The 4th of July holiday is upon us and it’s time to realize that we are halfway through the baseball season.
Well, we are a little over halfway and heading towards the heat of summer. The White Sox are not “summer hot” and are struggling but their minor league system appears to be thriving.
Not only do they have solid performers but they also have great teams that are winning games and are even playoff-bound.
Here is a look at some of the news and notes from the minor leagues as we head into July.
Charlotte Knights shortstop Colson Montgomery will represent the White Sox in the 2024 MLB All-Star Futures game which will take place July 13th.
Montgomery is the top prospect in the White Sox organization and is the logical choice to represent the Sox (along with Noah Schultz). Montgomery is having a decent, but not spectacular season in Charlotte scoring 37 runs, 32 RBI, and 10 home runs with a batting average of .213.
He has played in a total of 71 games this season with the Knights. Sox fans will keep tabs on him in the game to see how he does and wonder when he’ll be called up to the majors. His time in the minors may be coming to an end but he’s got to pick things up a little bit before he heads up to the next level.
Yet another White Sox minor leaguer will play in the MLB Futures game.
Pitcher Noah Schultz, currently with the Double-AA Birmingham Barons, has had a stellar season and is getting better with each passing game.
The young lefty has pitched a total of 50.2 innings and has an ERA of 3.02. Schultz has managed to get 72 strikeouts and a WHIP of .87. It’s going to be interesting to watch him in the future game. The White Sox might just be thinking of sending him up to AAA depending on how he does.
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the White Sox Single-A Affiliate, has three pitchers combined to throw the first nine-inning no-hitter in the Cannon Ballers history.
The trio, which consisted of Luke Bell, Nick Altermatt, and Seth Keener helped the Cannon Ballers earn a 6–0 victory over the Columbia Fireflies.
These three pitchers may be on the White Sox' radar at some point as they grow and move through the White Sox minor league system.
Back to the Charlotte Knights, the Pitcher of the Week for the International League was none other than Charlotte’s own Cory Abbot.
Abbot had a great week pitching during the June 24th to the 30th timeframe. His stats include the fact that he pitched seven total innings during the Knights' two games against the Norfolk Tides and didn’t allow a run.
In addition to coming in to relieve and pitching two scoreless innings, Abbot had a solid start this last Saturday. He managed to fan nine batters. He’s one to keep an eye on as the White Sox rotate pitchers up in the majors (in and out of the lineup).
Finally, hot prospect catcher Edgar Quero was moved from the AA Birmingham Barons to the AAA Charlotte Knights in a move that proves that he’s likely going to make a move to the majors soon.
Not only is he hot at the plate, hitting the ball 71 times in 259 at-bats with 13 home runs and an ERA of .274, but he’s also great behind it. He’s one of the strongest players in the White Sox minor league system at this time.
The White Sox will likely have Quero and Korey Lee behind the plate in 2025.