White Sox series preview: Welcome, old friends!
The White Sox have become a stop for former Royals.
The White Sox lost 101 games last year, an embarrassing culmination of the rebuild movement they embarked on several years go. The disappointing season cost general manager Rick Hahn his job, but rather than clean house, the White Sox promoted farm director Chris Getz to run the team.
Getz, a former Royals second baseman, has turned the White Sox into a resting home for former Royals players and employees. In the front office, he has brought in former Royals executive Gene Watson and Jin Wong. He inherited manager Pedro Grifol, who spent nearly a decade as a Royals coach. And he has brought in a number of former Royals players like infielder Nicky Lopez, pitcher Tim Hill, and he even brought in Mike Moustakas to camp, although he failed to make the team.
The team he has built this year is expected to be very bad. It’s a collection of what’s left of their core team that made a playoff run in 2021, supplemented by players rejected by other organizations. And they could get even worse this summer if they begin trading young away hitters like Eloy Jiménez, Yoán Moncada, and Luis Robert Jr.
Chicago White Sox (1-4) vs. Kansas City Royals (2-4) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
White Sox: 2.20 runs scored/game (28th in MLB), 4.40 runs allowed/game (15th)
Royals: 4.00 runs scored/game (18th), 3.33 runs allowed/game (6th)
The White Sox have already been shut out twice in their first five games and are hitting just .181 as a team. They have drawn just 11 walks in five games, and have hit just 3-for-25 with runners in scoring position.
Luis Robert, Jr. is coming off a monster season, which makes it all the more likely his days in Chicago are numbered. He has already homered twice this year, although he has also struck out in nearly half of his plate appearances. Infielder Paul DeJong has also homered twice, but he has struck out in seven of his other nine plate appearances.
Jiménez has been a solid hitter the last few years, but has battled an adductor strain early this year. Yoán Moncada and Andrew Vaughn still have offensive potential, although they were around league-average with the bat last year. Former Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been a free agent bust for the White Sox, and is off to a 3-for-20 start this year. Lopez is one of the few threats to run in the lineup, but he has been caught stealing in his only two attempts this year.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
Michael Soroka didn’t strike anyone out in his first start, giving up four runs in five innings against the Tigers. He is trying to bounce back from a forearm injury last year, part of a series of injuries that has limited him to just ten starts over the last five years.
Erick Fedde gave up just two runs with seven strikeouts in his first start returning stateside after winning MVP in the KBO in Korea. But he exited in the fifth inning due to a high pitch count. He throws a lot of sinking stuff, but gave up eight flyballs to just four groundballs in his first start.
Chris Flexen was also unable to get through five innings in his first start against the Braves, with just one strikeout and four runs allowed in 4 1⁄3 innings. Flexen has a fastball that barely breaks 90 mph, relying on a change up, cutter, and curve.
Garrett Crochet has been impressive over two starts in his return from Tommy John surgery. He has 16 strikeouts to just one walk with an ERA of 1.38, and his 96 mph fastball looks just as good as it did pre-surgery. Crochet induces a lot of ground balls, and lefties are just 1-for-12 against him this year.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
The White Sox have a motley crew of journeymen pitchers in their bullpen that have collectively produced a 4.50 ERA so far. They have the ninth-lowest strikeout rate among bullpens and the fourth-highest walk rate. Michael Kopech got the first save opportunity of the season, but labored to seal the win and his high walk rates will make things interesting.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
The White Sox are a very beatable team making their first road trip of the year. With the was their starters have been pitching, the Royals should be in every ballgame against this offense. But they’ll need the bullpen to perform better to take advantage of the schedule.