The White Sox keep looking for proof of progress on the mound, and Thursday’s minor league slate didn’t offer much of it. Tanner McDougal’s latest outing fit the pattern all too well, and senior pitching adviser Brian Bannister’s big-picture optimism ran headfirst into another rough day across the system.
“We’re not where I want us to be,” Bannister said to James Fegan. “I truly believe in the next couple years we’re going to be a top-five pitching development organization. But we’re not there yet.”
Bannister said the organization is still working to fold in data from its biomechanical investments and to get Hawk-Eye systems installed at all four minor league affiliates. That gives the White Sox a clear task list, but the results on the field are still thin. Noah Schultz remains the closest thing they have to a development success, though even that comes with a caveat: Schultz’s struggles with another bout of tendinitis in his right knee have led to an internal theory that the delivery mechanics that make him most effective and the ones that take stress off his lead leg are two different things.
McDougal’s night was the latest example of the trouble. In Charlotte’s 9-8, 10-inning win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he worked one inning and was tagged for four hits and four runs, all earned, while walking one and striking out one.
Shane Smith gave Charlotte two innings, allowing one hit, two runs and two earned runs with three walks, three strikeouts and one hit batter. Jaden Woods followed with a scoreless inning, striking out three.
The Charlotte lineup did enough to survive. Edgar Quero doubled, singled, struck out and was ejected afterward.
Junior Pérez homered, singled twice and struck out twice. Ryan Galanie drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and also had a hit by pitch and a strikeout.
Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with two walks.
In Birmingham’s 4-3, 11-inning win over Chattanooga, the bats were mixed but the pitching held up. Samuel Zavala homered, walked and struck out twice.
Anthony DePino went 3-for-4, while Colby Shelton was 1-for-5. Ryan Burrowes finished 0-for-3 with a walk, sacrifice fly and strikeout, and he was also caught stealing.
James Taussig had an 0-for-5 night with four strikeouts. Lucas Gordon returned from the injured list and gave Birmingham 2.2 innings, allowing one hit and one run, with two walks and four strikeouts.
Winston-Salem beat Greenville 7-4, and George Wolkow made sure the box score stood out. He hit his 20th and 21st home runs of the year in a 2-for-4 night.
Javier Mogollón went 0-for-4 with a walk, a strikeout and two stolen bases, while Kyle Lodise was 1-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base. Jeral Perez finished 1-for-4.
Grant Umberger delivered six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three. Seth Keener followed and gave up two runs, one earned, in one inning.
Kannapolis took a 4-1 win over Fredericksburg behind a solid day from Blaine Wynk, who worked three scoreless innings without issuing a walk. He allowed three hits and struck out three.
Grayson Fitzwater went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout. Jaden Fauske was 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and was caught stealing.
Matthew Boughton went 0-for-3 with a walk, hit by pitch and strikeout.
In the DSL, DSL Arizona Black beat DSL White Sox 9-3 in seven innings. Fernando Graterol went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.
Ronald Cardozo was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Felix Lebron finished 0-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and a strikeout, and Samuel Luis was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
The DSL White Sox ended the season 19-36.
In Other News...
Huascar Brazobn Is Already Giving The White Sox A Bullpen Problem
The White Sox added four players to their 26-man roster, and while Luis Castillo, Brenton Doyle and Joey Bart all seem to have a clearer early fit, Huascar Brazobn has already become the name that stands out for a different reason. Chicago is looking for bullpen stability, and the right-hander came in with a track record that suggested he could help, especially after the success he showed with the Mets.
Instead, his early work has looked out of step with that profile, and the concerns go beyond a few rough outings. The numbers have pointed to louder contact and less swing-and-miss than expected, which only adds to the unease for a club trying to sort out late-inning innings on the fly. If the struggles keep going, the White Sox have some flexibility to make a move, and that possibility is already hanging over his first run with the team. [Read more 🡒]
Lenyn Sosas Struggles Show How Much the White Sox Have Changed
Lenyn Sosas departure looked like a quiet transaction in April 2026, but it says plenty about how far the White Sox have moved since he once led the club in home runs and RBIs the year before. Limited playing time and a pair of wrist injuries had already chipped away at his role, and the move to Toronto ended with him being outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo after the offense never really found a rhythm.
What makes Sosas situation stand out is how differently the White Sox have looked without him. Chicago has gotten better production from elsewhere in the lineup, with other players stepping forward as key contributors and softening the impact of losing a player who once seemed central to the offense. In that sense, Sosas struggles are less a standalone slump than another sign of how much the roster has changed around him. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Starter's Early Exit Changed Everything Against The White Sox
The Cubs had already been dealing with a tense night against the White Sox when Kevin Gausmans outing took a sharp turn. What had been a routine start began to unravel as the right-handers hand started bothering him, and the discomfort was enough to make the club and pitcher revisit what was going on after the game.
Gausman tried to keep going, but the issue lingered and his effectiveness clearly changed as the innings wore on. It left Chicago to piece together the rest of the matchup without one of its expected starters, adding another layer to a game the White Sox were already watching closely. [Read more 🡒]