The Chicago White Sox threw in the towel on their 2017 season, following a similar theme from last season and the offseason. They have dealt some high-priced talent to stockpile young arms, young bats and hungry players with a ton of upside. The youngsters are getting a chance on the south side and slowly, but surely, the future is starting to look quite bright for the Pale Hose.
One young star that is starting to garner plenty of attention from seasonal fantasy owners and DFS players is Nick Delmonico. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games in Wednesday's road loss against the Dodgers, smashing a pair of homers in the process for his first-career multi-homer game. He also picked up his first major league stolen base, too, as the Knoxville, Tenn. native is certainly making a big splash in the early days of his career. He is hitless in just one of his 13 games in the majors so far, collecting five extra-base hits (two doubles, three homers) with nine steaks. It's obvious you need to call his RBI steaks with a name like Delmonico. Little Nicky is on quite the roll!
Carlos Rodon, who was the third overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, has struggled to make waves in the majors to this point. But perhaps his outing on Tuesday against the title-contending Dodgers will get him on a roll. He allowed just two earned runs, five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings to lower his ERA to 4.00 in the no-decision. It gives the White Sox faithful glimpses of what he is capable of doing, and something North Carolina State fans remember well. The left-hander has just 19 career victories over 60 starts and three relief appearances, so there is plenty of work that needs to be done. But he has the makings of an ace if he can keep the ball in the park, and, of course, get a little more run support from his teammates when he isn't bringing his 'A' game.
Tim Anderson didn't leave the yard on Wednesday night, but he was able to collect another hit. He has hit safely in five straight, and 12 of his past 13 outings, dialing long distance five times with 11 RBI across 14 games in the month of August. He is hitting a cool .288 (17-for-59) in the month, showing some signs of life. Leury Garcia collected three more hits, and isn't what you would call a prospect or a top young player anymore, but he has a big role going forward. He swatted his eighth homer in L.A. and now has back-to-back multi-hit games and four games with two or more hits over the past seven outings.
As far as that Chris Sale deal in the winter, Yoan Moncada is slowly coming along at the major-league level. There is no question about his talent, although he has struggled with strikeouts, especially recently. But Michael Kopech was the real jewel of that deal with Boston, with a fastball which reaches triple digits. The Top 5 prospect in all of baseball owns an 8-7 record with a 2.87 ERA in 22 starts down on the farm with Double-A Birmingham, posting 155 strikeouts in just 119 1/3 innings of work while serving up just six homers. Might we see Kopech on the south side when September call-ups roll around? Either way, if you haven't already done so, stash him away in long-term keeper leagues.
Lastly, if you REALLY like digging deep into them minors for your keepers, remember Eloy Jimenez and Zack Collins. Both players were recently promoted to Birmingham, joining Kopech. Man, if you live in Central Alabama right now, life is good. Talent galore at the ballpark. Get your tickets now. Collins and Jimenez homered in their Double-A debuts on Wednesday night after getting the bump from Class A Winston-Salem earlier in the day. It might be another long summer, White Sox fans. But help is coming, and it is coming fast and really, really powerful.
Now, they just need to find a closer. After dealing David Robertson to the Yankees, they have had a few step in and try. Tyler Clippard is gone to another organization, so Jake Petricka has given it a go. He blew what would have been a nice win on the road at Dodger Stadium, giving Yasiel Puig the 10th walk-off hit for L.A.
Clayton Kershaw (back) is moving closer to a return, and that's great news for fantasy owners. He is expected to either work in a minor-league rehab game or throw another simulated game on Monday. While it's uncertain exactly when he'll be able to return to game action in the majors, he is certainly making progress in his recovery. Obviously the Dodgers want to make sure he is 100 percent, as they plan on a deep run into the postseason, and there is no sense rushing him back with a giant lead in the National League West.
When Kershaw is healthy enough to return, someone is going to be the odd-man out. The team made a move to add Yu Darvish at the non-waiver trade deadline, and he is obviously a lock for the rotation down the stretch. All-Star Alex Wood has worked in both a starting and relief capacity in the past, but he has been so good that it's unthinkable that he would be removed from the rotation. That leaves either Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda or Hyun-Jin Ryu as the options for moving to middle relief.
Maeda doesn't go terribly deep into games, but he is 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 19 starts and two relief appearances. Hill has managed an 8-4 record, 3.44 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, all slightly better than his career numbers. The opposition is hitting just .189 against him in 10 starts at home, too, so he is likely to stick, especially since he throws from the left side. That leaves Ryu, who is just 4-6 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. While his overall numbers aren't terribly, he has a mediocre .265 opponent batting average. His ERA and batting average are each slightly higher than his career numbers. While it's conjecture, with no exact word from the team, he seems to be the most logical choice to take a backseat until injury or rest opens up a spot in the rotation further down the line.
Closing Time?
Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz had a horrific outing against the Orioles after entering with a three-run cushion. He walked the leadoff hitter, Caleb Joseph, which is already something to draw the ire of his manager. Pinch hitter Seth Smith also drew a walk, sending Scott Servais to the phone immediately. If that wasn't bad enough, Diaz walked the bases full with the red-hot Tim Beckham getting aboard. Finally, Diaz was able to get an out, but Manny Machado picked up an RBI with the sac fly to close it to a 7-5 score. Somehow Diaz was able to get All-Star Jonathan Schoop looking at strike three, but then he proceeded to hit Trey Mancini with a pitch to load up the bases again. He hit Mark Trumbo with a pitch to force another run in, and Servais saw enough. Yank.
The good news for the blood pressure of Servais, as well as Mariners fans everywhere, Marc Rzepczynski was able to come on and strike out Chris Davis looking for the final out, averting disaster and saving bettors from a bad beat, too. Will there be a change in ninth-inning duties in the Emerald City? Well, it has happened before, as Diaz was lifted from the closer's role earlier in the season. It's possible either Rzepczynski or Nick Vincent could get a look in the ninth inning, or perhaps there might even be a timeshare. What is likely is that Diaz has worked his final save opportunity for a while, as he has everyone in the Pacific Northwest wishing there was a time machine to bring back Kazuhiro Sasaki.
National League Quick Hits: Tanner Roark posted a quality start against the Angels, but he came up short in pursuit of his 10th win. … Wilmer Difo collected a pair of hits to run his hitting streak to 11 games, second-longest active in the NL. … Jose Urena allowed one unearned run with seven hits over five innings to improve to 11-5 with a win against the Giants. … Giancarlo Stanton's home run streak was snapped at six games, but he has three straight multi-hit games, and five over his past six outings. … Josh Bell finished 3-for-4 with a triple, run scored and two RBI, giving him four games with two or more hits over the past six outings. … Keon Broxton found the seats twice, hitting a pair of solo home runs to give him 19 on the season. He has three homers over the past two outings. … Wil Myers was feeling spry, going 2-for-2 with a run scored, RBI and career-high three stolen bases. … Clayton Richard went the distance, allowing just three hits and a walk in a shutout of the Phillies, improving to 6-12. It was his first shutout since 2012, and third overall in the majors. … Michael Foltynewicz was tuned up in Coors Field, yielding eight runs and nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings. The wheels have come off, as he is 1-3 with an 11.02 ERA over his past four outings. … Kolten Wong piled up three hits, including two doubles, as his red-hot August continues. He is hitting .404 (21-for-52) with 11 RBI, raising his average from .285 to .310 since flipping the calendar from July. … Anthony Rizzo is up to 80 RBI thanks to a grand slam off of Cincinnati's Homer Bailey. … Nolan Arenado made a critical error on Tuesday night. He used that as motivation to go 2-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI and a walk in a beatdown of the Braves on Wednesday. … Trevor Story collected a pair of homers while finishing with six RBI in the 17-2 rout of Atlanta.
American League Quick Hits: Luis Valbuena has struggled with his average for most of the season, but the power is still there. He hit his 13th homer in a win in D.C., his second straight game with a clout. … Ricky Nolasco has had a rough go in 2016, but he was sharp against the Nats. He outdueled Tanner Roark, allowing two runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings to improve to 6-12. … Tim Beckham's outstanding August continues, as he was 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and two RBI. He is hitting .485 (32-for-66) with seven doubles, five homers and 12 RBI, and he has hit safely in 15 of 16 games in August to raise his average from .259 to .298. … Yonder Alonso socked his 23rd homer of the season and he finished with three hits and three RBI. … Jean Segura picked up three more singles and he swiped a base. He has five multi-hit games over his past seven outings. … Matt Chapman of the A's cracked a two-run homer off of Brandon Maurer in the eighth inning. Chapman struggled in his first five weeks with the big club, but he has turned things around nicely. He is hitting a respectable .294 (15-for-51) with seven doubles, three homers and 12 RBI across 15 August games. … Anibal Sanchez checked out of his start in Texas due to a tight left hamstring. He was tagged for four runs and five hits over 2 1/3 innings, so his night wasn't going to last much longer anyway. … Aaron Judge belted his 37th homer, a solo shot, against the Mets. After slowing down a bit after the Home Run Derby and All-Star break, he has managed two solo clouts over his past three outings. Might he be heating up for the stretch run? … Marcus Stroman exorcised some demons, finally knocking off the Rays at home. He allowed two runs and six hits to top Tampa for the first time in five career outings in Toronto. … Seven Rangers had at least two knocks in their 12-6 bashing of the Tigers, including Elvis Andrus who finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a solo home run, four RBI and a steal. … The important AL Central game showdown between the Indians and Twins was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader. The Indians have won 13 of their past 16 at Target Field. Carlos Carrasco and Kyle Gibson, Tuesday's scheduled starters, will work Game 1, while Ryan Merritt gets the nod for the Indians in Game 2 against Jose Berrios. Indians started have a league-low 3.98 ERA.
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