2024.
Class A Kannapolis and Double-A Birmingham recently accomplished the feat after the Cannon Ballers clinched the first-half division title in the Carolina League South and the Barons clinched the Southern League first-half Northern Division crown. Both teams are 43-29.
It’s the first postseason berth for the Barons since 2013.
Birmingham manager Sergio Santos sees how team success now in the minors can pay off down the line in the majors.
“There is value — player development is always going to be No. 1, but if you do player development in the right way, wins will be a byproduct,” Santos said during a videoconference call last week. “The heightened attention, the heightened details because everything matters and that will help them in the big leagues because they’ve been there, done that. I told these guys, ‘You shouldn’t do anything different than you did in game 1 because we should play hard every inning, every moment.’
“It’s stuff they learn, runners in scoring position less than two outs, at times we struggle a bit and at times we figure it out. We tell them, yes, it’s great if we win games in Birmingham but more importantly I’m looking to next year and the year after that when they’re in the hunt for the (American League) Central they’ve been there and done that. There is an importance to winning because you learn how to win and put teams away, because that will help them later in their career.”
Five of the top 10 prospects in the Sox organization, according to MLB.com, are on the Barons roster in pitcher Noah Schultz (No. 2), catcher Edgar Quero (No. 4), shortstop Jacob Gonzalez (No. 7) and pitchers Jairo Iriarte (No. 9) and Jake Eder (No. 10).
Pitcher Drew Thorpe, who is on the major-league roster and Friday’s was scheduled starter against the Colorado Rockies at Guaranteed Rate Field, was on the Birmingham roster earlier this season. His 1.35 ERA while with the Barons was the tops in the Sox farm system.
Barons pitcher Ky Bush is third on that list with a 2.14 ERA. Mason Adams (fourth, 2.15), Tyler Schweitzer (fifth, 3.20) and Iriarte (ninth, 4.32) also are in the top 10.
“We’re already a really good staff and then we add Noah Schultz and it makes us that much better,” Bush said during a recent videoconference call.
Schultz said during a videoconference call last month that he was benefiting from working with the other pitchers.
“They’re all great with everything they do and they’re good people, too, to watch and learn from,” he said.
Schultz, a first-round draft pick in 2022, has a 1.83 ERA, 23 strikeouts, one walk and a 0.71 WHIP in his five starts since being promoted from Class A Winston-Salem.
“He’s got incredible stuff,” Santos said. “A lefty being 6-foot-9, and how athletic he is. He’s 95 to 98 (mph), with a wipeout slider.”
Quero has worked with a number of the pitchers. He also has been among the more productive hitters, ranking second in Double A with 50 RBIs and tied for second in the Southern League with 12 home runs.
“He’s just one of those guys who is a pro,” Santos said. “He takes pride in his defense, in calling a game. And then the hitting is secondary. The guy can flat-out hit.”
So has Brooks Baldwin, whose .343 average ranks third in the minors. The shortstop entered Friday with a 10-game hitting streak.
At Kannapolis, Downers Grove North product George Wolkow has a seven-game hitting streak. The right fielder is batting .416 during the stretch.
Kannapolis second baseman/left fielder Rikuu Nishida leads the farm system with a .413 on-base percentage, while first baseman/outfielder Caden Connor is third in the organization with 48 RBIs. Connor is batting .315 (29-for-92) with eight doubles and eight RBIs over his last 25 games.
Pitchers Lucas Gordon (1.88) and Aldrin Batista (3.32) rank second and sixth respectively in ERA in the farm system. They’ve helped the Cannon Ballers return to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
“Looking at Kannapolis and winning the first half was certainly a highlight for our player development group and (manager) Pat Leyland and his staff,” general manager Chris Getz said recently. “Really happy for those guys.
“There’s always great benefit for our players to experience chasing a championship at the minor-league level. That’s a positive step in the right direction on the development of our players and certainly the direction of the organization as a whole.”
