Chicago White Sox

Beautiful. Now get Jo out and let’s score a pair of runs.

K this f***!!

Did Plesac just say Vasil isn’t really a ground ball type pitcher?

f***

Need a K here

We’re getting BABIP’d to death here

Very happy with Burke today. Looked dominant for five, didn’t have in the 6th. He’s 100% a dude and will be a key part of the rotation moving forward.

100% said he was probably a bust…kid has made me eat crow and lots of it almost immediately making that post.

f*** yes!!!

Nice work Sosa…keep that s%*# moving.

Burke’s last 11 starts: 57.2 IP | 9.36 K/9 | 3.28 BB/9 | 2.86 K/BB | 1.09 HR/9 | 3.75 ERA | 3.74 FIP While there are still some warts underlying those numbers, his performance over the past two months reflects substantial improvement vs. where he was. IMO, he is cementing a spot in the 2026 rotation above pretty much everyone else.

Awesome! Hopefully they play him right away!

Thinking about this more, but this offensive core is super fascinating to me. We more or less have a compete lineup from day one. Yes, it lacks some ceiling and impact, but that’s totally fine for a team entering year three of a rebuild with no long-term payroll commitments and hopefully a new owner influencing our free agent principles in the near future. When I look at the group, I feel really good about the infield and catcher. We have two guys that I feel can be major league SS’s in Colson & Meidroth. The former has the higher ceiling with elite bad speed that suggests he can be a true impact player one day if he can improve his swing decisions. Meidroth is a divisive player, one lacking loud physical tools but possessing incredible skill and intangibles. I can’t stress enough how unique it is to have a player with both elite bat to ball and plate discipline abilities. People seem to think I’m just some fanboy when it comes to Chase, but go look at Statcast data around the league and find a lot of guys like him. He’s a unicorn and one I think still has considerable room for growth even if power will never be a huge part of his game. Beyond those two, we have a plethora of infield options that can be part of next year’s group. Sosa is quickly becoming an interesting player. He’s flashing a plus hit tool and a swing that’s geared to maximize what is above average raw power for a 2B. The plate discipline is still a major red flag and I do worry his game could unravel at some point without some improvements there, but @Jake has called out that his chase rate has gotten better as the season has progressed. As much as we rip his defense, he seems like he can be average-ish at 2B. He looks like a legit 2 win player at the moment with the ceiling for more if he could actually draw some walks. On top of Sosa, you have two 2B/3B types in Mead & Antonacci who look like they could be big league regulars. I candidly don’t know a ton about the Mead, but his past prospect pedigree (former 55 FV type) is exciting and so is his Statcast profile this year which has flashed plus power, hit, and plate discipline abilities. His game hasn’t come together yet, but he hasn’t had an extended runway yet to make you feel that it can’t. He’s a guy the Sox must find a way to get at-bats to down the strength, even if those come at 1B, DH, etc. As for Antonacci, but I just saw a stat that said he’s the only minor league this year with an over 160 wRC+ and under a 15% K rate. There is likely some BABIP good luck mixed in there, but it’s clear as day he’s got a double plus or better hit tool with excellent plate discipline. As @Timmy U has pointed out, there are some similarities to Meidroth here, but Sam comes with a bigger frame and more physical projection along with being a LH hitter. He could be in the 3B/2B mix as soon as Opening Day next year IMO. Needless to say, there are almost too many options for these three spots, which is a good problem to have. I personally believe keeping Chase as the primary SS and Colson as the primary 3B is the way to go for the timing being (Colson should shift over to SS whenever Chase is on the bench). I believe Colson has the skills to be an elite defensive 3B with time. Chase will never be a stud defensive SS due to his lacking arm, but otherwise I think he has looked the part there and has exceeded my expectations. Most importantly, this alignment allows for 2B to be manned by Sosa, Mead, or Antonacci, which I think is the ideal position for all three of them. I’ll post more on the other positions later today, but I did want to highlight one other point when it comes to the infield. I love our strategy to add high ceiling prep infielders in the past two years in Bonemer & Carlson. Most of the guys mentioned above outside of Colson have capped ceilings but look like they can be average to slightly above average Major leaguers. At some point will we need to add some star power and impact, and it’s this wave of kids along with possibly our 2026 1st rounder (if they go the SS route) that could provide it down the road once our theoretical financial flexibility begins running dry as kids enter arbitration. It’s good long range planing and I think Getz deserves some kudos for his org building in this area.

He might cost us some draft position at this rate. I kind of don’t want him to be this good…lol.

Nice start! Time for a Sosa gapper!

Keep it going! Love me some Brooks!

I’d think Mead unless they want him to work on some mechanical adjustments in a less stressful environment before calling him up. Could Elko be an option?

Lol…love the hard flex that completely misses the point. Don’t know how to make this any simpler for you, but Chase Meidroth is second overall in squared up rate behind Luis Arraez. What part of that statement do you disagree with exactly? Next, you highlight that Arraez doesn’t walk a ton because he makes such ridiculous contact. It’s true he makes ridiculous, but the reason he doesn’t walk is because he chases like crazy outside of the zone. Meanwhile, Meidroth was the most disciplined hitter in the minors last year and currently has an 85th percentile chase rate as a rookie. His walk rate as a rookie is nearly 2x that of Arraez’s. What part of that statement do you disagree with? Honestly, I am kind of curious what part of my post has you so butt hurt. Just an oddly aggressive response for no obvious reason in my mind.

Lineups are so much better under Getz / Venable this year. Always hated the “fast guy must bat at the top of the longer” approach even when they sucked at getting on base. And it felt like bad vets always batted higher than they should. Actually kind of excited to see Lenyn in the two hole. Should good get some good pitches to hit and he can do damage with those as good as anyone in the lineup.

Good lineup tonight if you refuse to play both Quero & Teel. This Benintendi to DH stuff is getting more traction.

It’s so fucking awesome to be excited to watch White Sox baseball again.

Benintendi’s splits: LF: 7.1% BB rate | 16.5% K rate | .183 ISO | 82 wRC+ DH: 11.0% BB rate | 16.2% K rate | .246 ISO | 140 wRC+ No idea if there an underlying reason for the difference in results or if it’s just luck, but the reality is DHing him more eliminates his negative defensive value.

Brooks definitely needs more playing time in the OF. He’s been close to league average hitter over the past month despite inconsistent playing time. I’m also totally for Sosa and others trying out an OF glove. Benintendi should primarily be a DH and while I love Tauchman he’s a guy who will need frequent resting to stay healthy.

I’m not sure I’m following here. Why would one of the best pure hitters in baseball care if pitchers come at him more?

I think we need to give me Meidroth more time before having this debate. Sosa was a -0.8 fWAR / 65 wRC+ player through his first 578 PAs. Meidroth is at 1.2 fWAR and 86 wRC+ (with some bad batted ball luck) in his first 349 PAs. Chase is still very much a developing player (as to be expected with a rookie) and I expect both his BA & OBP to improve substantially over the next couple years. I don’t disagree that Chase needs to find a way to make more impact, but there is still time to add some strength even if his frame will limit how much. That being said, we are talking about a player with elite bat to ball skills. His squared up rate is 2nd overall in baseball behind only Luis Arraez. Unlike Luis though, Meidroth has elite plate discipline and should eventually walk like crazy. The reality is we are talking about a unicorn with two elite offensive skills who plays good defense and is a smart base runner. The power / bat speed is lacking, but small enhancements there could result in a truly special player as his ability to square up on a small and make good swing decisions will maximize whatever power he has.