1. The White Sox took three games out of four from an Oakland club that looks like a very good bet to finish last in the AL West, split a pair of alternating pitching mismatches between a team they–optimistically–will be stride for stride with all year, and took a single game from the consensus favorite to finish last in the AL Central (pushing them to 0-7 in the process).
In starting out 5-2, the Sox have done absolutely nothing even middle-of-the-road prognostications would expect them to against the competition, but recent history has lowered the standard to where meeting preseason expectations is a breakthrough worth celebrating.
5-2 is the best White Sox start since 2008. With two more games against the struggling Twins, four against the rapidly aging Angels, and three against the expected-to-be-bad Orioles, it’s a kickstart toward their first winning April since 2009, and at its very core, it’s the hot start needed to cement the Sox as buyers who are seeking a left-handed offensive upgrade that is…clearly still needed, even during this run.
2. Jose Abreu went 0-for-3 Monday. He biffed on a big run-scoring opportunity in the sixth when he unwisely reached out and poked a grounder to short against a previously wild Ryan Pressly, and early numbers suggests he’s whiffing at a rate that matches his career-high.
And his current season line is .292/.419/.583 or a .389 TAv to start.
I’m nearing on giving up on doing any kind of observing of Abreu on any level beyond gawking and tracking the production. He switches between intense aggression and waiting out walks (also drew two of those Monday) with such ease, he can turn-and-burn to left field just as easily as he can hang back and use raw strength to carry the ball out to right, he almost seems like he’s trying to provide different looks like a pitcher would. He could hit at the top-five, MVP-candidate level he’s capable of, and we still might not know what he adjusted other than staying healthy.
3. Adam Eaton returned to the lineup Wednesday after his wife gave birth to their son Brayden, and flew back after Monday night’s game to spend the off-day with his family. The rainout cost the Sox a matchup of Jose Quintana vs. Josh Tomlin, and one more shot at the Indians before the got Michael Brantley back, but it likely allowed the Sox to have Eaton miss one game instead of as many as three or four if it took place during some other stretch.
With a .373 TAv through the first week-plus of play, Eaton is so definitively the Sox’ second-best hitter, that crafting a competitive lineup without him becomes a bigger compromise than any matchup.
4. The White Sox are officially unconcerned about Carson Fulmer, who got bombed off the field after recording just eight outs in his season debut last Friday. After retiring the first seven hitters he faced in a row, Fulmer walked four of the next five, and gave up a grand slam to former White Sox org soldier Brady Shoemaker. One bad outing in his first taste of Double-A is not even close to worrisome for a 22-year-old less than a year out of college, but for the Sox and Fulmer, anything that even hints at an actual normal developmental cycle would suggest that Fulmer can’t fit the rapid timeline that would have him helping the starting rotation mid-season. Perhaps these concerns can be smoothed over by Don Cooper mentioning Fulmer to Scott Merkin in the same breath as Chris Sale and Carlos Rodon:
“I knew it with [Chris] Sale, even when everybody was saying he can’t be a starter, I knew what we had,” Cooper said. “With Rodon, there’s more work I think. More work because Saler threw more strikes.
“So, everybody was penciling in Rodon to be a can’t-miss, and I’m the pitching coach and saying, ‘Wait a minute. There’s a whole lot of stuff that has to go into making this happen.’ You don’t snap your fingers and it’s all done. I don’t take anything for granted.
“With Carson, he’s got the stuff and I think he’s got the makeup. So now it’s a matter of just refining.”
If that’s relaxing enough, Future Sox pointed out that Tim Anderson has missed his last three games for issues that are this point unconfirmed (likely a minor injury).
5. Speaking of Future Sox, they broke down the internal options for replacing Avisail Garcia should his current career-long funk, and slow start to 2016 (.232 TAv, seven total bases and six strikeouts) persist. Travis Ishikawa is still the next man up, and has the most tailored skill set to help the current, roster, but is also a 32-year-old third baseman with a multi-year TAv of .242 vs. right-handed pitching. Matt Cassidy cautions against jumping on Cactus League Matt Davidson hype train until he shows he can conquer the contact and approach issues that hampered him the last two years in Triple-A. Jason Coats may be the most appealing due to the lack of obvious flaws currently being exploited by other minor leaguers, but by that point we’re transitioning from former MLB talent, to post-hype prospects, to a guy who has reached the point of graduating the system without ever being identified as a notable prospect.
Given how steadfast the Sox have been in trying to develop Garcia, it seems like it would take a legit upgrade from outside the organization to give them cause to rip out the band-aid. Say, Jay Bruce has had a fun start to the season…
Lead Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn // USA Today Sports Images