By the Numbers

We could start with these: a 4-16 record after a ten-inning, 4-3 loss to the Red Sox. A 0-8 record on the road to go with 2-14 over their last sixteen games. Wait, there’s more. Andrew Vaughn batting .135, which happens to be 37 points higher than Jacob Amaya’s .098. Both Vaughn and Amaya are back in the lineup today unlike rookie catcher Edgar Quero, who went 2-for-4 with a double while throwing out a baserunner. Maybe Quero needs to get that batting average down a little so he can play more. But enough of the travails of these purported big-league White Sox. Let’s go down on the farm, where, supposedly, a rebuilt system will be developing more Queros and Chase Meidroths (both of whom came from other systems, by the way). Odd how the records don’t reflect all the talent I keep reading about. Triple-A Charlotte is 7-13; Double-A Birmingham ,7-6; high-A Winston-Salem, 5-9; and single-A Kannapolis, 7-7. They all must be playing tough schedules at the same time. In which case, let’s see what the talent is doing on an individual basis. Top prospect Noah Schultz—and how many times have I seen him compared to Randy Johnson?—is 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA at Birmingham. Prospect #2 Kyle Teel is hitting .215 with nine RBIs at Charlotte. Prospect #3 Hagen Smith is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA at Birmingham. Prospect #4 Colson Montgomery is batting .162 with five RBIs at Charlotte. And Prospect #4 Braden Montgomery is hitting .326 with seventeen RBIs for Kannapolis. Funny how Braden Montgomery is just like Quero and Meidroth, from a different organization. There are some people further down the list who look like they’ll be cracking the top five soon along with a few unranked players who could be drawing attention before long. If I’m Andrew Vaughn, I’d be worried about multiple first basemen in the system. If I’m a Sox fan (and I am), I’d be worried about following a team with a solid shot at 110 losses, at least.