Justin Verlander cruised through an admittedly pathetic White Sox home lineup for 5 innings and with Spencer Bivens and Joel Peguero finishing off the shutout. Key Lines:
Grant McCray CF- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .297. McCray got his second start in a row due to Jung Hoo Lee's tight back. More on that later. McCray reached base twice in 4 PA's which is what he is supposed to do out of the leadoff position although he did not figure into the scoring. So far this spring he's managed to cut down in his K rated to 26% with a BB% of 17.4.
Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .302. Schmitt continues to have a strong spring.
Luis Matos RF- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .380. Matos stays hot.
Sam Huff C- 2 for 4. BA= .333. Neither Huff nor Max Stassi are giving away the back up catcher job although you have to think it's more Huff's to lose since he is already on the 40-man roster.
Christian Koss SS- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .353. Another guy who is not giving in. Unfortunately he's in pretty much the same boat as Max Stassi since he would have to be added to the 40-man roster to make the team.
Sabin Ceballos 3B- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .556. Despite not being officially in camp, Ceballos has created some buzz for himself by making the most of very limited opportunities. He's 5 for 9 including a HR and at least 1 2B.
Justin Verlander RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 1.69. Verlander looked to be in midseason for which he has looked since the beginning of camp. This was the White Sox home lineup. If this is what their projected Opening Day lineup is, they could be in line to lose even more games in 2025 than their record-setting 2024. And whattheheck happened to the White Sox? It seems like just yesterday they had one of the most promising young rosters in all of baseball: Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito. Andrew Vaughn looked like he might be the best hitter in the draft. Now, their roster is basically a smoking ruin.
Spencer Bivens RHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, 2/0 GO/AO. ERA= 3.27. Bivens shows he can go multiple innings. He showed he belongs in the majors last season and he is backing that up this spring.
Joel Peguero RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.00. Is there room in the bullpen for both Bivens and Peguero? The numbers and tea leaves say no. Peguero has the elite, electric velocity. Bivens has the track record at the MLB level.
Tomorrow is a split squad day with Robbie Ray LHP pitching the home game against the Padres on NBCSBA TV. Keaton Winn RHP starts the road game against the Rockies.
The Giants announced that Jung Hoo Lee's back tightness did not improve as quickly as expected so he is scheduled for an MRI and a visit with Dr Akizuki. That gets a bit worrisome as we are down to less than 10 days to Opening Day. I am not hoping Lee misses time, they can replace him with the best defensive CF in the organization and one who may well have a higher ceiling although a healthy Lee looks like the better bet for production this season and McCray could probably benefit from some more seasoning.
Oh, and my man Enny Romero is not in camp due to personal/family issues.
Giants continue to have a great spring. Verlander's performance was outstanding, although I agree with you about how bad the White Sox' lineup is. I was at Talking Stick on Saturday watching the DBacks play the White Sox. The game got close after Corbin Burnes pitching and DBacks hiitting put them ahead until Trey Mancini hit a walkoff HR for Arizona.
ReplyDeleteThe bullpen keeps looking stronger. I am ready for the season to start!