Opening Day Knights Knotes
KNIGHT LIGHTS: Today, the Charlotte Knights will open the 2024 regular season and play game one of a three-game road series against the Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) from AutoZone Park. First pitch is set for 4:05 PM ET today.
KNIGHTS VS. REDBIRDS: Today’s matchup is the first of 15 this season between Charlotte and Memphis. The two teams squared off 20 times last season, with the Knights posting an 8–12 mark against the Redbirds. The Knights posted a 2–3 record last season in Memphis.
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP Jake Woodford (0–0, 0.00) will get the ball today in the Opening Day game against the Memphis Redbirds. Woodford will be making his Knights debut today after being signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox
MORE ON WOODFORD: Last season, Woodford made the St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day roster and went 1–2 with a 5.72 ERA (18 ER/28.1 IP) over six starts in April. Overall, he posted a 2–3 record with a 6.23 ERA with the Cardinals last season in 15 games (eight starts). Woodford has appeared in parts of four seasons at the major-league level with the Cardinals (2020–23). He owns a 10–7 major league record with a 4.29 ERA in 80 games (18 starts) with the Cards.
FAMILIAR FACE: Woodford is no stranger to Memphis, having appeared in games with the Redbirds going all the way back to 2018. In fact, Woodford has appeared in parts of five seasons with the Memphis Redbirds. He is 18–21 with a 4.02 ERA in 63 games (61 starts) with the Redbirds (2018–19, 2021–23).
TOP PROSPECT: INF Colson Montgomery — the top prospect in the Chicago White Sox system and number nine in all of Major League Baseball (as rated by MLB.com) — highlights the 2024 Charlotte Knights Opening Day roster, as announced today by the Charlotte Knights. The Opening Day roster features a mix of talented prospects and recognizable veterans. Drafted by the White Sox in the first round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft (22nd overall), Montgomery is set to make his Triple-A debut at Memphis. The 22-year-old combined to hit .287 with eight home runs, 37 RBI and 51 runs scored last season over 64 games between the Arizona Complex White Sox, High-A Winston-Salem Dash and Double-A Birmingham Barons. Montgomery made his professional debut in 2021 after being drafted out of Southridge High School in Huntingburg, IN. Baseball America has ranked Montgomery as the top prospect in Chicago’s system in each of the past three years (2022–24).
THEY’RE BACK: Around the infield, the Knights will welcome back four familiar faces — Danny Mendick, Carlos Pérez, Zach Remillard and Lenyn Sosa. Mendick returns to the organization after spending the entire 2023 campaign in the New York Mets organization. The Rochester, NY native appeared in 35 games with the Mets last season. Mendick hit 17 home runs in 2019 with the Knights. Remillard, 30, returns to the Knights after he made his Major League debut last season with the White Sox on June 17, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI. He became the first player in the modern era (1901-present) to record both a game-tying hit and go-ahead hit in the ninth inning or later in his MLB debut. Pérez and Sosa once again bring their talents back to the Charlotte offense. Perez has slugged 33 home runs over parts of three seasons with the Knights (2021–23). He hit 21 long balls with the Knights in 2022. Sosa, 24, hit .271 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI last season with the Knights in 71 games. He also appeared in 52 games with the White Sox last year.
