White Sox series preview: Injuries have made a bad team worse
Can the Royals pull off another sweep?
Fans knew it was going to be a long year on the South Side this year. It’s not good if management is already refuting reports they are considering firing the manager in the second week of the season. But early injuries have decimated an already-thin roster. The White Sox are without their top three hitters - third baseman Yoán Moncada, and outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert Jr. They’ll have to rely on an odd collection of players other organizations didn’t want.
The White Sox were swept by the Royals in a four-game series in Kansas City just last week, and were just swept at home by the Reds over the weekend. They currently have the worst record in baseball, and the worst run differential by a large margin.
Kansas City Royals (10-6) vs. Chicago White Sox (2-13) at Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL
Royals: 5.31 runs scored/game (12th in MLB), 3.00 runs allowed/game (1st)
White Sox: 2.27 runs scored/game (30th), 5.67 runs allowed/game (28th)
The White Sox have already been shutout five times this year, and have only scored more than five runs in a game three times. They have the worst on-base percentage, and the second-worst slugging percentage in baseball. As a team, they are hitting just .158 with runners in scoring position, the second-worst mark in baseball.
Gavin Sheets is one of the few White Sox off to a good start that is still healthy, with team-highs in RBI (8), and OPS (.952), but he is 0-for-6 this year against lefties. The team was counting on big free agent outfielder Andrew Benintendi to bounce back after a disastrous 2023 campaign, but he is hitting just .145 with no power. Andrew Vaughn was expected to take a step forward, but has struggled early this year with a .185 average and no home runs. Robbie Grossman didn’t join the team until the second week of the season, and already leads the team in walks with nine.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
The White Sox will push Erick Fedde back to Tuesday, and will promote Nick Nastrini to make his MLB debut on Monday. Nastrini was ranked as the #54 prospect in baseball before the 2023 season, and was acquired from the Dodgers last summer in the Lance Lynn deal. The 24-year-old right-hander had a 4.08 ERA with 139 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings across Double-A and Triple-A last year. His fastball sits at 92-95 mph and he features a slider, curve, and change up.
Fedde gave up just one run over five innings against the Royals last week, getting a no-decision in a 2-1 White Sox loss. He gave up five runs on three home runs his last time out against the Guardians, and has yet to go past five innings in a start. His sweeper and sinker have been hit pretty well early on and despite a 4.30 ERA, his 7.20 FIP is one of the highest among starters.
Chris Flexen pitched well against the Royals last week, but has struggled in his other two starts, and is 0-3 with an 8.78 ERA for the year. He has one of the lowest whiff rates in baseball, and opponents hit .383 against his four-seamer last year. He can throw a pretty good change up, although it hasn’t been particularly effective yet this year.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
Despite collecting a no-name assortment of relievers, the White Sox have gotten decent performance from the bullpen, with a collective 4.19 ERA, although their 4.99 FIP is the fifth-highest in baseball and they have the third-highest walk rate. Closer Michael Kopech has six walks in 8 2⁄3 innings and lost a game against the Royals last week, but has managed to close out both of his save opportunities. Deivi Garcia has given up 11 runs (7 earned) in 6 23 innings and has been tagged for two losses already. Jordan Leasure - who was acquired with Nastrini from the Dodgers - has yet to give up a run, and Steven Wilson has been another bright spot in the pen.
All statistics are 2023 numbers.
The Royals took care of business against a bad White Sox team last week, and they may face an even worse version this week. But they face an unknown, promising pitcher making his debut, and two pitchers that handled them well last week. The offense will have to keep up its performance and keep things from getting too close as the bullpen still has issues to work out.