#zack burdi

[baseballjerseynumbers]

Zack Burdi takes 70. Last worn by Nick Anderson in 2021.

[reinsdork]

[cwsdjt]

Pen Problems

With spring training in full swing, who do we expect on the 25-man Opening Day White Sox roster? Well, you have Abreu, Moncada, Anderson, Garcia as locks in the field. We know Giolito, Lopez, and Shields will be fixtures in the rotation, and Kopech could be up by the end of the season. Instead, let’s look at the bullpen situation, which seems like a guessing game for the most part.

This season, we will have a few guys going in and out, but we know who are the locks. Most likely, Joakim Soria, Luis Avilán, and Nate Jones are locks for the 25-man roster. The Sox acquired Soria and Avilán in a trade with the Dodgers. Both are solid, veteran bullpen pieces. Soria had a disappointing 2017 campaign, but he is a perfect candidate to be a Don Cooper’ll fix him guy. Avilán had a 2.96 FIP and 2.93 ERA in 46.0 innings of work in 2017. That’s good. If the season is underwhelming, you might be able to flip them both at the deadline. Jones was injured in 2017, yet again, but when this guy is healthy, he is hands down the best pitcher in the Sox ‘pen.

Here are the questionable players. Zack Burdi is still recovering from Tommy John Surgery, and Thyago Vieira was just assigned to AAA Charlotte yesterday, but I would expect both guys up by August. I mean they both toss 100 MPH+ with ease.

Aaron Bummer was a fixture in the bullpen rotation at the end of last season and is basically the reincarnation of Matt Thornton. Kenny will probably be biased to keep him up in the MLB.

Jace Fry was pretty much the same. He’s a solid lefty who pitched well in the MiLB, but struggled yielding 17 baserunners and 8 runs in 6.2 innings of MLB work.

Danny Farquhar was somewhat dependable with a 3.65 FIP and a 4.40 ERA, so I could see him improving this season.

Gregory Infante seemed like he pitched 1000 innings last season in tandem with Chris Beck (shout out to Section 108 on our little inside joke here). Honestly, Infante wasn’t that bad. He overpitched himself with a 3.13 ERA and 3.58 FIP, but those are still not bad numbers. He also kept his WHIP under 1.20, and we all know how important it is for relievers to not allow baserunners.

We also have Juan Minaya (future White Sox trivia question: who was the White Sox closer in 2017?). Minaya was incredibly average last season. He was a 4.55 FIP and 0.2 WAR player. I would honestly like to see less of him this year and give Fry and Bummer more shots.

Finally, we have the return of the almighty Hector Santiago. Santiago is basically the replacement for Carson Fulmer if he sucks. Otherwise, he’s a clubhouse guy who might not make the final 25-man roster cut. Anyways, we thank you Hector for bringing us Adam Eaton, who will in turn give us potentially 3 of our 5 starting pitchers in the 2020 rotation.

The White Sox rotation could turn some heads in 2018. Jones, Bummer, Burdi, Infante, and Vieira throw gas. If everyone can remain healthy, this bullpen could perhaps keep them in contention into September. To put it simply, this bullpen will be the difference between the Sox being a 65 win team or an 85 win team.

[paul-konerko-blog]

Beat Benetti: Super Smash Bros feat. Zack Burdi

[twins2994]

Chicago White Sox-Minnesota Twins Series Preview

7.5.21- Dylan Cease RHP (7-3) 3.75 ERA Vs. Bailey Ober RHP (0-1) 5.84 ERA

7.6.21-Carlos Rodon LHP (6-3) 2.37 ERA Vs. Jose Berrios RHP (7-2) 3.52 ERA

7.7.21-Lance Lynn RHP (8-3) 2.02 ERA Vs. JA Happ LHP (4-4) 6.09 ERA

The White Sox At A Glance- The Chicago White Sox headed to Detroit after sweeping the Twins last week. The Tigers actually took two of three from the Sox. Lance Lynn pitched a good game on Friday night then the Tigers put up eleven runs on Saturday, and held on for the series win on Sunday. The White Sox now have a six-game lead in the division. Chicago activated Adam Eaton from the injured list and called up Jake Burger. They optioned Zack Burdi and Yermin Mercedes to Charlotte. Jake Burger hit 4-for-11 over the weekend. Tim Anderson hit 6-for-14 against the Tigers. Jose Abreu went 5-for-9 with a homer and six RBI’s over the last two games of the series. Lance Lynn gave them a good start on Friday, but Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Giolito struggled in the last two games. Codi Heuer is likely unavailable for Monday’s game after pitching in three of the last four games. Jose Ruiz has thrown twenty or more pitches in two of the last three games. Jace Fry threw forty pitches on Saturday, so the Sox bullpen has some limited arms to start the series. 

The Twins At A Glance- The Twins got roughed up in the first two games against the Royals in Kansas City. Kenta Maeda stopped the bleeding with a great start on Sunday as the Twins won 6-2. They won one of six games on the last road trip and head home to close out the first half. First up is the White Sox, who the Twins are (1-8) against in 2021. Nelson Cruz was selected as the Twins representative in the All-Star Game next week. He is hitting .306 with eighteen homers and forty-five RBI’s this year. In a way, I’m glad that Byron Buxton didn’t get an All-Star nod. He’s played only six or seven weeks of the season and I’d rather have a healthy player actually play in the All-Star Game for my team. Trevor Larnach had a nice weekend in Kansas City. He went 6-for-12 with a homer and four RBI’s. Luis Arraez picked up three hits on Sunday and Max Kepler homered off Brad Keller. The Twins might stay away from Derek Law on Monday, who threw over 30 pitches on Thursday and Saturday. Everyone else should be good to go to start this series. 

What To Watch For- The White Sox are (8-1) against the Twins in 2021. Chicago has won all six games at Guaranteed Rate Field and took two out of three games in their only meeting at Target Field in mid-May. Dylan Cease is (1-2) with a 7.54 ERA in five career games against the Twins. Bailey Ober has a 11.05 ERA in two games versus the Sox. Carlos Rodon is (5-3) with a 4.94 ERA in eleven games against the Twins. Jose Berrios is (12-2) with a 2.77 ERA in eighteen starts against Chicago. Yoan Moncada has two homers off Berrios in his career. Lance Lynn has a 2.81 ERA in three starts against his former team. Miguel Sano has taken Lynn deep twice. JA Happ is (4-5) with a 6.92 ERA in ten starts versus the Sox. Tim Anderson has two career homers off Happ. The Twins will try to get over this inability to win against the White Sox this week. 

-Chris Kreibich-

[thasportsjunkies101]

Who Made The White Sox Opening Day Roster?

MLB Spring training was filled with some impressive performances from young prospects as well as some rather unimpressive performances. However, spring training has come to a close and the opening day roster has been announced. Some of the names on the White Sox roster may be a surprise.  The White Sox “Top Prospects” Lets get this one out of the way first. Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Zack…

[rotodbtumblog-birthdays]

Happy 24th Birthday Zack Burdi (Chicago White Sox) from @rotodb #HappyBirthday #HBD #Birthday #CakeDay #Sports #Fantasy #FantasySports #MLB #MajorLeagueBaseball #Baseball #FantasyBaseball #ChicagoWhiteSox #Chicago #WhiteSox

[cine-sports]

Diamondbacks Claim Zack Burdi Off Waivers From Orioles

Diamondbacks Claim Zack Burdi Off Waivers From Orioles

The Diamondbacks have claimed reliever Zack Burdi off waivers from the Orioles, both clubs announced. Baltimore also announced that reliever Travis Lakins Sr. has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arizona’s 40-man roster is up to 38, while Baltimore’s 40-man tally now sits at 39. Lakins had previously been on the 60-day injured list and didn’t count against the…

[lafamamusic]

BÉISBOL - Yermín Mercedes es enviado a Triple A por los Medias Blancas de Chicago

BÉISBOL – Yermín Mercedes es enviado a Triple A por los Medias Blancas de Chicago

Los White Sox de Chicago anunciaron una serie de movimientos el viernes, en los que fue enviado a Triple-A Charlotte el receptor/bateador designado Yermín Mercedes. Además de lo anunciado con el dominicano, el infielder Jake Burger fue subido desde Charlotte, el derecho Zack Burdi fue enviado a dicha sucursal y el jardinero Adam Eaton fue activado de la lista de lesionados. Mercedes hizo historia…

[baseballjerseynumbers]

Spring Training:

Charlie Culberson assigned 10

Daniel Robertson assigned 26

Kyle Crick assigned 30

Trevor Kelley assigned 44

Ben Heller assigned 48

Jaime Schultz assigned 52

Heath Hembree assigned 53

Colten Brewer assigned 54

Ryan Burr assigned 61

Nick Dini assigned 63

Héctor Pérez assigned 67

Cooper Criswell assigned 71

Elvin Rodríguez assigned 88

Zack Burdi assigned 91

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[cwsdjt]

2017 White Sox Prospect Grades

Since the MLB team isn’t as exciting, let’s direct our attention to the MiLB. The Sox are stockpiled with young talent in their system, so without further ado, I give you my 2017 prospect grades:

Yoan Moncada – C+ We’re seeing Moncada’s eye. He has the plate discipline of a Frank Thomas, but sometimes he is overly patient. He takes one too many. He needs to lower his K%. 36.1% is way too high, but he’s pretty young. The immaturity shows, but he has a lot to build off of.

Reynaldo Lopez – A He has shown anything you could ask for. Aside from his injury, there is nothing really to complain about.

Lucas Giolito – B- He hasn’t been walking anyone at the MLB level and looked sharp the last month of his AAA stint this year. He overuses his fastball, but you can’t ask for more from his starts in the MLB.

Eloy Jimenez – A Since joining the Sox, .368/.400/.614 is his slash line. Now, people are already touting that we won the trade with the Cubs. Let’s not jump to that, but he has shown everything you want.

Michael Kopech – A+ He has looked extra sharp upon being promoted to AAA. 2.87 ERA in AA and 3 earned runs in 10 IP at AAA. He throws gas, and Hostetler is saying he could even make a run at a rotation spot in spring training next season. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but he has been strong.

Luis Robert – A- He’s sporting a nice .310/.491/.536 slash line in the DSL. Not too shabby. He’s very raw, but this is a great start.

Blake Rutherford – C+ In total he is slashing .269/.330/.361. He still has enough to figure out. We’re looking forward to what else he can show.

Dylan Cease – B- 3.40 ERA in A ball isn’t terrible, but I feel like the Cubs treated him as somewhat of a thrown in for the Q package.

Alec Hanson – A- 2.93 ERA in Adv A Ball is pretty sharp, and he earned himself a promotion to AA a week ago. He’s flying under the radar, as far as Sox prospects go. He could be an integral part of the 2020 rotation.

Zack Collins – C+ .226/.373/.450 slash line through Adv A and AA ball is ok. He has a fantastic eye and good power with one helluva arm while catching.

Dane Dunning – B Dunning was crushing it early on. He was more of a throw in for the Eaton trade, but he was still a first round pick. On both A ball teams, he has a combined ERA of 3.09, which is solid. It has gone up dramatically upon promotion to Adv A ball.

Carson Fulmer – D- He has been getting blown up in AAA Charlotte. The Sox promoted him to spot start and he got blown up at the MLB level, too. He needs to pick it up, or he will keep sliding in our prospect rankings. More and more writers are projecting him to be a reliever.

Jake Burger – B+ Well this meatball (pun intended) hit for a cycle and is slashing .295/.355/.446 at A Kannapolis. He was the first pick for the Sox in the 2017 draft, so we all expect big things.

Casey Gillaspie – C+ Acquired in the trade including Dan Jennings to the Rays, another Gillaspie was added to the Sox. He has big power, but his OBP is under .300 in AAA this year. That has to be bumped up to be a part of the 2020 squad.

Zack Burdi – C- I am giving Burdi this grade just because he got injured, so I assume his need of Tommy John surgery contributed to a weak start to the season. If he can come back strong, we’ll see him headlining the pen next season.

Spencer Adams – C 4.38 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP aren’t stellar, so this is just a pretty average season in AA ball. Hopefully he can push his way into a slot in AAA next season.

Micker Adolfo – C+ Now here is a guy flying under the radar at Kannapolis. He has put together a solid season, especially being so low in our system. He could sneak onto that 2020/2021 roster if you don’t look out for him.

Gavin Sheets – C+ .263/.348/.369 is a good slash line, but we would like to see some more pop out of that bat. He has a good shot to get promoted next season.

Luis Alexander Basabe – D+ Even though he was seen as a throw in for the Sale trade, do not sleep on this guy. He’s young and raw, and he hasn’t had the best season, but he could put it together quickly.

Ryan Cordell – B The guy we got for Anthony Swarzak’s half of a season on the south side. He’s on the DL, but he was slashing .284/.349/.506 before getting injured. He’s on the brink of getting promoted, which could happen early next season.

Jordan Stephens – A- Like Adolfo, this guy is flying under the radar. He has put up a 2.79 ERA in Birmingham and could be on the verge of a promotion next season. This guy can pitch.

Wow, it is so nice to have the luxury of having this many prospects to grade. I give huge props to Ricky Hahn for putting this farm together. I cannot WAIT to see these guys grow through the system. Hopefully, enough of them pan out, and we have a few diamonds in the rough. The less we need to spend in free agency, the better. It would be fun to have the money to snag Machado or Harper after next season. Go Sox.

[goalhofer]

2020 Chicago White Sox Players By Nationality

American: 25 (Drew Anderson, Tim Anderson; Jr., Aaron Bummer, Zack Burdi, Dylan Cease, Steve Cishek, Zack Collins, Ross Detwiler, Adam Engel, Matt Foster, Jace Fry, Lucas Giolito, Ryan Goins, Gio Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal, Ian Hamilton, Codi Heuer, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, Jimmy Lambert, Nick Madrigal, Evan Marshall, James McCann, Danny Mendick & Carlos Rodon)

Dominican: 6 (Alex Colome, Edwin Encarnacion, Leury Garcia, Eloy Jimenez, Reynaldo Lopez & Nomar Mazara)

Cuban: 3 (Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada & Luis Robert)

Venezuelan: 1 (Jose Ruiz)

[twins2994]

Sox Hit 6 HR’s To Beat Twins.

Twins 3 White Sox 13 W-Cease (7-3) L-Ober (0-1) 

The Minnesota Twins have had a tough time against the rival Chicago White Sox this season. They entered tonight with a (1-6) record against the South Siders and it didn’t get much better this evening. The Twins got on the board first in the first inning when Josh Donaldson smoked a Dylan Cease fastball out to left for a solo homer. This gave Minnesota a one-run lead after an inning of play, but it went downhill rather quickly for the Twins after that. Brian Goodwin smoked a Bailey Ober curveball out to right in the second inning to tie the game at one apiece. Yermin Mercedes followed with a walk and Andrew Vaughn drilled a Bailey Ober curve out to center for a two-run blast. This put Chicago up 3-1 after two innings of play. The White Sox kept adding on in the third. Jose Abreu knocked a Bailey Ober fastball out to right for a solo homer. The Sox extended their lead to three, but they were far from done. Brian Goodwin started the fourth with a walk and Gavin Sheets lined a one-out single to center. Andrew Vaughn hit a sac fly to center to put the Sox up by four runs. The fifth inning was not kind to the Twins. Yoan Moncada started the big rally with an infield single. Jose Abreu was hit in the bicep by a pitch and Yasmani Grandal hammered a Matt Shoemaker splitter out to left for a three-run homer. Yermin Merceds kept the inning alive with a walk and Gavin Sheets smacked a Matt Shoemaker fastball out to right-center for his first big league homer. The Sox added one more in the inning and had a ten-run lead after five frames. Nelson Cruz inched the Twins closer when he crushed a Dylan Cease fastball out to center for a solo homer. The Sox got that run back and more in the bottom of the sixth. Jose Abreu led-off with a walk and Yasmani Grandal plastered a Matt Shoemaker fastball out to right for a two-run homer. This put the Sox up 13-2 and the rout was on. Gilberto Celestino inched the Twins closer when he blasted a Zack Burdi fastball out to center for a solo homer. Minnesota got within ten runs after eight innings. Jose Ruiz threw a scoreless ninth and the Sox picked up another win over the Twins tonight. 

-Final Thoughts- Bailey Ober got knocked around on a hot summer night in Chicago. He went 3 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Matt Shoemaker had to wear it tonight and save the bullpen. He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up eight runs on seven hits with two walks. Alex Colome had a scoreless seventh and Caleb Thielbar had a clean eighth. Nelson Cruz led the team with two hits on the night. The Twins hit 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. This is another frustrating loss for the Twins, who are (1-6) against the Sox this year. Tomorrow, Jose Berrios faces Carlos Rodon in a good pitching match-up on a Thursday matinee. 

-Chris Kreibich-

[reinsdork]

[cwsdjt]

Roster Finalizations

So the Chicago White Sox are less than a week from the season. I’m so excited to watch this team crank out 68 wins. The last few cuts from spring training are taking place. Last week, we saw Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and some others head back to the minor leagues. Today, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Peter Bourjos for cash and a player to be named later, finally clearing the way for a new name on the MLB roster. It’s not Leury Garcia. It’s Jacob May. His grandfather and uncle played in the MLB. It’s in his family. In fact, he said he grew up around ballplayers all his life. Don’t tell Kenny Williams that. He May (tehe) retroactively erase May’s memory of being in a locker room. Kidding, but on a real note, I’m relieved. I’m sure we’re going to see some old names tossed around during this rebuild period, but the Sox need to prepare for a future leadoff hitter. I’m not saying May is guaranteed that spot, but the team currently doesn’t have one.

Call me a junkie for sabermetrics, but I cannot stand the old school motto of your best hitters batting 3rd and 4th. Your leadoff hitter should be your highest OBP. Your second hitter is most likely to face the most clutch situations. This should be your best hitter. 3rd, 4th, and 5th hitters should all have high OPSs, and the rest of the lineup should be filled out from there. It’s really not that complicated.

This brings me to another point. I heard Renteria mention Anderson’s name for a future leadoff man. Based on how his spring went, the guy still hasn’t learned how to walk. In fact, he has had 0 in all 52 ABs of his. He will never fit in the top two slots in the batting order, if he cannot get rid of this very apparent flaw.

Then who should bat leadoff, D.J.? I’m glad you asked, reader. I believe Melky should bat leadoff. He has had am OBP hovering around .350 his entire career. I don’t care if he’s slow. Batting second should be Abreu. It’s simple. He’s your best hitter. Then I would proceed with Anderson, Frazier, and the rest. Hopefully May can continue the trend he began in the spring, slashing .339/.361/.525. Obviously, it’s not realistic for him to continue this, but if he can bat over .260, we May (hehe I did it again) have a centerfielder for all of 2017.

Let’s move to pitching. Rodon may be having an extended spring training, so it looks like the 5th slot in the pitching rotation may open up. Dylan Covey pitched a very good game against Cleveland on Saturday (3.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 Ks, 0 ER). He has another start tomorrow, which is probably his final tryout to solidify his place in the rotation until Rodon is back.

The bullpen race is getting interesting. Zack Burdi, Juan Minaya, Michael Ynoa, and Anthony Swarzak seem to be the options. Minaya is injured. Burdi did not pitch well on Saturday (blown save, in fact). Ynoa was up last year, but he doesn’t have much higher of a ceiling. Swarzak has been throwing hard as a veteran, so this could give him a nod. We will see how this shakes out.

Now, you May say I’m putting too much emphasis on how people are performing in spring training. I would like to point out that we don’t have much other exposure for these guys against MLB talent, and younger guys have their tryouts in the spring. This is their time to shine.

We’ll see how everything plays out. I was lucky enough to attend to games in which I saw game-winners by the Sox (one a grand slam by Danny Hayes). Maybe these young guys are giving this team the kick it needed. Go Sox! I cannot WAIT for the season!