JimMargalus Jim Margalus

JorDanks has struck out 32 times this month. Previous monthly high this season is 29. It's only Aug. 17.

 

Jordan Danks: Still mired in the slump from hell. Went 0-for-4 with three K's. Now 2-for-28 with 18 strikeouts and one walk over his last 7.

Jordan Danks: Still mired in the slump from hell. Went 0-for-4 with three K's. Now 2-for-28 with 18 strikeouts and one walk over his last 7.

Seems like a good kid, but it's not working out. Can't be a major leaguer with that K rate, and he's already 25.

 

Good chance he gets thrown in with any offseason trade of D1.

Edited August 18, 201114 yr by Stan Bahnsen

WhiteSoxTalkCSN White Sox Talk

"got in a funk with his lower half two years ago, spent a lot of time last year trying to re-gain what he has a year before." #SoxFest

19 hours ago

 

WhiteSoxTalkCSN White Sox Talk

KW: "Jordan [Danks] progress has been slower than expected... [con't]

Gonzo.

When Jordan Danks arrives Tuesday at Camelback Ranch, he hopes the White Sox's coaching staff takes notice of the additional 15 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-5 frame that could help result in a major league roster spot in the near future.

 

Danks, the younger brother of Sox left-hander John Danks, isn't discouraged by the prospect of starting his third consecutive season at Triple-A Charlotte after being left exposed but not selected in the Rule 5 draft in December and then seeing the Sox sign Kosuke Fukudome to a one-year contract on Tuesday.

 

"My motivation preceded all of this," Danks said Friday in a telephone interview.

 

Danks plans to arrive one week earlier than required because he wants to show the staff he has made an array of changes that he believes can help him improve on his .257 batting average and 14 home runs, cut down on his 155 strikeouts and still maintain the quality defense he displayed last year at Charlotte.

 

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed," Danks said of the Sox's reasons for leaving him off the 40-man roster and being relegated to spring training as a non-roster invitee. "But I'm sure they had their reasons, and it's my job to make sure I make their decisions harder.

 

"Eventually I'll get there. It might not be now, but I believe I'm getting closer and better."

 

Danks, who said he weighs 225 pounds, said he began an Olympic-style weightlifting program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, then hit in the afternoons with former University of Texas teammate and Cincinnati speedster Drew Stubbs.

 

Tuesdays and Wednesdays were reserved for circuit training. Andrew Prater, one of his summer league coaches in Texas, would time his sprints to make sure he hadn't lost any speed.

 

But the biggest issue will be displaying more power and cutting down on his strikeouts. Last spring, Danks made a favorable impression among the coaches by batting .296 (11-for-27) with three doubles, but he struck out eight times before he was reassigned to the minor league camp late last March.

 

"The power is there," Danks said. "I also worked on my two-strike approach."

 

Danks reached deeper this winter to improve his hitting. He kept reviewing videotapes of his swing that were broken down in slow motion. The videotaping was conducted the previous winter in Southern California at the suggestion of former Sox hitting coach Greg Walker.

 

Danks compared his notes with Stubbs, who struck out 205 times with Cincinnati in 2011, and later he would pick the brain of his brother John after standing in the batter's box while Taylor Rogers (now in the Giants organization) and John would throw bullpen sessions in Round Rock, Texas.

 

"I asked John how he would get me out," Jordan Danks said. "You know sometimes they'll try to throw you inside and then try to get you to chase the high and outside fastball. When you face the same guys over a season, they learn you. So it doesn't hurt to ask."

Danks is back in Charlotte. Hopefully he can have a strong season and crack the Majors this season.