Autumn Dreamin

Oh my god Quero walkoff bomb I love him

He has been solid for a while, but especially great since Quero arrived. 18.2IP, 6ER, 20K, 6BB with his new battery mate. 2.89ERA, 1.13WHIP. Shame he gets the ND tonight.

He destroyed that ball with only 9 fingers.

Kanny wins in a blowout, 16-3. Hard to pick a standout in a lineup that gets 16 hits and 8 walks to just 6K, but Sprinkle was s a force today. 3-3 with a HR, 2BB, and 3 RBI. The trio of Harris/Park/Gonzo all got 2 hits apiece. Park walked twice, and Harris/Gonzo once each. McDaniel gets the W with an odd line of 5IP, 3ER, 10H, 3BB, 3K, limiting the damage to one inning despite plenty of baserunners. WS also nabs a blowout win, 14-4. Burke 2-6 with a 2B. Chappy 2-4 with a 3B and BB. Baldwin (3-4, HR, BB) and Willits (2-4, BB) continue to settle in nicely after their promotions. Schweitzer went 4IP on 6H, 2BB, 3K. 3 runs, 2 earned.

Quero ?!

Mena has faced the minimum through 4IP with his only baserunner erased by a DP. He looks good.

He's just sick apparently.

These A ball games are wild tonight, lol.

McClanahan headed for TJ next week, and will miss all of 2024.

Both A ball teams out to big early leads after batting through the order in the first. Kanny: Camilletti BB (of course) Gonzo BB Harris 1B Park RBI BB, 1-0 Sprinkle RBI BB, 2-0 Lanzilli RBI 2B, 4-0 Galanie sac fly, 5-0 (1 out) Betancourt sac fly, 6-0 (2 outs) Logan K, inning over. WS: Burke lineout (1 out) Baldwin HR, 1-0. Willits 1B Goose 1B Turner flyout (2 outs) Smelley RBI single, 2-0. Chappy RBI 3B, 4-0. Chappy scores on WP, 5-0. Weaver K, inning over.

Luis Reyes' scoreless inning streak comes to an end at 17, but he was still decent today: 4IP, 2ER, 3H, 3BB, 4K.

There's something fascinating to me about how Burger is "only" 27 and has gotten "only" 340 major league at bats this year, so we can conclude there's a good chance of him turning into right handed Rafael Devers despite already being older and never showing sustained production at that level... But rookies like Sosa are declared incapable of hitting MLB pitching after <50ABs, and younger players who also had interrupted or mishandled development time like Eloy/AV are just physically and mentally incapable of improvement apparently? Look, I also really like Jake Burger as a person, and I think he has potential as a player, but his likeability (and perhaps his ability to be used as a foil to the pet villians around here) has been making folks a bit silly all season. I'm almost petty enough to go dig up comments from June, when Burger put up absolutely abysmal numbers over 20+ starts, but somehow any lineup with him in the lower half (or heaven forbid, not starting) was basically a crime against humanity because he was "the best hitter on the team" despite literally looking like a backup catcher at the plate. And I do mean literally. Jake Burger in June: 89AB, .146/.200/.393; 13H (6HR), 38K, 4BB Seby Zavala, last 30G: 72AB, .158/.226/.382; 12H (5HR), 32K, 6BB It was a long stretch as bad as pretty much any Sox has had, at a time when it theoretically still mattered for the season, and he just seemed to get a pass for it that known SoxTalk busts and DFA candidates AV, Eloy, Moncada, every rookie, etc. would never be granted. Hell, LRJ was hitting .300 with a 1.000+ OPS over that same stretch (while playing excellent defense at a premium position), and for him every strikeout on a slider away had folks complaining that he was "lazy" and "didn't care" and "would never learn" a better approach. But Jake Burger? Endless fount of potential! When anyone else chases a breaking pitch, it's basically a moral failing. When Burger swings at 25 pitches straight across multiple games...it's cool! He's "only" 27 after all, unlike AV/Luis/Eloy who are "already" 25/26, so his approach can only improve from here! Every hot streak is a sign of things to come...and every cold streak is ignored. The reality is, like a ton of guys, he IS streaky. He was 4-23 in his first six games with MIA (with one HR). He's gone 10-24 in the six games since (with 0 HR, but 4 2B). Maybe he'll be a career .300 hitter now (apparently at the expense of his HR output?)...or maybe he's having a hot week of batted ball luck that will be sandwiched between stretches of a few 0-fers with some XBHs sprinkled in...like he did any number of times here. If he levels out more at some point, it probably won't look like his terrible June numbers...but it's obviously also not going to be at the level of this week in Miami. Even if you ignore how low his lowest percentile outcomes are, and that he doesn't have a glove or high BB% to fall back on as a Gallo-style floor raiser, and that his Marlins numbers have an underlying .382 BABIP, and just assume he's going to become a reliable .270BA/35HR guy going forward...It's still not malpractice to trade him to address another need? The White Sox can like Jake Burger, and think he's a good player, and even think he's the best 3B option they have...and it can still be the right move to trade him! The Marlins are stocked with young arms, and confident they can pop out enough league average or above SP to stay competitive...but they had basically no corner power in their system. The Sox feel like at least one of Moncada/Ramos/Popeye/Sosa/Montgomery/Gonzo can give you league average or above 3B production...but they had no LHSP close to the majors. The Marlins are betting that the upside of Jake Burger over whatever bats fall in their FA price range outweighs the delta between Eder and their next best option (they have two other high minors LHSP in their top 20). The Sox are betting that the upside of Jake Eder over...well, they had nothing close...outweighs the difference between Burger and their next best option for 3B. And decent LHSP is not a exactly a skillset that falls off trees, hence why Keuchel still gets chances, Rich Hill is the oldest active MLB player, and Snell is well positioned to benefit from an offseason bidding war. RH bats on the other hand...well, doesn't SoxTalk pound the table about how dumb it is to draft high for bat-first DH types in the first place, because there are options in FA? Unless you're working with a bottom 10 payroll like the Marlins...and get capped out at Segura. A swap of two players with this much team control happens because both teams are looking beyond this season. Literally nothing that happens this year, short of career-ending circumstances or I guess Burger WSMVP, is determinative for either side. If Burger gets a big hit tomorrow, you can actually just be happy for him instead of making it about whatever Sox player/prospect/FO member you hate most that day or acting like Burger taking 3 walks in 12 games has fundamentally revolutionized what he's capable of for the next 5 years. And if the 2025 Marlins really do get a magical 4WAR 3B version of Burger to pair with 2.5WAR LHP Dax Fulton, but the 2025 White Sox have 3.5WAR LHP Jake Eder to pair with 3WAR 3B Bryan Ramos, then both sides still "win" despite giving up a better player than they kept for the respective position.

Ramos with an early oppo HR. Not gonna be able to keep him off Top 100 lists for long.

Still no Colson...

Schultz' former piggyback/rotation mate Mason Adams is currently cruising through his WS debut. He's through 5IP with 1ER and a healthy number of pitches remaining. Gave up a solo shot in the 6th, but turns in a quality start nonetheless. 6IP, 2ER, 6H, 2BB, 3K.

Popeye ?

2R walkoff ? for Harris, his first HR.

Unpredictable overperformance: Very predictable underperformance:

McDougal looked good tonight. 4IP hitless, 1BB, 4K.

A couple of fun reads on 11th rounder Rikuu Nishida: Cape League: Rikuu Nishida at center of Hyannis Harbor Hawks success (capecodtimes.com) Riku Nishida, the fifth Japanese player in history to be drafted to the Major Leagues after studying abroad “Miraculous Reversal | FRIDAY DIGITAL BA had him as the Sox' most interesting Day 3 pick.

It's been all offense in Bham lately, but today the pitching carried the load. A solid 5IP/2ER run start from Cannon backed up by 4IP of hitless relief from lefties Schoenle and Scolaro. Barons win 3-2, and the GWRBI was on a bases loaded HBP.

Reyes turns in another 4IP scoreless (and hitless!), 2BB, 5K. Hasn't given up a run in his past 5 outings, totaling 15IP.

Does feel like he has more power from the right side maybe.