Kannapolis Talent Evident, But Inconsistent

[danman31]

Kannapolis Talent Evident, But Inconsistent

 

By Danny Santaromita

 

This 2004 Kannapolis Intimidators team is loaded with talent. Six of the players on the roster made the Preseason All FutureSox Team. These players and more have tons of talent for the Intimidators. So far this season most have displayed this talent, but unfortunately it has not been consistent enough to get the team a winning record. Currently, Kannapolis stands at 6-7, already 5 ½ games out of the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division lead.

 

In the hitting department Thomas Brice is leading the way. Brice is showing why he was last season’s Player of the Year for Kannapolis. The talented outfield trio of Ricardo Nanita, Ryan Sweeney, and Brian Anderson in Winston-Salem held Brice back. This season Brice is leading the team in batting average (.391), slugging percentage (.630), hits (18), total bases (29), and walks (5). With all three of the aforementioned outfielders in Winston-Salem playing well under expectations it is hard to say that Brice shouldn’t be called up. The Aussie has the tools to make it in the bigs, but he needs to be given a chance first. The Sox have to show that he is going to get a chance to prove himself instead of being held back while top prospects who are at a level too high continue to struggle.

 

Also hitting well are 19 year-old Micah Schnurstein and 18 year-old Robert Valido. Schnurstein is batting .341 while Valido is batting .315 and leads the team with 12 runs and 6 doubles. Both players are highly regarded and if they continue to hit this well throughout the season they will shoot up the charts on many prospect lists given their young ages. The rest of the Kannapolis lineup has been a disappointment. Clint King and freshly promoted to Winston-Salem Andy Gonzalez are the only other hitting with a batting average above .250. Catcher Charlie Lisk is batting only .234, but leads the team in RBIs with 15. He has hit for a lot of power so far this season, with another team high of 4 home runs. Antoin Gray has not gotten consistent playing time so it is not surprising to see him struggling, but with Gonzalez playing for the Warthogs, Gray will be getting much more playing time. Chris Young, Brandon Bounds, Seth Morris, and Gustavo Molina are all hitting below the Mendoza line.

 

Despite a disappointing outing in his last start Brandon McCarthy is beginning to solidify himself as a top pitching prospect in the White Sox organization. The 6 foot 7 inch right-hander has 25 strikeouts, twice as many as any other player on the Intimidators. In 18.2 innings of work so far this season McCarthy has an ERA of 3.86 and to go with the 25 strikeouts he has only walked four. In his season debut he pitched six innings of shutout work, only surrendering two hits and one walk while striking out six. He has since shown chinks in the armor, but his numbers remain very impressive. McCarthy will not likely get a promotion to Winston-Salem this season as he is only 20. This is only Brandon’s first full season of professional baseball so the Sox probably want him to get a full season at Kannapolis before promoting him.

 

Ryan Rodriguez has been the only other starter to make some noise so far this season. In two starts Rodriguez has an ERA of 2.79, but he hasn’t gone deep into games. The 19 year-old is showing some promise, but it would be nice to see him go deeper into games. He has only pitched 9.2 innings so far. The rest of the rotation has been a major disappointment. Daniel Haigwood (6.00 ERA), Tim Tisch (8.76 ERA), and Brian Miller (12.54 ERA) have all struggled this season. Miller came into the season as the staff ace and has really disappointed. He had a shot at a mid-season promotion, but he won’t get it pitching as awfully as he has. Bright spots in the bullpen have been Jeremy Hudson, Mike Moat, Adam Larson, 19 year-old Fabio Castro, and closer Ehren Wasserman.

 

The starting pitching will be the key for Kannapolis to win games. Most of the starters have not pitched to expectations and they will need to do so for the team to starting winning consistently. A slew of moves made by the Intimidators could change things. Cory Haggerty came in to replace promoted Andy Gonzalez and the Sox signed Leo Dagile to replace demoted Chris Kelly. A possibly huge move was promoting Orionny Lopez from extended spring training to replace Adam Larson (DL). Lopez is a highly touted pitcher and could make a difference with the club.

 

Upcoming Schedule

April 24-27 vs. Augusta (Red Sox)

April 29-May 2 @ Lakewood (Phillies)

May 3-4 vs. Delmarva (Orioles)

May 5-7 vs. Lake County (Indians)

[Guest JimH]

Great article, thanks for writing and posting it.

[Chisoxfn]

Great Article Dan, although I'm gonna disagree with you on McCarthy. I think between a month and midseason he'll be in Winston Salem. He may be young, but he's very good and he has good control, which means you can push him easier.

 

I also think that Winston's rotation is awful, so they are going to want to at least bring a few reinforcements their.

 

Once that happens, i Think you'll see Fabio Castro or Orionny, maybe even both, enter the Intimidators rotation. Another possibilility of joining the rotation is one of my favorites Deininger, once he comes off the DL.

 

The Intimidators have a lot of guys in the pen that will make good starters, imo, so I think once Rodriguez and Haigwood get healthy (well back into their groove), you'll see them have a shot at going up and then McCarthy as well.

 

I think Miller is showing that he's still very raw and that he'll be spending a while in Kanny. The dissapointing thing is he's repeating, so you'd like to see him step up his game in his 2nd season in Kanny.

[danman31]

Well McCarthy did play 2 seasons in rookie ball so it appears the Sox are in no hurry to rush McCarthy along. He isn't dominating in Kanny anyway. His k/bb ratio is impressive enough that he might warrant a promotion, but I just don't think it would be a good move at this time. He would have to show that he is a class above the hitters in the South Atlantic League. His last 2 starts haven't shown that. Again, his k/bb ratio might be enough to get him promoted, but I think the Sox will wait for him to step up a bit more before promoting him mid-season.