Knights baseball digest: Jake Burger, Luis Robert begin new stints in Charlotte

After one tough, final weeklong series against the Durham Bulls, Eloy Jiménez’s rehab stint with the Charlotte Knights has finally come to an end.

The Dominican outfielder will likely make his season debut for the Chicago White Sox tonight or tomorrow night against the Kansas City Royals. But with Jiménez’s departure from the Queen City, the Knights, in return, will get back their best hitter of the season — Jake Burger.

Burger, who was recalled to the White Sox on July 2, was optioned to Charlotte on Monday after increasingly sporadic appearances in the Chicago lineup as a third baseman and designated hitter. Burger played in 15 games for the White Sox, batting .263 with a home run and three RBIs.

During his time in Charlotte this season, the 25-year-old has been raking, slashing .322 with 10 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .964 OPS. If he keeps those numbers up, it’s hard to see how he remains in the minors for too long, especially with the White Sox’ injury woes.

In addition, White Sox outfielder and 2020 Gold Glover Luis Robert will join the Knights this week after rehabbing with High-A Winston-Salem. The Cuban outfielder was put on the injured list after tearing his right hip flexor on May 2 and — after a rehab period alongside Jiménez in Arizona — batted .250 with three RBIs with the Dash. His recovery will be crucial for the White Sox as they push to maintain control of the AL Central.

No matter how long Burger and Robert are in town, though, their presence in the Knights lineup, alongside that of the newly unretired Yermín Mercedes, means one thing — more balls to be found in the stands of Truist Field.

Knights-Jumbo Shrimp series at a glance

This week, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp will be in Charlotte for a dense seven-game series. The Knights will play every night from Tuesday to Sunday, including a doubleheader on Thursday to make up for a June 20 postponement.

The Knights went 4-2 against the Jumbo Shrimp last series, including an 11-6 win on July 9 — the only time this month the Knights scored double-digit runs in a winning effort. Over the season, the Knights are 7-4 against Jacksonville.

Charlotte struggled mightily in last week’s road series against the Durham Bulls, losing five of six games and only scoring more than four runs once. Even when they did that, they still lost, with the Knights’ nine runs not coming close to the Bulls’ 15 in Sunday’s series-ending loss. Overall, the Knights have lost nine of their past 10 games.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville has been playing well, winning seven of their last 10 games, six of those coming during last week’s series against Nashville. The upside for the Knights is that they are also a low-scoring team, only putting up more than six runs once in the series. If Burger’s return can bring a spark to the Knights’ offense, maybe they can overcome Jacksonville’s stout defense and notch some wins.

White Sox prospects to watch this week

Jake Burger, 3B

Not to hover over the point for too long, but the Knights have not had a better hitter this season than Jake Burger.

This season, among Knights with over 100 at-bats, Burger leads the team in batting average, RBIs, slugging and OPS, is second on the team in OBP, and is third in hits and home runs — despite not having played for the Knights in nearly a month.

With a recent streak of silent offensive performances leading to losses, a hot bat with major league experience is just the thing Charlotte needs. If Burger’s numbers stay as spectacular as they have in Truist Field, then it’s only a matter of time until he finds his way back into the Show.

Mike Wright, RHP

One of the only bright spots for the Knights last series was a 4-0 win over the Bulls on Friday, courtesy of the pitching of 31-year-old Mike Wright.

Over 5.2 innings, Wright was dealing, earning the win by giving up two hits, no earned runs and three walks, while also tossing seven strikeouts. Though Charlotte’s bats were only able to put four runs on the board, it was all that they needed, as three more relievers tossed hitless innings on the path to a shutout victory.

Wright has been dealing all season long, earning Triple-A East’s Pitcher of the Month award in June after going 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA over five starts. Over 13 total starts this season, the East Carolina product has gone 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA, with opposing batters only hitting .189 for 27 earned runs against him. With Jacksonville sporting a minus-29 run differential this season, Wright’s start could be the key to a Knights win.

Micker Adolfo, OF

A new face in Queen City that should excite Knights fans is 24-year-old Dominican outfielder Micker Adolfo. Adolfo is currently rated as the No. 10 prospect in the White Sox organization, and for good reason.

Before joining the Knights after the first game of the Bulls series, Adolfo had been playing for the Birmingham Barons of Double-A South, batting .249 with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call him one of, if not the best, hitters in that league, either leading or tying for the lead in home runs, RBIs, slugging (.525), extra-base hits (30) and total bases (114).

He already proved that the pop in his bat would hold up in Triple-A during his first series against the Bulls, going 5-for-15 with two home runs and six RBIs. Both home runs came during Sunday’s 15-9 loss, while he registered his first Triple-A RBI the night before.

Adolfo is capable of thriving anywhere in the outfield, as well as the designated hitter role. With Jiménez gone, Adolfo’s presence in the lineup gives the Knights yet another way to spark the offense.

Triple-A East-Southeast standings