Knights Knotes: May 2, 2017
KNIGHT LIGHTS: The Charlotte Knights (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) return home to BB&T Ballpark — the most visited venue in Minor League Baseball — tonight and open a six-game homestand against the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles). The Knights and Tides have already battled seven times this season and the Knights are 4–3 against them. Charlotte won all four home games against the Tides (April 6–9) earlier this season, but dropped all three road games to the Tides at Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA (April 14–16). As a team, the Knights are hitting .307 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs against the Tides in 2017. The Knights scored 39 runs against the Tides over their four-game stretch in Uptown Charlotte. They only scored a total of five runs over their three-game stretch in Norfolk. The Tides are hitting .266 against the Knights this season with seven home runs and 31 RBIs.
THE LAST KNIGHTS GAME: The Knights had a day off yesterday after returning home from a six-game road trip through Ohio. Charlotte won two of three in Toledo and then won two of three in Columbus to go 4–2 on the six-game road trip. On Sunday in the finale, Yoan Moncada’s two-run single in the fifth inning led the Charlotte Knights to a 3–1 win over the Columbus Clippers from Huntington Park in Columbus, OH.
KINGS OF THE QUEEN CITY: In nine home games this season, the Knights have won seven games at BB&T Ballpark (7–2) and have thrived in Uptown Charlotte this year. In those nine home games, the team is hitting .313 (100-for-320) with 57 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and 50 RBIs. Charlotte pitching has posted a 3.14 ERA at BB&T Ballpark this season in 83.0 IP. The Knights have welcomed three sell-out crowds and lead the International League in attendance with an 82,060 mark (9,118 fans per game). The Knights lost an opening back on Sunday, April 23. They are the only team to average 8,000 or more fans per game this season. On Friday, April 7, the Knights welcomed their two millionth fan. BB&T Ballpark is in its fourth season in Uptown Charlotte (2014 to present). The Knights spent 25 seasons in Fort Mill, SC including 24 total at Knights Stadium.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: Outfielder Willy Garcia, who earned International League Batter of the Week honors on Monday, April 10, has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox today. Garcia takes the place of outfielder Jacob May, who was optioned to the Knights after Chicago’s game last night (report TBD). Charlotte’s roster now features 24 active players. For the season, the Dominican native is hitting .294 (20-for-68) with 13 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs, and 13 RBIs over 18 games with the Knights. In two games with the White Sox earlier this season, Garcia hit .286 (2-for-7) with a double. He made his Major League debut with Chicago on April 14, 2017.
WHITE SOX MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: 2B Yoan Moncada, who entered the 2017 season ranked as the number two prospect in all of Major League Baseball according to Baseball America and MLB.com, was named as the Chicago White Sox Player of the Month for the month of April. The award was announced yesterday. RHP Dane Dunning, who is currently with the Winston-Salem Dash (A+), was named as the organization’s Pitcher of the Month. For the season, Moncada is hitting .314 (27-for-86) with four home runs, seven RBIs and a team-hit six stolen bases. He currently has a seven-game hitting streak and over that span is hitting .367 (11-for-30) with five runs scored, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. Currently, he has the second most runs scored in the IL (16), and is tied for second in the league in stolen bases with six. He has a .385 on base percentage. He was acquired by the White Sox from the Boston Red Sox on December 6, 2016 as part of a package that sent LHP Chris Sale to Boston. Moncada, a native of Cienfuegos, Cuba, made his professional debut during the 2015 season with Single-A Greenville. He made his Major League debut with the Red Sox on September 2, 2016. Following the 2016 campaign, Moncada was named as Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
REY OF LIGHT: RHP Reynaldo Lopez wrapped things up in the month of April with three consecutive solid starts — earning a win in each of the last two starts. Lopez, 23, went 2–0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts. On April 30, Lopez allowed one run on three hits over six innings en route to his second win of the season. A native of the Dominican Republic, Lopez also struck out 10 batters in a game on April 11 in Durham. He entered the 2017 season ranked as the number three prospect in Chicago’s system by Baseball America. Lopez was obtained by the Chicago White Sox on December 7, 2016 with Charlotte teammate Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning from the Washington Nationals for outfielder Adam Eaton. Eaton was recently lost for the season with an ACL tear.
KNIGHTS STARTING PITCHER: RHP Carson Fulmer (2–1, 3.52) gets the start in tonight’s opener, his fifth start of the 2017 season. At home this year, Fulmer has thrived. He is 2–0 with a 2.25 ERA in two home starts (12.0 IP). He made a total of four solid starts during the month of April. Over his last two starts, Fulmer was sharp in back-to-back starts of six innings, He has allowed just two runs over his last two starts (12.0 IP) and has held lefties to a .194 (7-for-36) batting average this season. Over his last seven starts, he has compiled a 2.37 ERA over 38.0 innings pitched. Over that stretch, Fulmer has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on 32 hits while striking out 33 batters.
NORFOLK STARTING PITCHER: RHP Chris Tillman (MLB Rehab) gets the start for the Norfolk Tides in tonight’s opener. Tillman, 29, is currently on the Baltimore Orioles 10-day disabled list with right shoulder bursitis. He has yet to pitch for the O’s this season, but he has already made three rehab starts in the minors this year. He has started two games with Double-A Bowie and is 0–1 with a 5.68 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched with the Baysox. He also started for the Frederick Key (High-A) on April 27 and allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings and was saddled with the loss. For his career, Tillman owns a 72–48 MLB mark with a 4.13 ERA in 179 games (all starts) over 1,025.1 innings pitched. He was a 2013 American League All-Star and went 16–7 that season with a 3.71 ERA for the Orioles in 206.1 innings pitched. He also pitched over 200 innings in 2014 (207.1). Last season, he went 16–16 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts (172.0 IP).
MAN OF STEAL: OF Adam Engel entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the number 19 prospect in the system. After recording just three hits over his first 10 games this season (38 at-bats), Engel has strung together a solid stretch. Over his last nine games, he is batting .300 (9-for-30) with three runs scored, one home run, and four RBIs. Over his last five games, he’s hitting .389 (7-for-18) with three runs scored, one home run, and three RBIs.
PEN PALS LHP Matt Purke continued his solid stretch out of the Charlotte bullpen. Purke threw two shutout innings in Friday’s suspended game and has not allowed a run in five consecutive appearances (7.0 IP)… RHP Zack Burdi notched his third save of the season in Friday’s suspended game. He has not allowed a run over his last four appearances (5.0 IP) and has nine strikeouts over that stretch… RHP Brad Goldberg did not allow a run in 1.1 innings pitched in Friday’s suspended game and earned his first win of the season… LHP Brian Clark allowed two hits and one walk in his first appearance with the Knights on April 26. Clark, who began the season on Charlotte’s disabled list, did not allow a run in the sixth inning.
GREAT DANISH: RHP Tyler Danish (1–1, 1.96) was effective in his fourth start of the season on Thursday against Toledo in Toledo, OH. He allowed one run in five innings. Over his last six Knights starts dating back to 7/18/16, Danish has allowed just eight earned runs in 41 innings pitched (2–2, 1.76 ERA). Danish entered the season ranked as the number 18 prospect in the Chicago White Sox system by Baseball America. Last season, Danish pitched over three levels, including in Birmingham (Double-A), Charlotte, and Chicago. He posted a 3–7 record with a 4.42 ERA in 12 starts for Birmingham before a promotion to Chicago and Charlotte. He went 0–0 with a 10.80 ERA in three games with the Sox and 1–3 with a 5.83 ERA in seven games (five starts ) with the Knights. Danish was selected by the White Sox in the second round of the 2013 draft. Danish was ranked as the ninth-best prospect in Chicago’s system heading into the 2016 season.
NICK AT NITE: 3B Nicky Delmonico is hitting .299 (26-for-87) with 14 runs scored, two home runs, and 11 RBIs this season in 22 games. He’s hit safely in 17 of 22 games this season and is hitting .333 (24-for-72) in 18 night games this season. He has a .133 batting average in four day games this season. Delmonico has also excelled at BB&T Ballpark this season. In nine home games this year, Delmonico is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with one home run and six RBIs. He has reached base in 11 consecutive home games dating back to 9/4/16.
ALL-TIME KNIGHT: OF Jason Bourgeois, 35, is in his fourth season with the Knights and ranks among the all-time franchise leaders in a number of categories. On Sunday, April 9, Bourgeois passed Yolmer Sanchez (347) for third place on Charlotte’s all-time hits list. He is just one of five players in franchise history with 300 or more hits (Jordan Danks, 449, Joe Borchard, 439, Bourgeois, Sanchez, and Josh Phegley, 312). He recorded his 350th career Knights hit on Friday, April 14 and now has a total of 359 career Knights hits Bourgeois is also among the leaders in a number of other categories, including he is fifth in at-bats (1,239), tied for sixth in games played (315) with Chris Clapinski, tied for third in triples (10), fourth in runs scored (172), and second in stolen bases (67). A native of Houston, TX, Bourgeois rejoined the Knights last season after playing for the team in 2007 and 2008. In 2013, he was named to the All Knights Stadium Team.
FROM THE SOUTH TO THE SOUTH SIDE: RHP Chris Beck was promoted to Chicago on Tuesday, April 25 — becoming the fifth Knights player this season to earn a promotion. RHP Tommy Kahnle was the first player to earn a promotion when he was recalled on April 6 by the White Sox. Catcher Kevan Smith had his contract purchased by the White Sox on April 13, outfielder Willy Garcia was recalled on April 14, and RHP Mike Pelfrey had his contract purchased on Saturday, April 22. Garcia was also recalled earlier today becoming the first Knights player promoted twice this season.
