First Half Highlights of the 2023 Season

The first half of the season has come to a close in the International League, with the Charlotte Knights battling to a 35-40 record; through the 75-game stretch, there have been a lot of accomplishments and highlights for the Uptown Charlotte squad.

14 PLAYERS CALLED UP
The Chicago White Sox called on the pipeline a lot during the first half, with 14 different Knights being called up to play in the South Side, those players being Jake Burger, Jesse Scholtens, Keynan Middleton, Lenyn Sosa, Tanner Banks, Adam Haseley, Nick Padilla, Billy Hamilton, Alex Colomé, Sammy Peralta, Carlos Pérez, Jake Marisnick, Clint Frazier and Zach Remillard.

Scholtens (April 7), Peralta (May 4) and Remillard (June 17) all made their Major League Baseball Debut this year on their call-up to the big leagues.

STREAKING THROUGH MAY
The Knights made a spectacular run beginning on May 20 against the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where the Knights came back to win with a three-run eighth inning to claim a 7-5 victory which sparked a six-game win streak. This was the first time since August 2019 that the Knights had won six games in a row.

FIRST-HALF TEAM MVPS
Outfielder Victor Reyes has led the way at the plate for the Knights this season, leading the team in batting average at .313. While also having a team-best runs scored with 46, 14 home runs, 15 doubles and 56 RBI.

His successful season also puts him amongst the International League's best, coming in second for RBI, tied for 13th for homers and 15th for batting average among qualified batters.

On the mound, Nate Fisher has been the driving force as a starter, starting in 15 games going 5-8 while being the only Knight to make double-digit starts this season. He led Charlotte in wins (5), innings pitched (74) and strikeouts (68).

He also found himself near the top of the stat leaders in the International League, coming in sixth for innings pitched, eighth for strikeouts and tied for sixth in wins while being tied for first in games started.

Out of the bullpen, Declan Cronin has been in command for Charlotte, making 30 appearances on the year while bolstering a 2.94 ERA. He has been the one to answer whenever the Knights call to the bullpen needing help.

He leads the team in appearances while throwing the seventh most innings for the team, with 33.2 being behind only one other relief pitcher on the list. He has three holds and one save to his name while striking out 27 batters. He also went 12 straight games and 14 innings without allowing an earned run from May 9 through June 13.

SECOND HALF BEGINS
With the first half over, a new season begins for the Charlotte Knights as their record resets to zero. They will look to build off the first half's success to fight for a playoff opportunity in the second half. The first pitch of the International League second half begins for the Knights at 6:35 p.m. in Norfolk, VA, against the Norfolk Tides.