Knights baseball digest: Yermín Mercedes making his case to be recalled by White Sox

In just his second series during this stint as a Charlotte Knight, catcher Yermín Mercedes has shown that he can still do what he does better than most — slam homers.

In last week’s series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Mercedes went 5-for-20 at the plate — two of which were home runs. The first came Friday night when the 28-year-old sent a pitch from Sean Guenther 391 feet into right field. Mercedes was part of a hot Knights attack that took the game 11-6.

Then, in Sunday’s losing effort, Mercedes showed the world the power in his swing. With the Knights down 3-0 in the top of the sixth, Mercedes generated his own offense, crushing a pitch from Braxton Garrett toward left field and out of the ballpark for a 462-foot solo shot. Though the Knights lost that game, they were able to win the series, four games to two.

Standing at .286 with two home runs and three RBIs since rejoining the Knights from the White Sox, Mercedes is re-emerging as one of the team’s most fearsome hitters. With his power and a bit more consistency, a recall to the bigs may well be in his future.

The question is, can he keep that power and contact coming in this six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers?

KNIGHTS-STRIPERS SERIES AT A GLANCE

The Knights are entering this series having gone 5-5 over their last 10 games, while the Stripers have gone 3-7 in that same span, including a 7-0 shutout loss to Nashville at home on Sunday. In the season series, the Knights stand at 1-5 against the Stripers, all from the first series of the season in early May.

The Knights scored some important wins in their last series in Jacksonville, Fla., against the Jumbo Shrimp. Overall, they finished the trip 4-2, winning the first four in a row before dropping two weekend games to close. Even those two losses were close — 6-5 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.

Charlotte’s bats provided consistent offense last series, if not a little light, only scoring more than five runs once during an 11-6 win Friday. The upside? Six runs were the most Jacksonville scored in the whole series, with Charlotte’s pitchers and defense able to keep Jacksonville from any big offensive nights.

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Keeping opposing bats quiet could be crucial against the Stripers, who were largely up-and-down over the plate in their last series. That 7-0 shutout was one of two the Stripers suffered during their series against Nashville, but they also won three games by scoring six or more runs, including a Thursday doubleheader where they won 7-2 and 6-0. Gwinnett lost that series four games to three — seven games in six days.

If the Knights can take advantage of their Gwinnett’s exhaustion and force the Stripers into some low-scoring nights, this series could allow Charlotte to come within striking distance of the top half of the standings.

The series begins at 7:04 p.m. Tuesday at Truist Field.

OTHER WHITE SOX PROSPECTS TO WATCH THIS WEEK

Jimmy Lambert, RHP

Jimmy Lambert has been one of the Knights’ hottest arms recently, registering three wins and no losses over his last four starts. The 26-year-old righty has been floating between Triple-A and the majors this season and was called up to the White Sox roster for one day June 27 before being sent back down.

Over 10 starts and 36.0 innings pitched for the Knights this season, Lambert has gone 3-0 and tallied a 3.75 ERA, having given up 17 runs — 15 earned — on 27 hits. His .208 batting average against is second-best among the Knights starters, behind only Mike Wright.

In Jacksonville last week, Lambert notched another win during the second game of a Thursday doubleheader, though it did necessitate some clutch throwing from the bullpen. Over 5.0 innings pitched, the California native gave up three runs on six hits — including a home run — while also tossing three strikeouts and two base-on-balls. All three relievers after him held the Jumbo Shrimp scoreless while the Knights came back for the 4-3 win.

Zach Remillard, 3B

Over the plate, third baseman and Coastal Carolina product Zach Remillard found himself on fire in Jacksonville. Over his last 10 games, the 27-year-old has gone .281 (9-for-32), including four home runs, two doubles and eight RBIs.

Remillard’s hot streak in the Sunshine State started during Game 1 of the weeklong series when he registered two hits. He went silent over the plate the next game — first of the doubleheader— but made up for it later that night, going 2-4 in the nightcap with a solo home run in the first.

In Game 4, Remillard remained hot, sending a ball careening into the stands for a two-run dinger in the sixth inning — his sixth of the season. That fire stayed lit in Game 5, with Remillard registering an extra-base hit and three more RBIs on two hits. He’s hitting .245 with 24 hits, 12 RBIs and six homers this season.

Ti’Quan Forbes, 1B

If 24-year-old first baseman Ti’Quan Forbes has proved anything over the last few games, it’s that he has the clutch gene.

The Mississippi native was brought up from Double-A Birmingham on July 4 and has only played seven total games with the Knights. Though he was batting .299 for the Barons, he hasn’t been a revelation so far in the Queen City, going .217 (5-for-23) with 2 RBIs and no homers.

Had two of his most recent at-bats gone differently, Charlotte may have gone 2-4 against the Jumbo Shrimp, not 4-2.

In last Tuesday’s game, the Knights and Shrimp went to extra innings. In the top of the 11th, with one out and a runner on third, Forbes sent an RBI base hit to right field, driving Mikie Mahtook home for what would become the winning run.

In Game 3 of the series, it was Forbes who again gave the Knights the go-ahead run, sending a sac-fly RBI to right field and bringing shortstop Matt Reynolds home. While the jury is still out on how successful Forbes can be at this level, he’s certainly proved that he can be big in the moments that matter most.

Triple-A East Southeast standings

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