WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF May 27, 2018

Anderson leads homer-heavy barrage vs. Tigers collects two of White Sox four home runs as Chicago evens series By Catherine Slonksnis / MLB.com / May 26, 2018

DETROIT -- The Tigers struck early against White Sox starter Hector Santiago, but it was the Chicago offense that clobbered Detroit pitching. Supported by eight runs, four home runs, and 12 hits, Santiago earned his first win of the season during the 8-4 White Sox victory over the Tigers on Saturday at Comerica Park.

"I think when we can just go out there and compete, and give our team a chance to win, it's definitely nice to get that first win out of the way and hopefully put a lot more on [the board]," Santiago said. "[Command was] good overall. I don't think I had a walk until the last inning, not too many three-ball counts, so overall I felt pretty good. Even the last guy that I ended up walking was two pretty close pitches."

View Full Game Coverage Chicago's offense found no luck against Tigers starter Francisco Liriano early on. The White Sox managed two hits and three walks while striking out seven times before an RBI double from Jose Abreu put them on the board in the third inning. The tide changed in the fifth inning, when Tim Anderson jumped on a two-seam fastball for a 374-foot , and Abreu followed suit with his own solo shot.

The score evened at 3-3, the White Sox challenged Liriano. Chicago eventually forced him from the game, when Daniel Palka led off the sixth with a home run and Liriano allowed the next batter, , to single. Louis Coleman entered in relief to allow a single, followed by a three-run homer to Anderson. Palka's RBI single in the seventh capped a thrilling day at the plate for the White Sox and evened the three-game series.

"As a pitching staff, we definitely felt that [pressure from Friday night]," Santiago said. "That [loss] was all on us. The guys put up enough runs to win that game yesterday, so we tried to keep it close and low-scoring, so we can put up a few more runs and get a win today."

MOMENT THAT MATTERED The White Sox trailed 3-1 after four innings, but home runs by Anderson and Abreu in the fifth erased the deficit. The Chicago offense, having struck out seven times to that point, jumped on Liriano's command struggles to tie the game. The odds continued in the White Sox favor when Palka started the sixth inning with a go-ahead home run.

SOUND SMART Anderson's four-RBI day marked a new career high. He homered in the fifth with one out, and then blasted a three-run homer in the sixth to put the exclamation point on a turnaround day for the offense. He also walked in the third, which led to the White Sox getting on the board when Abreu smacked a two-out RBI double.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS After striking out seven times in 4 1/3 innings, the White Sox smoked three home runs against Liriano in the space of five batters to tie the score and then take the lead for the first time in the game.

HE SAID IT "Hector gave us a solid five and kept them to three [runs]. I know he only had 80-some pitches when we took him out, but I thought he did a good job. Once we took the lead, we wanted to see if we could close it out with the rest of the guys. For the most part, they all did a nice job." -- White Sox manager Rick Renteria

ANDERSON FAVORING BRUISED THUMB Anderson's day at the plate may have been spectacular, but his defense suffered in the ninth. The Tigers scored a fourth run in the ninth on consecutive errors by Anderson. There's a reason for it, though, as Renteria said Anderson is battling a bruised right thumb.

"Anything he goes to do really jars it. Anybody who's had bruised thumbs or joints, it's pretty painful, and he's playing through it. He's got tape to protect it as best he can, and I think some of those balls, [that] may have been part of why they got away from him a little bit. And the throw, obviously, because he's having a tough time trying to grip it. We'll keep an eye on it."

UP NEXT The White Sox hope to win the series against the Tigers by sending right-hander James Shields to the mound Sunday to face Detroit lefty Blaine Hardy. Shields has given the White Sox strong starts in May, with three runs allowed in his last two games and a 3.27 ERA in his last five games. First pitch is set for 12:10 p.m. CT.

The White Sox turned Comerica Park into a Home Run Derby in Saturday's win By NBC Sports Chicago / May 26, 2018

Chicks dug the White Sox on Saturday.

The South Siders hit four home runs in their 8-3 dismantling of the Tigers at Comerica Park. Tim Anderson stayed red-hot with a pair of long balls, Jose Abreu went deep in addition to his pair of doubles, and Daniel Palka made some interesting history with his long ball (see below).

We'll let our stat guru Chris Kamka take it from here.

Christopher Kamka @ckamka José Abreu will soon be passing guys on the #WhiteSox career HR list.

10. Ron Kittle 140 11. José Valentín 136 12. Minnie Miñoso 135 13. Jim Thome 134 14. José Abreu 133

4:38 PM - May 26, 2018 35 16 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy

Christopher Kamka @ckamka Daniel Palka is slugging .530. 11 of his 22 hits have been extra-base hits. 4 doubles, 3 triples, 4 HR. #WhiteSox

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Christopher Kamka @ckamka Most multi-HR games in a season by a #WhiteSox shortstop

3 Tim Anderson 2018 3 José Valentín 2003 3 José Valentín 2002 3 José Valentín 2000

5:08 PM - May 26, 2018 34 See Christopher Kamka's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy

Christopher Kamka @ckamka Players with 10+ Home Runs & 10+ Stolen Bases this season:

Mookie Betts Mike Trout Tim Anderson

Just those three.

5:12 PM - May 26, 2018 374 129 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy View image on Twitter View image on Twitter

Andrew Simon @AndrewSimonMLB Daniel Palka of the White Sox slugged just the 5th HR in Statcast history with at least a 110 mph exit velocity AND a 40+ degree launch angle.

Others to do it: Rizzo, Bryant, Gallo, Hanley.

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Chicago White Sox ✔ @whitesox .@Danielbpalka crushes home run no. 4 of the year to give us the lead in the 6th!

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Christopher Kamka @ckamka Tim Anderson (10 HR, 11 SB) is first #WhiteSox player with 10 HR & 10 SB through team's first 49 games of a season since Alex Ríos (10 HR, 15 SB) in 2010

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Christopher Kamka @ckamka José Abreu: 4-4, 2 2B, HR, BB today In 78 games vs Tigers: .343/.411/.593, 16 HR, 50 RBI#WhiteSox

6:07 PM - May 26, 2018 62 See Christopher Kamka's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy Since their 10-29 start the White Sox are a respectable 6-4. Days at the plate like Saturday sure help.

Tim Anderson's two home runs, career-high 4 RBIs lead White Sox to 8-4 win over Tigers By Phil Thompson / Chicago Tribune / May 26, 2018

Something about Comerica Park or Tigers pitching, or maybe both, seems to agree with Tim Anderson.

The White Sox shortstop homered for a second straight game Saturday — two homers, in fact — and drove in a career- high four runs to propel the White Sox to an 8-4 win. Anderson, batting leadoff, said he’s simply getting good pitches to hit lately.

“It was a pretty good day to play for me today,” Anderson said after the game. “Just kind having a hot streak right now.”

Anderson hit blasts off Tigers left-hander Francisco Liriano in the fifth and sixth innings to raise his total to 10 homers and three multi-homer games this season.

Jose Abreu followed Anderson’s fifth-inning dinger with one of his own one out later, part of a 4-for-4 day with two doubles. Daniel Palka added a solo right-field shot in the sixth and an RBI double in the seventh.

“A very, very nice day offensively,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I know there were a couple balls (Anderson) had trouble with (defensively), but he did a nice job, put together some really good at bats. ... He produced a lot of offense today for us.”

The game initially looked like it might be a repeat of Hector Santiago’s last outing, in which he gave up three solo home runs to the Orioles on Monday. By the third inning Saturday, the Sox left-hander had yielded two more jacks, both to former Cub Jeimer Candelario.

Nicholas Castellanos reached in the first inning on Anderson’s error — the shortstop’s high throw forced Abreu to leap to catch it, which lifted his foot off the bag — then Candelario sent Santiago’s next pitch into the left-field stands.

But Santiago settled down after allowing three runs, two earned, and claimed his first win of the season.

“Definitely nice to get that first one out of the way and hopefully put a lot more on,” he said. “I think I didn’t have a walk till the last inning; not too many three-ball counts.”

Down 3-1 in the fifth, the Sox began to rally against Liriano. Anderson fell behind 1-2 but cleared the left-field wall on Liriano’s 92-mph fastball. After an out, Abreu took a pair of called strikes but battled back to tie the score with a 2-2 shot to right.

“He’s taking good swings, good aggressive explosive swings,” Renteria said of Abreu. “He continues to grow as a hitter.”

Anderson’s defense was a mixed bag because of a sore thumb.

He scooped up Victor Reyes’ fourth-inning grounder and fired home to put out John Hicks on a fielder’s choice to save a run. But he also committed three errors — two on one play when he couldn’t field Pete Kozma’s grounder cleanly then short- hopped a throw to catcher Alfredo Gonzalez, which allowed Candelario to cross home safely.

“It’s feeling better. I got jammed a few games ago,” said Anderson, whose right hand was wrapped. “It’s getting better every day so I can’t complain.”

Yoan Moncada’s sixth-inning single chased Liriano, who allowed six hits. The Tigers starter was coming off eight shutout innings of one-hit ball in Seattle but gave up three homers and five earned runs to the Sox.

The Tigers tried to mount a rally in the eighth, getting a pair of singles off Luis Avilan and loading the bases on Nate Jones, but pinch-hitter Leonys Martin grounded out. The win was the Sox’s first in five tries against the Tigers this season.

Matt Davidson a late scratch with back tightness, day to day for White Sox By Phil Thompson / Chicago Tribune / May 26, 2018

Back tightness thwarted what was supposed to be Matt Davidson’s return to action Saturday against the Tigers.

Manager Rick Renteria said Davidson’s status will be day to day while his back is evaluated.

Davidson experienced back spasms during batting practice at Comerica Park and was replaced in the lineup at designated hitter by Jose Rondon. Davidson had missed the previous three games but declared himself “good to go” before the game.

“I think it’s pretty much gone away,” he said before Saturday’s setback.

“We were all very confident,” said Renteria, who said he had Davidson come to the clubhouse early to get checked out and get in some swings to test his back. “He felt good to go. We went out (later) and he took some BP and he felt it there.

“It made no sense to try to push it. It’s not as bad as it was before but we’ll just kind of keep him day to day right now until we figure out what it is that’s actually causing the spasm.”

Early bird gets the hit? Sox hitters have shown some aptitude for hitting first pitches. Jose Abreu, Davidson and Yoan Moncada rank in the top 50 in the American League in average and top 40 in slugging on first pitches. Tim Anderson drove in a first-inning run and hit a homer in the fifth inning Friday night on 0-0 counts.

Said Anderson said: “It’s not a plan or anything, (the pitch) is just there.”

Renteria said hitting coach Todd Steverson talks to the hitters about which counts each player see success as well as what the opposing likes to do on his first pitch. “Guys have the ability to take advantage of those situations, and Timmy’s just been very efficient in that regard.”

Overall, Renteria said, “I think it’s more just taking advantage of that one opportunity early. Guys are going to want to throw strikes, obviously. But they make adjustments as well. They look at all the reports and they go, ‘Hey, this guy’s a first-pitch swinger.’ They may change it up a little bit to get a hitter off. … At the end of the day, it’s just confidence and picking the zone and staying within that zone and trusting.”

Anderson, Abreu power White Sox past Tigers By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / May 26, 2018

DETROIT — Tim Anderson hit two homers and drove in a career-high four runs, Jose Abreu doubled twice and poked an opposite field homer on a 4-for-4 day, and Daniel Palka also went deep as the White Sox bounced back from a tough loss the night before with an 8-4 victory Saturday over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Anderson, playing with a sore right thumb, hit his ninth and 10th homers of the season against left-hander Francisco Liriano and right-hander Louis Coleman. He also walked and scored on an RBI double by Abreu, who with 19 doubles was tied for the American League lead with and Kevin Pillar.

In the Tigers’ 5-4 victory on Friday in which the Sox blew a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning, Anderson was 3-for-4 with a home run. Matt Davidson, a late scratch who missed his fourth straight game with back stiffness, is the team leader with 11 homers.

Anderson, who also made three fielding errors, including two on one play in the ninth to account for the Tigers’ last run, also has multihomer games against the Royals and Twins.

Abreu raised his average to .319, reaching base five times in five plate appearances including his ninth homer. He drove in two runs and scored two, raising his RBI total to a team-high 30.

Left-hander Hector Santiago (1-2) won for the first time in 12 starts, his last coming for the Twins against the Sox last May. Santiago gave up two homers to Jeimer Candelario on the third baseman’s first two plate appearances, but held steady, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits over five innings. Santiago struck out five and walked one.

Chris Volstad pitched two scoreless innings in relief and Luis Avilan and Nate Jones loaded the bases but survived a shaky eighth inning.

The Sox (16-33), who won for the fifth time in eight games, send righty James Shields to the mound against Tigers lefty Blaine Hardy in the rubber game of the series Sunday afternoon.

Sore thumb actually helping White Sox’ Tim Anderson Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / May 26, 2018

DETROIT — Shortstop Tim Anderson is playing with his right thumb wrapped after he got jammed by Orioles lefty Tanner Scott on Wednesday.

“Like jammed real bad,’’ Anderson said Saturday morning. “It didn’t feel real good.”

Anderson’s thumb got smoked when he grounded to second on an inside pitch from the hard-throwing Scott. But Anderson said hurting his thumb actually turned out to be a good thing.

Did it ever. A night after going 3-for-4 with a home run against the Tigers, Anderson hit two more homers Saturday, his ninth and 10th of the season, in the White Sox’ 8-4 victory against Detroit. Matt Davidson is the team leader with 11.

“It’s helping me swing at better pitches,’’ he said of the thumb. “I won’t swing at a bad pitch to avoid hurting it.’’

Anderson said his throwing isn’t affected much by the sore thumb, although he made a high throw on a routine ground ball that led to an unearned run against Hector Santiago in the first inning.

“It’s feeling better every day,’’ he said.

Anderson, whose four RBI Saturday were a career high, also has had multihomer games against the Royals and Twins.

Davidson scratched

Davidson was scratched after taking batting practice and missed his fourth consecutive start. He has been out with a sore back.

Jose Rondon replaced Davidson at DH and batted fourth.

Alfredo Gonzalez makes debut

Catching coordinator John Orton is with the team on this road trip as 25-year-old catcher Alfredo Gonzalez, pressed into service after the 80-game suspension for starting catcher Welington Castillo, made his debut Saturday.

The Sox bring coordinators in from time to time, but in this case, the front office recommended Orton come in on special assignment.

“I thought it made sense,” manager Rick Renteria said. “A good suggestion.”

Gonzalez brings a good reputation as a pitch framer, and he threw out 11 of 33 base stealers at Class AAA Charlotte, where he batted .169 in 27 games. He’s a career .159/.272/.181 hitter at Triple-A, though.

Renteria said Orton is also there for Omar Narvaez, who has made 18 starts behind the plate and ranks last in the majors in pitch framing, according to Baseball Prospectus. He also leads the majors with eight passed balls, a stat Narvaez says he’s not totally responsible for.

“I don’t want to put too much on the , but sometimes you don’t know where the ball is going,’’ he said. “It’s not always comfortable; sometimes you have to fight through it and just stop it.’’

In Narvaez’s defense, starters (demoted to Charlotte last week) and have battled extreme command problems, often missing the target by more than a foot.

“Sometimes it’s on me, too; it’s just a passed ball,’’ Narvaez said. “And I’m trying to work on it and get better. My job is to stop the ball.’’

In other catching news, waiver claim Dustin Garneau, 30, was promoted to Charlotte, and Yermin Mercedes, 25, was assigned back to Winston-Salem. Mercedes did not appear in a game for the Knights.

Abreu’s merry, merry month of May

Jose Abreu was batting .352/.396/.568 with 13 doubles, two homers, 16 RBI and a .964 OPS in 22 games this month going into Saturday’s game.

And then he doubled in a run in the third inning, homered in the fifth and finished 4-for-4.

“He’s becoming a much more consistent guy with longer streaks of performance,’’ Renteria said.

“He’s been around the block now [in his fifth season]. He’s more comfortable in his own skin. He knows his weaknesses and strengths and knows how to use them.’’

Abreu’s ninth homer, an opposite-field, tying solo shot against Francisco Liriano, was only his third in his last 29 games. Abreu gets pitched around, and Renteria suggested that total might be higher were he surrounded by a deeper lineup.

“I hope [his home-run numbers pick up],’’ Renteria said. “That is more of a consequence of making good contact and getting good pitches to hit. He is one of our better hitters, so he doesn’t always get something to manage as much as you’d like.’’

Where have they gone?

The Sox’ 25-man roster includes 15 players who were with team on Opening Day. Five from the Opening Day roster are on the disabled list (Nicky Delmonico, Avisail Garcia, Leury Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez, Danny Farquhar), one is on the restricted list (Castillo), three are at Charlotte (Fulmer, Juan Minaya, Gregory Infante) and one (Tyler Saladino) was traded for cash considerations.

Saladino was slashing .345/.367/.690 with three home runs in 30 plate appearances for the Brewers.

Focus on draft intensifies for White Sox By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / May 26, 2018

DETROIT — White Sox director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler knows he’s under a microscope these days. So it goes as the MLB Draft approaches for an organization with the fewest wins in the majors.

So it goes for an organization whose rebuilding project has been fueled by trades for top prospects and international signings more than recent drafts.

So it goes a week after right-hander Carson Fulmer, the eighth overall pick in 2015, was demoted to Class AAA. This situation unfolding not long after third baseman , taken 11th overall in 2017, tore his left Achilles tendon a second time in two months.

The Sox have the fourth pick by virtue of 95 losses in 2017, and fans will be watching closely for a reward June 4.

“Understandable,’’ said Hostetler, who’s approaching his third draft as Sox scouting director. “When you pick that high, people know the names a little more. There is a sense of hope and adding a premium talent to the organization. When the stuff is not going as well on the big-league field, you have to divert your attention as fans somewhere else, and in the next week it’s the draft.’’

The Sox also have the 46th and 81st picks near the top of the second and third rounds. For that first one, most mock drafts generally rate Auburn right-hander Casey Mize, Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm, Florida right-hander and Oregon State second baseman as the top five prospects. The Sox have their top five or six players pegged and will take the best player available, Hostetler said.

“This is a really deep draft,’’ Hostetler said. “I’m not sure there are many Bryce Harpers or Stephen Strasburgs, but I can tell you I’m really excited about the prospects of our second-round pick. Our second-round pick is going to be pretty good.’’

The Sox are operating with a $10.6 million bonus pool, the sixth-highest in baseball, a figure that means as much if not more than place in the draft. Maneuvering bonus money allows teams flexibility to add more impact players.

They have selected a collegian first in 12 of the last 15 drafts and haven’t taken a high school player since outfielder Courtney Hawkins, who was released by the organization last month, in 2012. Hostetler said they’ll likely take another collegian, but the Sox still are considering one high school player, perhaps outfielder Jarred Kelenic of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Aside from Mize figuring to go first to the Tigers, the top of the first round is not firm. The Sox are known to like the 5-7 Madrigal, a second baseman with shortstop ability, and could pounce on him if he’s available.

“Madrigal is a very, very good, solid baseball player,’’ Hostetler said. “When you watch him in person, he jumps out at you from the standpoint of how technical and skilled he is. Does a little of everything well and has position versatility that helps, as well. Whoever gets him is going to get a really good player.’’

And don’t rule out a pitcher such as Singer, the best college hurler on the board.

“If a pitcher is the best player, we’re going to take him,’’ Hostetler said. “We’ve got a couple of pitchers in that mix, guys who can impact our club for a long time.’’

Hostetler said he has a feel for “what player I’d love to add to the organization. We’ll see if, one, he gets to us and, two, if he’s the best guy at the time.’’

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, vice president Ken Williams, general manager Rick Hahn, assistant GM Jeremy Haber and director of player development Chris Getz all will have input on the top choice.

“It is a complete collaborative effort,’’ Hostetler said. “There are different layers to it. Ultimately, it is Jerry’s pick — he finances it all.’’

Chicago White Sox have their eye on OSU's Madrigal By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald / May 26, 2018

Taking to social media the other day, I asked Chicago White Sox fans who they want with the No. 4 overall pick in the June 4 draft.

The suggestions quickly came pouring in, and there was expected support for the Sox taking collegiate stars like Florida starting pitcher Brady Singer, Louisville third baseman Alec Bohm, Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, Auburn starter Casey Mize and Florida third baseman Jonathan India.

There were also a few "not Courtney Hawkins" pleas, a not so subtle reference to the Sox swinging and missing on the former Texas high school phenom with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

When all of the replies were tallied for the upcoming draft, there was one name that rose above the rest.

Nick Madrigal.

Small in stature at 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, the Oregon State infielder has already been compared to 5-6, 165-pound Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, the near unanimous choice as American League MVP last season.

Heading into Saturday's Pac-12 game against UCLA, Madrigal had a sizzling .409/.473/.583 hitting line for the No. 2- ranked Beavers. The right-hander missed seven weeks of the current season with a fractured left wrist, but Madrigal returned to the OSU lineup on April 20 and has been nothing short of spectacular.

If the , who hold the No. 1 overall draft pick, San Francisco Giants (No. 2) and Philadelphia Phillies (No. 3) pass on Madrigal, the White Sox appear to have their guy.

Sox amateur scouting director Nick Hostetler is very familiar with the 21-year-old All-American, and general manager Rick Hahn traveled to Los Angeles last weekend to watch Madrigal and Oregon State play Southern California.

There is no doubt the White Sox can envision Madrigal's bat in the lineup as soon as next season, but what about his position?

Madrigal is playing second base for the Beavers this year, but has also played shortstop.

Yoan Moncada is entrenched as the Sox's starter at second base while Tim Anderson is still trying to prove he can be the everyday shortstop.

Could Madrigal play short in the major leagues?

"We're at a point right now, due to the fact that he's played second base all year, we have to go back and look through our notes and back to what we saw in high school, what we saw with Team USA, what we saw prior to him getting moved over to second base at Oregon State," Hostetler said.

Cadyn Grenier is the main reason Madrigal is playing second base for the Beavers this season.

"(Grenier) is a terrific defensive shortstop," Hostetler said.

If Madrigal is available at No. 4 and the Sox pick the Elk Grove, Calif., product, expect immediate questions about his defensive position in .

The White Sox are used to the scrutiny. When they drafted No. 10 overall in 2016, skeptics said he'd never cut it as a catcher.

There were similar sentiments last year, when the Sox drafted Jake Burger with the No. 11 overall pick. The third baseman tore his Achilles tendon for the second time in early May and is expected to be out 12 months.

The White Sox seem open to having Madrigal play shortstop.

"It's going to be something that is part of the evaluation," Hostetler said. "I think you're going to have some guys that feel he can play shortstop and there are going to be some guys that feel he can't.

"It's all splitting hairs. Whether it's Nick or any other player we take, we're going to try to put them in the best position to help maximize their value. I think Nick's a guy … ultimately some teams that do pick Nick will probably put him at shortstop."

Five observations: Power barrage gives White Sox first win against Detroit this season By James Fegan / The Athletic / May 26, 2018

Matt Davidson getting scratched with back problems for the fourth-straight game, two Jeimer Candelario home runs in the first three innings, and a two-run deficit about 10 minutes in didn’t give the impression that Saturday in Detroit would bring a pause to the White Sox and their troubles.

But a four home run barrage, led by Tim Anderson’s third multi-home run game against the AL Central, eased the sting of Friday night’s eighth-inning meltdown with an easy 8-4 victory.

White Sox pitching was supposed to be a problem this year, while the offense was supposed to be a little more fun, and Saturday, that played to form thanks to big games from Anderson and José Abreu.

The White Sox are undefeated with Alfredo González behind the plate.

1. Anderson’s prodigious power

Just before Anderson launched his ninth home run of the season in the top of the fifth, the broadcast team of Jason Benetti and Steve Stone mentioned that he sees the fewest fastballs of any member of the White Sox lineup. Turning on and launching a Francisco Liriano heater into the left field seats is part of the reason that challenging Anderson’s bat speed doesn’t register as a viable path to success. But the larger reason used to be that he was too impatient and susceptible to breaking balls for anyone to risk a fastball in the zone. Yet his third inning walk set a new career-high with 16, as will every walk he takes for the remaining four months of the season, as he’s more than doubled his rate from his previous best season.

The whole question of whether or not to throw Anderson’s fastballs also melts away when he’s thrown a spinner like the slider Louis Coleman floated to him with two on in the top of the sixth, prompting a three-run blast to left that broke the day open. With 10 home runs now with some days left in May, that career-high of 17 looks like it’s due to fall soon too. He’s doing all this with a sore thumb that looked like it was bothering him particularly badly on a ninth inning double error. He had three errors on the day.

2. Abreu is probably going to the All-Star game

Abreu collected three extra-base hits, racked up eight total bases and upped his slugging percentage to .560. And yet he still fell behind Anderson for second on the team in home runs on the day. Even after going deep with an opposite-field solo shot to tie the game in the fifth, Abreu is not on pace to equal last year’s 33 home runs. But while league offense is going down, his raw production is going up, and he’s threatening to post the second-best offensive season of his career.

3. Just keep playing Palka

Daniel Palka has a big ol’ load in his swing and loves to let it fly (three walks in 87 plate appearances) so it seems like there should be a cold streak in his boom-or-bust approach at some point. His major league career is only 24 games old, so it hasn’t exactly stood the test of time, but that stretch of struggles hasn’t come yet. He lofted a moonshot to right field to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth off Liriano, and drilled a grounder through the middle to plate Abreu after one of his many doubles to add an insurance run in the seventh. Palka is obviously not an asset in the outfield defensively, but the Sox are too depleted out there to make many quibbles given how much he’s providing at the plate for the time being.

4. Credible spot starting work

Héctor Santiago is probably not going to stave off Carlos Rodón or pushing him out of the rotation, and it’s jarring how much trouble he’s having keeping the ball in the park with home runs on the decline this year. But with the troubles the Sox rotation has had, especially with getting whiffs on their fastball, the natural movement Santiago brings on his 90-93 mph offering dragged him through five innings and brought a small measure of relief.

5. Anderson’s development

The debate can rage on about Anderson’s defensive prowess, especially on a three-error day, and whether his hands will ever be reliable enough to reduce the errors and mistakes that have plagued him at times. But the offensive potential that makes that debate worth having is being provided. With an 8.3 percent walk rate and a 22.9 percent rate, Anderson has made the improvements to his plate discipline that allow his speed and power to impact games, and he’s at 108 wRC+ even with his season BABIP still 60 points under his career mark. You wouldn’t know given the slump he just pulled himself out of, but his bat should be a source of optimism.

Is Omar Vizquel the hottest prospect in Winston-Salem? Let us paint you a picture of the manager-in-training By James Fegan / The Athletic / May 26, 2018

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem Dash radio play-by-play man Joe Weil seemed pretty excited about the idea of an interview in Omar Vizquel’s office. Why? Because it always smells great in there.

Upon our arrival, Weil was presented with a colorful full-page sketch of his own face that Vizquel had completed and signed. It was full of orange hues, with purple for the shadows and detailed freckles on Weil’s face.

There were a trio of corked, halfway finished wine bottles on Vizquel’s desk and he started the interview by asking if I could speak Spanish. Not well, I answer.

He rolled his chair across the room to place his feet on his couch while he reclined, creating a sort of makeshift sleeper seat for himself. When I pressed him for advice on sharpening up a second language, he recommended reading books in Spanish aloud, or just singing. That’s when Vizquel broke into a few bars of “Stairway to Heaven,” as an example of something used to sing to himself without knowing what it meant.

Omar Vizquel, who played in the major leagues from 1989 through 2012, does not seem like he’s long for Single-A baseball.

“It’s been awesome, man,” Vizquel said. “I love every moment, every day. It’s been amazing. Taking every day to learn what we can do to improve. It’s been a great experience. Only been here for two months and it gets better all the time. It’s good to go through the bad times and the good times and the struggles and everything like we’re going through right now and see how we can get out of it.”

A couple weeks ago, White Sox manager Rick Renteria deflected questions about whether it was strange for him, as a longtime coach, to see someone like Aaron Boone get a high-profile managing job with no prior experience. Such a question would be even more pertinent for Vizquel, who headed out to Winston-Salem after five years as a coach, including the last four as the Detroit Tigers first base coach.

“It is weird to see it,” Vizquel said. “Sometimes you can’t explain it. But obviously they are smart enough to get that kind of recognition. They have to have something to be special, they have to be different, they have to be smart enough to get these kinds of jobs. It’s just a matter of time. When I was looking for a manager job, they said I never managed before so this is going to prepare me to go into an interview and say ‘Oh yeah, I managed a little bit.’”

Willie Harris, a high-energy 12-year major league veteran and a World Series champion, seemed like a pretty good get for the Dash as their manager last year, but Vizquel is on another plane. He’s as much of an attraction for autograph hounds as the top prospects, and in this setting he can feel like a bit of a hidden gem. is refreshingly matter of fact about how everyone — players, coaches, staff — is using it as a stepping stone to something bigger, but Vizquel is so magnetic and well-known that even this brief stop feels like a fluke, a result of him not getting the attention he deserves.

For the last four years of his career, Vizquel was filming a documentary titled “A Mano Limpia,” a double entendre about being a full and honest look at his life, and the elite hand skills with which he made his living. The footage, which Vizquel said includes his trips to the karaoke bars, remains unedited, as the project waits for more funding to meet its ambitious distribution goals.

Despite a 37 percent showing in his first round of Hall of Fame voting, he doesn’t want to be part of any campaign to drive up voting, though he admitted “It would be kind of hard to say no to the boss,” if Jerry Reinsdorf ginned up a campaign to promote his candidacy, as he did for Minnie Minoso.

Vizquel has a 22-year-old son, so he approaches handling a roster of similarly aged players, well, similarly. He compared teaching players the basics of the game to teaching children not to touch a hot stove: where he tells them not to do things, then prepares for the fact that they’re going to do it anyway. Yet his enthusiasm for the work is obvious, even delirious.

He told that his game reminds him of the legendary Roberto Clemente, so that he should wear No. 21. Robert barely knew who Clemente was, but he’ll oblige upon his arrival next month. Micker Adolfo could only laugh when he heard of Vizquel comparing him to for his ability to drive the ball the other way, but at the same time, he’ll take it.

“I feel like any team in the big leagues would be lucky to have Omar as a manager and I mean that,” Adolfo said. “He’s always out there fielding ground balls and stuff, that’s pretty cool to see him moving around. It’s natural, it doesn’t just go away from one day to the other. He’s still got it. He was hitting off the fastball machine the other day and he was still putting some good swings on.”

The Dash play a helter-skelter style at Vizquel’s urging, as evidenced by the enormous Adolfo racing around on wild pitches with abandon Thursday night and their league-worst 55 percent success rate on stolen bases. Vizquel said he wants his players to be fearless and learn to trust their own instincts on the base paths as they mature, and is willing to opt for a shove rather than a gentle prod until they get comfortable calling their own number.

“He didn’t even ask me, he just told me I was doing it,” recalls speedster Joel Booker, who had a walk-off steal of home in the 10th inning of a game in April. “It was nuts. The entire time I was thinking ‘Don’t trip, don’t trip,’ just to slide in and win a game like that was unbelievable. I still can’t believe to this day that it happened and it worked.

“It’s fun. There’s no limitations. Running like a chicken with its head cut off, run wild on them. It’s fun. It opens up the game a lot. I don’t have to think. It just opens up my mind.”

Vizquel has received enough questions about his playing days in the clubhouse to suspect that some players are aware of the enormity of his playing career. He says he wants to be a friend and an open ear to players, not a domineering presence, and keeps it light until the point he reaches something that he views as essential, like everyone knowing who Clemente is. Given how quickly he launched into a digression on the topic, “everyone” includes me, just in case I was unfamiliar.

“It is important for them to grow up being good people,” Vizquel said. “If you’re good people, if you’ve got good values, and you got your roots, it’s going to be very important for you through this game. It’s going to be a lot of up and downs and if you don’t know how to handle that stuff, it’s going to be very hard for you to climb the ladder.”

Or knowing English, of which he said Robert knows “none,” at the moment, and will be critical for pulling him out of the shell he’s in, save for his interactions with Adolfo and Luis Basabe.

“You have to hang out with the American people and learn the customs and everything,” Vizquel said. “I think that’s the best way to learn it. It’s not the same when you want to play something and someone else is saying it for you. It’s just great when you can walk to a mall and buy whatever.”

Even if the malls in North Carolina are outstanding, the Dash would have to consider themselves lucky to get more than a year of someone like Vizquel at the helm. His star is too bright, his enthusiasm is too infectious, and by the end of August, he’ll have completed a sketch of every Dash staff member on the payroll. But in the mean time, he’s taking responsibility for Robert, Adolfo, Basabe, and the host of top prospects in Winston-Salem and in A-ball, the good ones never stay long.