White Sox top pitching prospect delivers gem for Double-A Birmingham. Eloy Jimenez, Jake Burger have multi-hit games for their respective teams.
Although the Chicago White Sox current team hasn’t won a game after the All-Star break, their prospects are continuing to shine in the minors. Michael Kopech, the Sox third ranked prospect had perhaps his best start of the season on Thursday night.
Kopech, pitching for Double-A Birmingham pitched eight scoreless innings for the Barons in their win over the Jackson Generals. The 21-year-old right hander recorded eight strikeouts, allowed no walks and gave up just four hits in a 4-0 Barons victory. With his strong outing, Kopech improved his record to 6-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.51.
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The Sox could use more starts from Kopech like his outing on Thursday. This was his second consecutive quality start and his longest outing of the season for the Barons. With the Sox undergoing a rebuild, they will need to evaluate which players will be ready to contribute in the next few seasons. Kopech has been solid this year and could get promoted to Triple-A Charlotte to start next season.
While Kopech had a terrific night on the mound on Thursday, three other Sox prospects were excellent at the plate. Zack Collins, the Sox 10th ranked prospect went 1-for-5 with a home run for Single-A Advanced Winston-Salem. Eloy Jimenez, the Sox second ranked prospect went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run for the Dash. Despite Collins and Jimenez’s efforts, Winston-Salem were defeated by the Salem Red Sox 7-6.
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Another player that had an excellent night at the plate was White Sox 2017 first round draft pick Jake Burger. The third baseman was perfect at the plate for Single-A Kannapolis on Thursday as he went 5-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and one triple. Burger is hitting .405 through 11 games for the Intimidators.
Click links below for box scores:
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 13-Charlotte Knights 2
Birmingham Barons 4-Jackson Generals 0
Salem Red Sox 7-Winston-Salem Dash 6
West Virginia Power 6-Kannapolis Intimidators 5
Orem Owlz 2-Great Falls Voyagers 1