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I guess it’s safe to say that this year’s Chicago White Sox opening day starter, John Danks, is no longer considered the ace of the staff, what with his lackluster numbers juxtaposed against the dominating stats being put up by the youngster Chris Sale and the patched up veteran Jake Peavy. The former had a dominant, club record setting 14 Ks in one game while the latter is looking like his Cy Young days from when he wore a San Diego Padres uniform.
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For the first time since the last day of the 2010 season, when the White Sox finished the year 88-74, the team is six games over .500 at 28-22. The 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday, coupled with the Cleveland Indians loss, brought them into first place.
For a team that many MLB publications predicted to lose 90 or more games this year, being in first place with June just about here is a very pleasant surprise.
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When the Chicago White Sox brought up Chris Sale, their first round pick from this past June, it was a chance for Sale to dive right into the pool head first instead of slowly getting used to the water, gently dipping his toe in and go from there. Because his first Major League experience comes in the heat of a pennant race.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better situation,” Sale said when I spoke with him earlier this week.
The White Sox selected left-handed pitcher out of Florida Gulf Coast University with their first-round pick (13th overall) June’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Sale, a 21-year-old junior, went 11-0 with a 2.01 ERA (23 ER/103.0 IP), 14 walks and 146 strikeouts in 17 games (15 starts) with the Eagles in 2010. He leads all Division I pitchers in strikeouts, ranks fifth in wins and 10th in ERA. That’s right, just a couple months ago he was a college junior, and now he’s pitching in the big leagues.
Across two levels of the minors, the “lanky” Sale impressed White Sox brass, pitching 10 1/3 innings of relief, posting a 2.61 ERA with 19 strikeouts. He was certainly “fast-tracked” to the Majors; where he’s assumed bullpen duty.
“I been all over the place, living out of hotels, being the new guy on three different teams with three different coaches, and at each place I’ve taken something from somebody there,” Sale said.
By Paul M. Banks
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With a turf toe injury to reliever LHP Eric Threets, and few better options to assume a left-handed specialist role in the bullpen, the first place Chicago White Sox will call upon LHP Chris Sale, their top pick from this year’s amateur draft for assistance.
Will the move be permanent or just cup of coffee for the young hurler? Will he head back to the minors quickly? As GM Kenny Williams said on a recent episode of MLB network’s The Club, “he will not hesitate to make a move that he thinks will help his team improve.”
After the draft, he told Sale that “he envisions him making the majors quickly.”
By: Soxman [Read more…]
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With White Sox fifth starter/top prospect Daniel Hudson now in Arizona (in exchange for Edwin Jackson), it’s time to think about who’s next in line regarding pitching prospects within the Sox farm system.
And who better to tell us than Kirk Champion, White Sox Minor League Pitching Coordinator.
Champion gave a conference call last week where I was joined on the call by Jim Margalus of Sox Machine, Anthony Mazzuca of Future Sox and South Side Sox, SB Nation‘s White Sox blog.
By Paul M. Banks
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The Chicago White Sox selected left-handed pitcher Chris Sale (SAIL) of Florida Gulf Coast University with their first-round pick (13th overall) in tonight’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
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