Taylor Thompson's scoreless streak and nine other Charlotte Knights thoughts

As the 1,333^rd overall selection in the 2009 MLB Draft, Taylor Thompson has quietly risen through the White Sox system without making waves.

In five professional seasons, the 6-foot-5-inch right-hander has never posted an ERA above 3.63, while battling occasional bouts of wildness. However, everything has come together for Thompson this month. In nine appearances (14.2 IP) the 27-year-old has allowed four hits (an .080 average against) and one run, while striking out 16 and walking only two.

The Auburn alumni hasn’t allowed a run since tossing two innings on May 5^th and has held opponents hitless over his last 10 innings.

Not one of the 30 players drafted in the 44th round in 2009 has even appeared in a Major League game. With the recent struggles in the Chicago bullpen, Thompson has done everything within his power to earn a chance. 

A few other thoughts…

2.) The White Sox will need to make a decision regarding the future of Felipe Paulino before this coming Tuesday. The right-hander was sent to Charlotte on a rehab assignment on May 3. In five starts (19.2 IP), he has surrendered 29 hits and 24 runs (21 earned), while striking out 16 and walking 16.

3.) Jordan Danks is hitting .108 over his last 10 games. His current average sits at .159 and his strikeout rate is up to 42-percent. The centerfielder appeared in 21 games with the White Sox before returning to Charlotte last month. He has never posted a BA below .245 in the Minors. At 27 years old, the local favorite is running out of time to make a significant impact with the White Sox.

4.) Knights hitting coach Andy Tomberlin should be called the "Zen Master." He's the kind of guy you can tell loves his job and the sport of baseball even more. Come stand outside BB&T before any home game and you'll see Tomberlin out there working with his young hitters.   

5.) Charlotte 2B/SS Carlos Sanchez went 751 days between home runs, then hit two (one from the left side and one from the right) in five games.

6.) I don’t care how fast you think Micah Johnson is, he’s faster. As in, lookout Billy Hamilton fast. Johnson swiped 84 bases last season to lead the Minor Leagues. While with the Knights, he’s posted home to first times under 3.7 seconds.

7.) Word is that catcher Hector Gimenez asked to be moved somewhere that would allow him more playing time. Hopefully, that’ll be the case in New Hampshire with the Fisher Cats (AA). His replacement on the Knights roster, Miguel Gonzalez, was rated the best defensive catcher in the White Sox system by Baseball America prior to the beginning of the season.

8.) Michael Johnson’s assignment to the Knights after posting a .156 average in Winston-Salem (A+) is an odd one. The Knights needed a body to fill their roster and Johnson has the ability to play multiple positions, but given the team’s average attendance (9,659 per game) and its record (15-31), it’s tough to not feel like the Charlotte fans deserved someone along the lines of Trayce Thompson or even Chris Curley.

9.) Should the Knights attendance at BB&T stay true to its average, Charlotte is on pace to match its total attendance from 2013 in Fort Mill, S.C. in five games (June 7^th).

10.) Over his last nine games, Tyler Saladino has been busy both at the plate and in the field. He’s hitting .419 (13-for-31) with seven runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and six RBIs. His on-base percentage over that span is .455. He’s done all this while playing shortstop (6 times), left field (2) and third base.

Four-hit day for Carlos Sanchez not enough as Knights fall to Indians 10-6

There’s a difference between getting hits and timely hitting and Sunday’s game between Charlotte and Indianapolis illustrated it perfectly.

The Knights posted more hits (13-12), more home runs (4-1) and more doubles (3-2) than the Indians, yet lost, 10-6, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,213 at BB&T Ballpark.   

Charlotte got its hits, but finished 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Indianapolis, on the other hand, finished the afternoon 6-for-13.

Three of Charlotte’s four long balls were solo shots, which Indy was able to cancel out with it’s only home run because it came with two aboard.

  

Carlos Sanchez was the star at the plate for the Knights for the second game in as many days.

After scoring two of Charlotte’s three runs in a 3-1 win over the Tribe on Saturday, Sanchez went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and two runs batted in to raise his average to a Knights-leading .286 on the season.

The long ball, which put Charlotte up 2-0 in the first inning, was Sanchez’ first in 751 days and extended the middle infielder’s hitting streak to nine games.

    

Sanchez’ home run came after Knights southpaw Eric Surkamp had struck out the side in the top half of the inning and set a positive tone that the Indians slowly devoured as the game progressed.

Surkamp (2-3) lasted 4 and 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs on nine hits. He walked a batter and fanned five, but the beginning of the end came in the form of a three-run home run off the bat of Brent Moril in the second.

  

An RBI double by Josh Phegley (2-for-4) in the third evened the game at three, but a two-out RBI single by Indy’s Adalberto Santo, who entered the game hitting .107 on the season, gave the Indians a lead they would never relinquish.

Matt Davidson (1-for-4) hit his sixth of the season off Indy starter Casey Sadler (6-1) in the sixth and both Tyler Saladino (2-for-4) and Jared Mitchell (2-for-4) went yard in the ninth.

The Knights (16-33), who now head out on an eight-game road trip, will look to right the ship in Columbus beginning on Monday.  

Game 49: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (16-32)

Gorkys Hernandez RF

Carlos Sanchez 2B

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks CF

Matt Davidson 3B

Blake Tekotte DH

Andy Wilkins 1B

Tyler Saladino SS

Jared Mitchell LF

Pitching: LHP Eric Surkamp (2-2, 4.40 ERA)

Indians (28-20)

Chase d’Arnaud LF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague 1B

Chris Dickerson CF

Brent Morel 3B

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Adalberto Santos DH

Pitching: RHP Casey Sadler (5-1, 2.22 ERA)

Game time: 2:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Notes: Knights second baseman Micah Johnson was placed on the disabled list today with a “general leg injury.” Johnson appeared to come up lame two days ago as he cruised into second base with a double. … Charlotte made the Hector Gimenez trade to the Toronto organization official this morning. Word is that he’ll be reporting to the Double-A Fisher Cats. … Winston-Salem (A+) infielder Michael Johnson and Birmingham (AA) catcher Miguel Gonzalez have been promoted to the Knights.  

Tommy Hanson goes seven strong; Knights do little things well in 3-1 win over Indianapolis

The White Sox organization preaches the importance of situational baseball from the day they draft a player.  

On Saturday, in front of a sold out crowd of 10,359 at BB&T BallPark, the Knights showed that they’ve been listening on their way to a 3-1 win over the Indianapolis Indians.

With the second most home runs (37 in 49 games) in the International League entering the day, it could have easy to sit back and wait for the long ball.

Instead, the Knights scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings on two seperate two-out RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.

The three runs were more than Tommy Hanson (3-4), making his seventh start of the season, would need. The 6-foot-6-inch right-hander lasted a season-high seven innings while surrendering four hits, fanning three and walking one.  

His only blemish came on a first-pitch fastball in the fourth inning that Chris McGuiness ambushed for a solo home run that might still be rolling down Mint Street.

From that point, Hanson would allow just two more Indians to reach base, before giving way to Taylor Thompson and later Maikel Cleto.

“I’ve been working on keeping the ball down and as I went I stopped just trying to throw strikes and focused on working in the bottom of the zone,” said Hanson, who threw 98 pitches (61 strikes). “As the game went on, I got more and more ground balls and better results.

“I felt like I had more in the tank. I threw 100 pitches and still felt like I could go out there and that’s what you’re striving for.”

Thompson walked off the mound following the eight having not allowed a hit in his last 6 and 2/3 innings. Cleto exited the ninth after striking out the side with his first save as a Knight in tow.

With two down in the third, Gorkys Hernadez doubled of Indians starter Jake Brigham (1-3) and then scored on a single by Carlos Sanchez to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead.

Jordan Danks doubled to lead off the following inning before Matt Davidson – who possess the most power of anyone on Charlotte’s roster – flied to right in an effort to advance Danks to third.

The ball wasn’t deep enough to accomplish Davidson's goal, but it was a clear sign that he's learning what it takes to play at the next level. 

“Even when it didn’t work out, you saw Davidson try to move the runner over right there and he wound up flying out the right field,” said Knights hitting coach Andy Tomberlin. “He’s trying to hit the ball hard to the right side. That’s the job that we’re all trying to execute.”

Blake Tekotte remedied Davidson's shallow fly with a deep one to right that sent Danks to third and set the table for another two-out RBI situation for Charlotte.

This time, it was Andy Wilkins that came through with the single to right.

“Two-out base hits win a lot of ball games,” said Knights manager Joel Skinner. “You try to put yourself in position to be in those kinds of situations. The Wilkins’ hit was a big one for us. ”

The Knights entered the game hitting .202 with two-out hits with runners is scoring position. By the end of the fourth, they were 2-for-3.

An error and a long single to right off the bat of Hernandez to begin the fifth left runners at the corners for Sanchez, who delivered his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

“It was a pretty clean situational approach tonight,” Tomberlin said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve been able to say that, but I can say that was one tonight and tomorrow we’re looking to repeat it.”

The Knights will look to salvage a split in their four-game series with the Indians at 2:05 p.m. tomorrow when Eric Surkamp (2-2) takes the mound against Casey Sadler (5-1).    

Game 48: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-32)

Gorkys Hernandez RF

Carlos Sanchez 2B

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks CF

Matt Davidson 3B

Blake Tekotte DH

Andy Wilkins 1B

Tyler Saladino SS

Jared Mitchell LF

Pitching: RHP Tommy Hanson (2-4, 4.60 ERA)

Indians (28-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Ralph Henriquez C

Blake Davis 2B

Pitching: RHP Jake Brigham (1-2, 3.35 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Felipe Paulino's struggles continue in 15-6 loss for Charlotte Knights

The plan was for Felipe Paulino to come to Charlotte and make three rehab appearances as he recovered from right rotator cuff inflammation and then return to the Chicago rotation.

Five starts later, the 30-year-old is running out of time to convince the White Sox he’s ready. 

In Friday’s 15-6 loss to the Indianapolis Indians, Paulino was spotted a six-run lead in the second only to exit after 4 and 2/3 innings of work with the game tied at 6.

Paulino (0-3) allowed five hits, walked six and struck out five. He threw 99 pitches, 52 for strikes.

  

With a maximum of nine days remaining with the Knights before Chicago is required to activate him, Paulino has allowed 21 earned runs on 30 hits and 16 walks in 19.2 innings.

In the bottom of the second, Charlotte sent 10 to the plate against Indianapolis starter Vance Worley on its way to a season-high six run inning.

The Knights then watched as the Indians ran up 15 unanswered.

Paulino surrendered three in the third and three more on a Gregory Polanco three-run shot in the fourth. The home run for Polanco was his sixth of the season and gave the right-fielder four RBIs in two games against Charlotte.

Dylan Axelrod came on in relief and surrendered one run in 3 and 1/3 to fall to 1-5 on the season.

Things got ugly to watch for the sold-out crowd of 10,367 at BB&T BallPark in the ninth, when the combination of Donnie Veal and Frank De Los Santos allowed a season-high eight runs on four hits, three walks, a wild pitch and two hit batters.

The Knights and Indians will play game three of their four-game series on Saturday, with Tommy Hanson (2-4, 4.60 ERA) scheduled to take the mound across from Jake Brigham (1-2, 3.53).

Click HERE for the full game story. 

Game 47: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-31)

Micah Johnson 2B

Carlos Sanchez SS

Josh Phegley C

Matt Davidson 3B

Andy Wilkins 1B

Gorkys Hernandez CF

Dan Black DH

Blake Tekotte RF

Tyler Saladino LF

Pitching: RHP Felipe Paulino (0-3, 9.00 ERA)

Indians (27-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Pitching: RHP Vance Worley (1-1, 2.84 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Tyler Saladino learns to play left the hard way in Knights loss

Here's tonight's extended gamer...

When the White Sox promoted Micah Johnson from Double-A Birmingham to the Knights last week, it created a logjam of quality middle infielders in Charlotte.

The addition bumped Carlos Sanchez from everyday duties at second over to short and Tyler Saladino from short to unfamiliar territory.

Since the move, Saladino has made starts at third, short, left, and as a designated hitter, while also sitting out three games.

In Thursday’s 7-5 loss to the Indianapolis Indians in front of 10,289 at BB&T BallPark, he found himself back in left, and for the first time, had trouble.

After getting a late break on a line drive directly over his head, Saladino failed to hold on to a catchable ball and was charged with an error that led to a late insurance run for the Indians.

“Today wasn't my best day,” said Saladino, who had never played an inning in the outfield before Johnson's arrival. “It’s just different. Being in the infield, you don’t need to go too far, or run too hard for many pop flies. It’s more just trying to figure out how to camp under the ball, as opposed to turning and running,”

In his first appearance in left, Saladino had to borrow an outfielder's glove from Blake Tekotte.

Thursday, he was trying to break in a new one of his own.

“Tonight he made an error, but that’s how you learn,” said Knights manager Joel Skinner. “You can’t emulate that, you have to go out there and just play the position and learn from everything as you gain experience, but it’s something that he’ll get good at.

“It’s a way for us to get Saladino in the lineup. It’s just a matter of trying to fit him in and there’s nothing wrong with building that foundation as a utility guy.”

With both Sanchez and Johnson considered top-10 prospects in the White Sox system, the decision to move Saladino -- who is third on the team in average (.268) and second in RBIs (22) -- around is understandable from an organizational development standpoint. 

Skinner also acknowledged that the decision to add playing the outfield to Saladino's resume came from upper management. 

It’s the same tactic the Knights used with Steve Tolleson last season. Although Tolleson's a fair bit older than Saladino and never found a spot with Chicago, his ability to play all over the diamond has allowed him a greater number of opportunities throughout his career.

After hitting .288 in 116 games with Charlotte, Tolleson caught on with the Toronto Blue Jays this season and has appeared in games at second, all three outfield positions, and even once on the mound.

"I’ll play anywhere,” said Saladino. "If I’m in the lineup, I’ll take it. If you need me to catch, I’ll catch. That’s just the way it is." 

For a moment in the the ninth, it looked as though Saladino’s error might hurt a bit more when Josh Phegley launched a fly ball to left with a runner on.  

Indians leftfielder Jaff (pronounced Jeff) Decker turned his head and raced back to the wall, nearly disappearing in the shadows of the leftfield porch right where it suddenly juts back from 345 feet away from home plate to 350 before reemerging with the ball in his glove. 

"The odds of that ball landing in there weren’t very high," said Saladino, who is slowly growing familiar with the territory Decker had to cover. "We haven’t had a ball land there all season, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. If it's a few feet left, it's gone. He made a nice play to get back there and find it."

Erik Johnson (0-1) was hit with his first loss of the season after allowing six runs on six hits in six innings of work. He struck out five, but was hurt by home runs in the first and second inning.

The Knights will play the second of their four-game set with the Indians on Friday. Felipe Paulino will take the mound across Vance Worley. 

Game 46: Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

Here are the lineups:

Knights (15-30)

Micah Johnson 2B

Carlos Sanchez SS

Josh Phegley C

Jordan Danks DH

Matt Davidson 3B

Gorkys Hernandez CF

Dan Black 1B

Blake Tekotte RF

Tyler Saladino LF

Pitching: RHP Erik Johnson (0-0, 3.38 ERA)

Indians (26-19)

Chris Dickerson CF

Robert Andino SS

Gregory Polanco RF

Matt Hague DH

Chris McGuiness 1B

Brent Morel 3B

Jaff Decker LF

Nevin Ashley C

Michael Martinez 2B

Pitching: LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.82 ERA)

Game time: 7:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: MiLB.tv / ESPN 730

Knights notes and probables as Gregory Polanco and Indianapolis Indians come to Charlotte

Knights (15-30) vs. Indians (26-19)

Thursday, 7:05 p.m.

RHP Erik Johnson (0-0, 3.38 ERA)

LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.82 ERA)

Friday, 7:05 p.m.

RHP Felipe Paulino (0-3, 9.00 ERA)

RHP Vance Worley (1-1, 2.84 ERA)

Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

RHP Tommy Hanson (2-4, 4.60 ERA)

RHP Jake Brigham (1-2, 3.53 ERA)

Sunday 2:05 p.m.

TBD (It would be LHP Eric Surkamp’s turn in the rotation)

RHP Casey Sadler (5-1, 2.22 ERA)

* a previous version of this post had Tommy Hanson starting tonight, Erik Johnson tomorrow and Felipe Paulino on Saturday. 

Head to head: This is the first of two four-game series between the Indians and Charlotte. The Knights will head to Indianapolis in late July. 

Briefly: Micah Johnson made his BB&T BallPark debut on Tuesday and went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and an RBI. Johnson, 23, was promoted to the Knights on May 13 from Double-A Birmingham after entering the season as the White Sox No. 5 prospect, according to Baseball America. the second baseman was leading the Southern League with a .329 batting average at the time of his promotion. He has hit in seven straight. … With a 30-day limit for Major League pitchers on rehab assignment, Saturday could be the last time to see Felipe Paulino in Charlotte. He began his stint with the Knights on May 3. ... On Wednesday night, Charlotte welcomed its 200,000 fan to BB&T BallPark – as of Wednesday morning, the Knights ranked first in average attendance per game (9,553) in all of the Minor Leagues. … Entering Thursday, the Indians lead the International League’s West division with a record of 26-19. … Indianapolis OF Gregory Polanco leads the IL in batting average, RBI, hits, and on-base percentage, slugging percentage, extra-base hits, triples, and total bases. He also ranks second in runs scored and doubles. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked the 22-year-old as the No. 10 prospect in the game. 

Links: 

• Here's a feature on Carlos Sanchez that ran on the front page of the Observer's sports section on Thursday.
• An update on Polanco -- Coming soon to a MLB ballpark near you -- from Pittsburg's local CBS affiliate 

White Sox top prospect Matt Davidson starting to find swing in Charlotte

After a tough start to the season, Matt Davidson is beginning to show some of the promise that led the White Sox to deal away Addison Reed in order to add to former Diamondbacks prospect to their future plans.

The Knights’ third baseman went 2-for-4 and with a home run and two runs scored in a 10-3 loss to the Norfolk Tides on Wednesday. 

In the second inning, Davidson sent a 2-1 Suk-Min Yoon changeup into the left field bleachers to cut the Tides’ lead to 2-1.

That Davidson, 23, connected on his fifth home run of the season was encouraging, but that it came on a changeup made it even more promising.

“That home run just goes back to my approach,” said Davidson, who has been focusing on staying up the middle with his approach. “I wasn’t trying to do too much. I didn’t even hit that ball all that well. I hit it a little off the end of the bat, but I was in a good position to let my mechanics and power take over.”

The two-hit night helped Davidson’s average creep back up over the Mendoza line for the first time since April 20.

His .201 average is 49 points higher than is was following an 0-for-4 showing on May 11.
In the nine games since May 11, the Knights’ top prospect has gone 12-for-33 (.353), with two doubles, two home runs and five RBIs. He’s also posted a strikeout rate of 26-percent, after punching out over 40-percent of the time over the first six weeks.

“Definitely the season hasn’t gone anywhere near how I wanted it to, or in line what I’ve done in the past,” Davidson said. “It’s been a tough struggle, but I’ve been trying to keep as positive as I can as I try to come out of it. I’ve just gotten back to basics and am starting from the ground up. There’s no way to go but up from here, so I’m just focusing on that.”

Davidson came to the Knights with a career batting average of .268 and three consecutive seasons with 20-plus home runs. Right now, he's just trying to get back to normal. 

“He’s coming from one organization to another,” said Knights manager Joel Skinner of Davidson. “Anytime that happens for the first time it can be some sort of an adjustment. It’s a new season and he just got off to a slow start, that’s all.

“He’s got a track record and you can look at what he’s done in the past, so it’s just a matter of him continuing to work and do his thing.”