Chicago White Sox

It’s amazing that we can watch four games in a row and the starters are Lopez, Giolito, Kopech, & Rodon.

This is all sounds good in theory and I’d like to believe it, but Lopez was fastball / slider for the vast majority of this year. He was barely using his change-up for long stretches, which is what he should have been focusing on during a rebuild season. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make any sense at all and makes me wonder if Reynaldo simply didn’t use the change-up because he wasn’t comfortable with it. And if that’s the case, then Cooper & our coaching staff failed him by not forcing him to do what’s in his long-term best interests. Again, just my take, but I can’t really see how being strictly fastball / slider was somehow part of a bigger development plan.

I’ve been harping on this all season and was ecstatic when he brought back the curve in his last start. If that pitch is here to stay and he’s willing to commit to the change-up, the kid will have a four pitch arsenal and IMO will be a quality major league starter in the long-run. Also, I get a laugh when people say his fastball sucks and cite his pitch value on Fangraphs as proof. It’s clear that certain people don’t understand how that metric works. Teams have been sitting on his fastball because he was throwing it way too much. If he has other pitches he can use to keep hitters honest / off-balanced, Lopez’s fastball suddenly becomes a weapon.

Holy schnikes!! The Bears might actually be pretty fucking good this year! I can’t remember the last time I could say that with a straight face.

Is Hamilton there already?

I’ve now spent a good $400+ to see five innings of Michael Kopech. But at least the elotes were good.

Anyone know how long this is supposed to last? I took my 4 1/2 year to his first game tonight and I’d hate to leave, but I don’t want here with him for hours.

Yes, but the person who could have been protected would have ultimately been let go in late April next year when we added Hamilton to the 25 man. I really don’t think that element is a big deal.

We were going to add him by late April anyways, so I’m not sure it’s that big of a deal.

Lopez has basically been a two pitch pitcher most of the year. He's gone long stretches without using change-up at all. He's also pretty much abandoned his curveball this year, which was his best breaking ball coming up in the minors and when he first hit the show with the Nationals. Why in a rebuilding season wouldn't we have Lopez focusing on his secondary offerings regardless of the results? To me that a failure that falls on Cooper.

Giolito’s last six starts: 37.1 IP, 9.64 K/9, 2.89 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9, .55.2% GB rate, 3.86 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 3.46 xFIP 55.2% FB (93.4v), 10.0% SL, 11.9% CB, 22.9% CH Giolito’s first 15 starts: 78.2 IP, 5.72 K/9, 5.38 BB/9, 1.49 HR/9, 39.1% GB rate, 6.75 ERA, 6.17 FIP, 6.33 xFIP 60.7% FB (91.9v), 17.0% SL, 9.9% CB, 12.5% CU Improved velocity on his fastball (his four seamer is up +2 MPH vs. April). Better command of all his pitches and pitching much more in the zone with his fastball. Getting a lot more grounders by leveraging his two seamer a ton more. Getting a ton more whiffs by better commanding his curveball & using his changeup significantly more. Lucas is a completely different pitcher than the one we saw earlier this year.

I’ll give him credit for Giolito. I still think he’s handled Lopez horribly.

After the 2021 season.

This is a multiple choice poll, so please vote for all guys you think will still be in the rotation come 2021.

Ok, I thought this would be a fun exercise. We now have four highly regarded pitching prospects in our rotation. Each of them has their own questions & concerns, but all are 25 years old or younger. Could these guys make up 4/5 of rotation come 2021? Are we going to trade Rodon before then? Will Giolito and/or Lopez flame out? Does anyone doubt Kopech at this point? Will be cool to see how things shake out here. For reference, here is each prospect’s highest end of season ranking by Baseball America. Rodon - #15 prospect (2014) Giolito - #5 prospect (2015) Lopez - #31 prospect (2016) Kopech - #11 prospect (2017)

Every team does this stuff, wanting your favorite team to be the sacrificial lamb is very odd if I’m being polite.

Because Eloy hitting in the majors rather than in AAA may make this team a lot more attractive to free agents who have concerns about how’ll competitive we’ll be next year.

Jack you need to settle down here. There is zero reason to draw this conclusion. The Sox most likely want these guys to just get some rest (physical & mental in Hansen’s case) and come to spring training next year healthy / refreshed.

That .709 OPS is 16th amongst SS’s, so pretty much average. Add in plus base running and above average defense and he can be a very valuable piece. And let’s not forget he’s 25 years old and came into this league incredibly raw. He should get better.

I find it more likely Reinsdorf approves making a winning offer to Machado or Harper than Corbin. The Yankees are going to be all over him and he’s going to a get contract in length that we’ve been typically unwilling to consider for pitchers.

No, the goal of a hitter to help the team score runs. Getting on base and making less outs is a big part of that, but so is hitting for power and using plus speed to get yourself into scoring position. Also, saving a run is just as good as creating a run. Evaluating a SS based strictly on their OBP is an incredibly flawed way to look at things. His lack of patience may prevent him from ever being a star, but he is most definitely a valuable player already with plenty of room for growth. He is the lack thing on this roster we should be worried about at the moment.

If Lopez can resurrect the curve for good and command the changeup, Lopez will be a quality major league starter.

Remember when Balta said Abreu wouldn’t be a worthwhile upgrade over Bird...whoops.

Swing & miss on a fastball right there.

I wasn’t able to watch the first two innings, but I’m sure scouting reports are telling guys to key on Lopez’s fastball. That is 100% Cooper’s fault for letting Lopez rely on it thus much in a rebuilding season. The good news is Reynaldo has been able to make an adjustment in-game and successfully use his offspead to combat the Yankees approach.