Four Intimidators promoted in five days
Walker, Vance, Johnson & Snodgress head to High-A
The Kannapolis Intimidators promoted four players -- outfielder Keenyn Walker and pitchers Kevin Vance, Erik Johnson and Scott Snodgress -- to the Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem Dash over a five day period from July 18-22. It's the first promotion to High-A for each of those players and the first mid-season promotion for all three pitchers.
With these four players moving up, Kannapolis has now seen 13 players move up to Winston-Salem. Earlier this season, the Intimidators sent Steve McCray, Terance Marin, Steven Upchurch, Cyle Hankerd, Blair Walters, Salvador Sanchez, David Herbek, Bryan Blough and Ross Wilson to the Dash.
Keenyn Walker -- Outfielder -- Promoted: July 18, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 18, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that outfielder Keenyn Walker has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem today. The White Sox top draft pick from 2011 hit .282 with a home run, 39 RBI and ranked second in the South Atlantic League with 39 stolen bases in 74 games as the Intimidators center fielder. He hit safely in 18 of his last 21 games with Kannapolis and was batting .343 (24-70) in 17 games since the All-Star Break.
Walker, a switch-hitter who turns 22 in August, ranks eighth in the SAL with 50 walks and is 16th in on-base percentage (.395) this season. He split last season between Great Falls and Kannapolis after the White Sox selected him in the supplemental first round (47th overall) out of Central Arizona College where he was named NJCAA I First Team All-American, the NJCAA I Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner and received the 2011 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year Award.
Walker stole 70 bases in 73 tries to lead all National JuCo players while batting .412 with six home runs and 59 RBI in 70 games in 2011. Baseball America rated him as the No. 6 Prospect and Fastest Baserunner in the White Sox organization entering this season.
Kevin Vance -- Right Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 20, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 20, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that right-handed pitcher Kevin Vance has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. Vance currently ranks seventh in the South Atlantic League with a 3.05 ERA (27 ER/79.2 IP) and posted a 4-2 record in 19 games (nine starts) with the Intimidators.
Vance opened the season in the Kannapolis rotation going 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in nine starts, but the former UConn Husky dominated after moving to the bullpen in late May. In 10 relief appearances, he went 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA (4 ER/21.1 IP) with 23 strikeouts and five walks while holding opposing hitters to a .189 average. Vance had not allowed a run in his last 12.2 innings. His most recent win came on his 22nd birthday when he spun two scoreless innings against Greensboro on July 8.
The White Sox selected Vance in the 19th round of the June 2011 draft out of Connecticut where he helped the Huskies to a Big East Championship in his final season. He ranks second in school history with 21 career saves, including a single-season record 13 in 2011, and earned NCBWA Second Team All-American in 2011. Vance made his professional debut with Advanced Rookie Great Falls, going 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 22 games (one start) en route to the 2011 Pioneer League Championship. The Southern California native graduated from Torrey Pines High School in San Diego in 2008.
Erik Johson -- Right Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 21, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 21, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that right-handed pitcher Erik Johnson has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. Johnson, who was scheduled to start for the Intimidators today, was selected by the White Sox in the second round (80th overall) of the June 2011 First Year Player Draft. In a corresponding move, the Intimidators received right-handed pitcher Mitch Mustain from Advanced Rookie Bristol.
In eight starts with Kannapolis, he went 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA (11 ER/39. IP) with 35 strikeouts and 18 walks in his first full season of pro ball. He joined the Intimidators from extended spring training on May 31 and had the seventh-best ERA in the South Atlantic League since that time. Baseball America rated Johnson the No. 13 Prospect in the White Sox organization entering 2012. He made his professional debut last season with Advanced Rookie Great Falls, appearing in two games in relief.
Johnson attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he went 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 105 innings in 18 starts as a junior, helping to lead the Golden Bears to a berth in the 2011 College World Series. He moved into the role of Friday starter as a freshman at Cal and never gave it up. The Northern California native graduated in 2008 from Los Altos (Calif.) High School, where he was a three-time all-state selection.
Scott Snodgress -- Left Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 22, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 22, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that left-handed pitcher Scott Snodgress has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. A fifth round pick by the White Sox in the June 2011 First Year Player Draft, Snodgress was 3-3 with a 3.64 ERA (40 ER/99 IP) in a team-leading 19 starts for the Intimidators.
Snodgress, 22, rebounded from a rough month of May to go 2-1 with a 1.99 ERA (11 ER/49.2 IP) in June and July, striking out 44 and walked 20 in that time. The 6'6" southpaw was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (3 ER/20 IP) over his last four starts in July. He currently leads Kannapolis in innings pitched and strikeouts (84).
While at Stanford, Snodgress pitched in relief over three seasons and opened 2011 in the bullpen with Advanced Rookie Great Falls before moving into the rotation. He finished last season 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 16 games (12 starts) in his professional debut, leading the team in ERA, and Baseball America rated him the No. 14 Prospect in the Pioneer League.
With these four players moving up, Kannapolis has now seen 13 players move up to Winston-Salem. Earlier this season, the Intimidators sent Steve McCray, Terance Marin, Steven Upchurch, Cyle Hankerd, Blair Walters, Salvador Sanchez, David Herbek, Bryan Blough and Ross Wilson to the Dash.
Keenyn Walker -- Outfielder -- Promoted: July 18, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 18, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that outfielder Keenyn Walker has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem today. The White Sox top draft pick from 2011 hit .282 with a home run, 39 RBI and ranked second in the South Atlantic League with 39 stolen bases in 74 games as the Intimidators center fielder. He hit safely in 18 of his last 21 games with Kannapolis and was batting .343 (24-70) in 17 games since the All-Star Break.
Walker, a switch-hitter who turns 22 in August, ranks eighth in the SAL with 50 walks and is 16th in on-base percentage (.395) this season. He split last season between Great Falls and Kannapolis after the White Sox selected him in the supplemental first round (47th overall) out of Central Arizona College where he was named NJCAA I First Team All-American, the NJCAA I Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner and received the 2011 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year Award.
Walker stole 70 bases in 73 tries to lead all National JuCo players while batting .412 with six home runs and 59 RBI in 70 games in 2011. Baseball America rated him as the No. 6 Prospect and Fastest Baserunner in the White Sox organization entering this season.
Kevin Vance -- Right Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 20, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 20, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that right-handed pitcher Kevin Vance has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. Vance currently ranks seventh in the South Atlantic League with a 3.05 ERA (27 ER/79.2 IP) and posted a 4-2 record in 19 games (nine starts) with the Intimidators.
Vance opened the season in the Kannapolis rotation going 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in nine starts, but the former UConn Husky dominated after moving to the bullpen in late May. In 10 relief appearances, he went 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA (4 ER/21.1 IP) with 23 strikeouts and five walks while holding opposing hitters to a .189 average. Vance had not allowed a run in his last 12.2 innings. His most recent win came on his 22nd birthday when he spun two scoreless innings against Greensboro on July 8.
The White Sox selected Vance in the 19th round of the June 2011 draft out of Connecticut where he helped the Huskies to a Big East Championship in his final season. He ranks second in school history with 21 career saves, including a single-season record 13 in 2011, and earned NCBWA Second Team All-American in 2011. Vance made his professional debut with Advanced Rookie Great Falls, going 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 22 games (one start) en route to the 2011 Pioneer League Championship. The Southern California native graduated from Torrey Pines High School in San Diego in 2008.
Erik Johson -- Right Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 21, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 21, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that right-handed pitcher Erik Johnson has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. Johnson, who was scheduled to start for the Intimidators today, was selected by the White Sox in the second round (80th overall) of the June 2011 First Year Player Draft. In a corresponding move, the Intimidators received right-handed pitcher Mitch Mustain from Advanced Rookie Bristol.
In eight starts with Kannapolis, he went 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA (11 ER/39. IP) with 35 strikeouts and 18 walks in his first full season of pro ball. He joined the Intimidators from extended spring training on May 31 and had the seventh-best ERA in the South Atlantic League since that time. Baseball America rated Johnson the No. 13 Prospect in the White Sox organization entering 2012. He made his professional debut last season with Advanced Rookie Great Falls, appearing in two games in relief.
Johnson attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he went 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 105 innings in 18 starts as a junior, helping to lead the Golden Bears to a berth in the 2011 College World Series. He moved into the role of Friday starter as a freshman at Cal and never gave it up. The Northern California native graduated in 2008 from Los Altos (Calif.) High School, where he was a three-time all-state selection.
Scott Snodgress -- Left Handed Pitcher -- Promoted: July 22, 2012
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 22, 2012) -- The Kannapolis Intimidators and Chicago White Sox have announced that left-handed pitcher Scott Snodgress has been promoted from Class A Kannapolis to Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem. A fifth round pick by the White Sox in the June 2011 First Year Player Draft, Snodgress was 3-3 with a 3.64 ERA (40 ER/99 IP) in a team-leading 19 starts for the Intimidators.
Snodgress, 22, rebounded from a rough month of May to go 2-1 with a 1.99 ERA (11 ER/49.2 IP) in June and July, striking out 44 and walked 20 in that time. The 6'6" southpaw was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (3 ER/20 IP) over his last four starts in July. He currently leads Kannapolis in innings pitched and strikeouts (84).
While at Stanford, Snodgress pitched in relief over three seasons and opened 2011 in the bullpen with Advanced Rookie Great Falls before moving into the rotation. He finished last season 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 16 games (12 starts) in his professional debut, leading the team in ERA, and Baseball America rated him the No. 14 Prospect in the Pioneer League.