White Sox Minor League Update: April 16, 2025

Winston-Salem picked up the organization’s only victory, but Tim Elko hit two homers

Nashville Sounds 11, Charlotte Knights 7 (10 innings) (Gameday box) (Statcast box)

In a thrilling matchup that went into extras, the Sounds came out on top against the Knights (6-11). The Knights have now lost eight consecutive games.

Knights starter Nick Nastrini did not have his best stuff, as he allowed five runs (four earned) in four innings. The Sounds crushed a pair of two-run homers against Nastrini, whose ERA is 6.89 in the early going.

Although the Sounds jumped out to a 5-0 lead, the Knights did not go down without a fight. With one on base and two outs in the third, Tim Elko launched his second homer of the season to pull the Knights within three.

In the fourth, Bobby Dalbec built on Elko’s blast to center with his third homer of the season to make it 5-3.

The rally continued in the sixth, when Kyle Teel led off with a double, and he scored on a single by Bryan Ramos. Then, with two outs, Dalbec remained hot with a timely double to tie the game.

With one out in the seventh, Brandon Drury walked to set the table for Elko, who did more Tim Elko things. Elko’s second blast of the game put Charlotte in front, 7-5.

After this excellent performance, Elko’s OPS is now in four-digit territory (1.037).

However, although the bullpen had performed admirably during its first three innings of work, the two-run lead was not large enough. The Sounds put two on the board in the eighth, and that rally started with two outs and nobody on base. The Knights could have escaped with a 7-6 lead, but a Ramos error prolonged the inning. A walk with the bases loaded by Adisyn Coffey resulted in the game being tied at seven.

In the 10th frame, Nashville came out ready to swing the bat. After a walk, a two-run double, and a two-run homer off Dan Altavilla, the Sounds had a comfortable lead that they did not relinquish.

Colson Montgomery had the highest exit velocity (115.3 mph on his first inning single) across the all Triple-A games on Wednesday. To the surprise of nobody, Tim Elko was right behind him at No. 2 (114.0 mph on his homer in the third).

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Biloxi Shuckers 4, Birmingham Barons 0 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)

The Barons (5-5) only collected three hits, all of which were singles, and they finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. As a result, they did not score during their loss on Wednesday in Birmingham.

Barons starter Grant Taylor, the No. 7 White Sox prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, struggled with control. Taylor only pitched 2 ¹⁄₃ innings, and he needed 59 pitches to make it that far. Of those pitches, only 32 were strikes, and although he struck out five, he issued four walks. Taylor allowed two runs (one earned), and his ERA increased to 1.69, still fantastic.

The Knights bullpen combined for 6 ²⁄₃ innings and only allowed two runs (one earned). Tyler Schweitzer delivered five of those innings, and he did not allow any runs. However, despite the bullpen’s best efforts, the Barons could not make it onto the scoreboard, so they took the loss.

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Winston-Salem Dash 5, Greenville Drive 2 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)

The Dash (4-7) evened up their series against the Drive with a strong all-around performance.

Dash starter Tanner McDougal had a great outing, only allowing one run in 4 ²⁄₃ innings, and even that was an unearned run. McDougal struck out seven, and although he issued four walks, he managed to pitch around them.

By the time McDougal was replaced on the mound, the Dash had a 4-1 lead. Winston-Salem scored one in the first, one in the second, one in the third, and one in the fifth. Those runs scored on a Jackson Appel triple, a Jeral Perez home run, a Ryan Galanie single, and a Galanie ground out.

The Dash bullpen got the job done, only allowing one run in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. The Dash got that run back in the ninth, when Galanie picked up another RBI single.

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Columbia Fireflies 12, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)

In a chaotic game that was capped off by a ninth inning with a total of 10 total runs, the Cannon Ballers (6-5) fell short.

Cannon Ballers starter Christian Oppor was on the hill, looking to build on his terrific, scoreless, 10-strikeout game last week. This time, Oppor racked up six strikeouts without issuing any walks. However, Oppor allowed four runs (all earned) in 3 ²⁄₃ innings. When Oppor left the game, the Cannon Ballers trailed, 4-3.

The Cannon Ballers scored those three runs in the bottom of the second, and that big inning was started by a George Wolkow single. Wolkow proceeded to swipe second base for his fourth steal of the season, and he scored on a throwing error. Then, Nathan Archer launched his first home run of the season to drive in a pair.

The Fireflies picked up one insurance run in the sixth, when they put a walk and a pair of singles together against reliever Carlton Perkins. The score remained 5-3 until the ninth, when the Fireflies offense went crazy. Cannon Ballers reliever Blake Shepardson struck out the first batter he faced, but the next nine Fireflies reached base safely (one of them reached on an error).

By the end of the nightmarish top of the ninth, Columbia had a 12-3 lead. In the bottom half, Archer led off with a single, and Mikey Kane and Jordan Sprinkle drew back-to-back walks. Javier Mogollón drove in a run with a ground out, and Caleb Bonemer drove in a pair with a double. That was Bonemer’s fourth hit and his second double of the game, and his OPS is up to .953. However, it was too little, too late.