Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease among White Sox prospects to receive promotions

Eloy Jimenez

The second half of the season begins Thursday for three of the White Sox's minor-league affiliates -- Double-A Birmingham, Class-A Winston-Salem and Class-A Kannapolis -- and it has been no secret that several Sox prospects were going to receive promotions.

I trust James Fegan of The Athletic as much as anyone as a Sox source, so here are the moves that he has tweeted out Thursday afternoon.

Top prospect Eloy Jimenez, catcher Seby Zavala and relief pitcher Ian Hamilton have been promoted from Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte.

After contributing to Winston-Salem's first-half division title in the Carolina League, starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Bernardo Flores, relievers Matt Foster and Zach Thompson and outfielders Luis Alexander Basabe, Alex Call and Joel Booker have been promoted to Birmingham.

Outfielders Luis Robert and Luis Gonzalez, shortstop Laz Rivera, starting pitchers Lincoln Henzman and Blake Battenfield and relief pitcher Tyler Johnson have been promoted from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem.

The White Sox also released veteran outfielder Michael Saunders from the organization.

And, hey, some other good news: The Sox can't lose Thursday. Thursday's game with the Oakland Athletics has been postponed because of the horrible, wet weather we are experiencing in and near Chicago.

The two clubs will play a straight doubleheader at 3:10 p.m. Friday.