Results tagged ‘ Dan Johnson ’
Winter Meetings — It’s 73 degrees in Charlotte!!
Hello and welcome to the Winter Meetings edition of 
“Knight Fever”. It’s my first December living in South Carolina — and I am loving the weather! Back in the Northeast the weather is cold, damp, foggy, and there is snow on the ground. Not here! It’s baseball weather today and I am in the baseball mood!
The Winter Meetings began this week in Nashville and I did not make the trip. Every year I say I am going to go, but I just never end up going. I’ll enter my seventh year in baseball in 2013 and I have yet to make the trip. I say this every year, but next year I plan to go. We’ll see.
With that, let’s take a look at some of the recent Charlotte Knights news from last week. I’ll be back with more updates again a couple of times this week. Stay tuned!
Anthony Carter — Carter was among two players non-tendere
d by the Chicago White Sox on Friday. As a member of Chicago’s 40-man roster, Carter spent the entire 2012 campaign with the Knights. The right-handed reliever compiled a 4-6 record with a 4.60 ERA and two saves in 39 games (one start).
Originally a 26th round selection of the White Sox out of the June 2005 draft, Carter also appeared in 35 games with the Knights in 2011. The Georgia native posted a 0-2 mark with a 7.23 ERA with three saves that year.
Perhaps his best season as a reliever came back in 2010 when he posted a 1-4 mark with a 3.92 ERA and a Southern League-best 22 saves. He was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star that season and his 22 saves led all Sox farmhands. He entered the 2011 season ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the White Sox organization by Baseball America.
Carter, who is now a free agent, is currently pitching for Indios de Mayaguez of the Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rican Winter League). In nine games, he is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA (10.2 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 8 SO).
Dan Johnson – Johnson had one of the finest seasons in Knights franchise history in 2012
. The Minnesota native led the Knights in nearly every offensive category. He hit .267 with 28 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 77 runs scored. He was an International Mid-Season and Postseason All-Star.
His impressive season earned him a promotion to the Majors and he appeared in 14 games with the Sox. He hit .364 with three home runs and six RBIs over that span. All three of his home runs came in one game. On October 3, Johnson became just the 15th player in White Sox franchise history to hit three home runs in a game.
On Friday, Johnson was also non-tendered and became a free agent. It will be interesting to see where he ends up for 2013. Johnson has been a force in the International League in four of the last five years. He’s averaged 24 home runs and 79 RBIs over his four years in the International League span. Overall, he has 96 IL home runs and 315 RBIs.
For his career, Johnson has hit 200 home runs at the Minor League level with 754 RBIs.
Philip Humber – Humber, who made two rehab appearances with the Knights in 2012, was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros on Friday. It was a season to mostly remember for Humber, who tossed the 21st Perfect Game in MLB history on April 21 against Seattle.
From June 17-July 17, however, Humber was on the disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain. He made three rehab appearances — one with Birmingham and two with Charlotte. He threw 2.1 innings against the Gwinnett Braves in Gwinnett on July 1 and then four innings against Norfolk at Knights Stadium five days later.
Humber talked to the Charlotte media after his start on July 6 at Knights Stadium. Here are all four parts of his post-game press conference from Fort Mill:
Part 1 – http://bit.ly/MPSBi7
Part 2 – http://bit.ly/MPUvPK
Part 3 – http://bit.ly/LUmxbN
Part 4 - http://bit.ly/PnOlaD
Knights Go for the Sweep Tonight…
2011 & 2012 SERIES INFO: Last season, the Charlotte Knights won five of eight games against the
Toledo Mud Hens. Tonight, the two clubs conclude their four-game set from Toledo. This is the last scheduled game between these two clubs during the regular season. The Knights enter today’s game in first place after taking the first three games of this series. Charlotte is now 5-2 against the Mud Hens in 2012 after last night’s 6-1 victory and go for the sweep tonight.
AGAIN? UN-DOYL-E-VABLE!: Terry Doyle once again had a no-hitter late in the game Thursday night. He did not give up his first hit until the ninth inning and pitched 8.1 innings only allowing one hit and one run to get his fifth straight win. Doyle struck out nine. He is the current IL Player of the Week after taking a no-hitter into the eighth on May 28 vs. Rochester and only allowing two runs in six innings on June 2nd at Gwinnett. On May 11th vs. Buffalo, Doyle struck out a season-high 10, and on May 17th at Norfolk, he pitched a seven-inning complete game. Five of his six wins have come on the road.
Padding the Lead: Once again Thursday night, the Knights gained a game in the standing on the Gwinnett Braves. They now lead the Braves by 2.5 games after another Lehigh Valley victory over Gwinnett coupled with another Knights’ win over Toledo.
Break Out the Brooms?: The Knights will go for the four-game road sweep of the Mud Hens tonight. Dylan Axelrod (4-3, 2.89) will take the mound for Charlotte. The Knights have won 12 of their last 15 and are 5-2 against Toledo this season with one game left.
Turning 2: For the second night in a row and fourth time this season, the Knights turned three double plays Thursday night.
Phenomenal Phegley: Josh Phegley was 2-for-3 Thursday night and scored two runs. He now has a 10-game hitting streak and a team-high 18 multi-hit games.
Forget About It…It’s Ova: By getting out to an early lead and holding on again Thursday night, Charlotte improved their record when leading after five innings to 30-4 on the season.
Shut ‘em Down: Toledo’s two hits on Thursday night were the lowest total for a Knights opponent so far this season.
The Streak is Still Alive: With his bases-clearing double in the ninth inning Thursday night, Greg Golson extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Like He DREW It Up: Drew Garcia had a three-run home run, his first homer as a Knight this season, in the fourth inning Thursday night to put Charlotte up 3-0.
White Sox Purchase Contract of Danks: Jordan Danks became the fourth Charlotte Knights player to be promoted to Chicago this season as the Sox purchased his contract on Thursday. He joined other 2012 Knights Dylan Axlerod, Eric Stults and Jose Quintana. Danks made his Major League debut in the 8th inning of Chicago’s game as a pinch-runner.
Danks leaves the club batting .302 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs. He hit a three-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning on Wednesday to bust open a 2-1 ballgame and give the Knights a 5-1 win. It was his third homer against Toledo this season and seventh against the Mud Hens in 20 games. For the Sox, Danks took the spot of outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to June 4) with a strained right oblique.
