Birmingham Barons In Pursuit Of Second Straight Southern League Championship

The Birmingham Barons' six-game win streak came to an end Friday night with a 1-0 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts. But it shouldn't damper their aspirations of a second straight Southern League Championship.

The Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate leads the league with a 65-41 record, in large part due to their hot streak over the last month. The Barons are 22-3 over their last 25 games, including a 12-game win streak from July 8-24.

Despite their impressive record, Birmingham's roster is not full of home run hitters. In fact, they're last in the Southern League with 40 as a team. But where they lack in slug, they make up for in average with a league-high 836 hits. They've also gotten phenomenal pitching up and down the roster to lead the league with a 2.77 team ERA.

"What they have been able to do is incredible," White Sox general manager Chris Getz said Friday in Chicago. "[Manager Guillermo Quiroz] has done a great job with that club."

"You look at the pitchers we have, whether it be Hagen [Smith], Tanner McDougal, some of the bullpen arms. And an offense in [William] Bergolla and Braden [Montgomery is down there too. On a regular basis, they are finding ways to win ballgames and winning is part of the development at the Minor League level. To have that environment for players, to show up every day knowing they have a chance to win is really a positive. And hats off to those guys. It’s been fun watching them on a nightly basis."

White Sox No. 2 prospect Braden Montgomery is in his first professional season, but he's already earned two promotions and moved up to Double-A on July 29. Through 10 games with the Barons, he's slashing .231/.268/.308 with one home run, two stolen bases, two walks and 16 strikeouts.

It may take time for Montgomery, 22, to adjust to a higher level of competition, but the White Sox still think highly of the No. 25 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings.

"Braden has had a solid first season. He got off to such a great start in Winston-Salem," Getz said. "I know he was itching to get to Double-A. We were finally able to get him there. He’s continuing to be productive. You look at his left-handed swing and right-handed swing, they both can be impactful. What a weapon to have a switch-hitter.

"Defensively he’s playing all three spots. He has graded out really well in the wings. He’s done a solid job in center field. We feel really good about where Braden is and where it’s going to go."

Here's a look at some of Birmingham's other top contributors at the plate.

Birmingham Barons	Hitting stats
Ryan Galanie	.273/.326/.406, 7 HR, 67 RBI, 17 2B
Rikuu Nishida	.277/.406/.299, 60 R, 91 H, 24 RBI
William Bergolla	.288/.348/.338, 56 R, 109 H, 22 RBI
Jacob Gonzalez (recently promoted to Triple-A)	.244/.305/.369, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 19 2B
Caden Connor (recently promoted to Triple-A)	.256/.326/.350, 4 HR, 36 RBI

The White Sox No. 3 prospect, Hagen Smith, has spent his entire second professional season at the Double-A level. Though he's missed some time due to injury and mechanical work, he still has an impressive 75 strikeouts in 50 innings.

Here's a look at some of Birmingham's top contributors on the mound.

Birmingham Barons	Pitching stats
Riley Gowens	98.1 IP, 3.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 39 BB, 111 K
Shane Murphy	90.2 IP, 1.39 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 13 BB, 69 K
Jake Palisch	88 IP, 1.75 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 23 BB, 52 K
Hagen Smith	50 IP, 3.60 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 37 BB, 75 K
Tanner McDougal	38.1 IP, 1.63 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 11 BB, 47 K

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