The schedule finally firmed up on the White Sox in June. Of their nine series, seven came against preseason contenders, and another on the road against the surprising Texas Rangers.
The Sox didn't exactly rise to the occasion, but they didn't give in, either. The pitching in particular was abysmal outside of Lucas Giolito, posting a 5.32 ERA despite the All-Star efforts of their top starter. Throw in a lineup with a few standouts and more sinkholes, and it could've been a recipe for disaster.
Yet despite being outscored by 27 runs, the White Sox were just one good start away from turning in a .500 record. While concerning at times, the product is more enjoyable, and TV ratings and attendance are rising as a result.
Team Performance
- Record: 11-13
- Run differential: -27 (103-130)
- Standings: Third, 13 GB
- Longest winning streak: Three, June 11-14
- Longest losing streak: Four, June 22-25
- Largest margin of victory: 8, June 14
- Largest margin of defeat: 11, June 10
Hitting Leaders
- Batting average: .381, Yoan Moncada
- On-base percentage: .435, Moncada
- Slugging percentage: .667, Moncada
- wRC+: Moncada, 190
- Home runs: 8, Eloy Jiménez
- RBI: 20, Jiménez
- Walks: 10, James McCann
- Strikeouts: 28, Jiménez
- Stolen bases: 1, McCann, Tim Anderson, Leury García, Yolmer Sanchez
Pitching Leaders
- Wins: 4, Lucas Giolito
- Losses: 3, Iván Nova
- Innings: 36, Giolito
- Strikeouts: 46, Giolito
- Appearances: 13, Aaron Bummer
- Relief innings: 15, Bummer
Coming and Going
- White Sox debuts: Odrisamer Despaigne, Ross Detwiler, Zack Collins, Jon Jay
- White Sox departures: Nicky Delmonico, Yonder Alonso
- Going up: Despaigne, Collins, Detwiler, Thyago Vieira, Carson Fulmer, Daniel Palka
- Going down: Vieira, Seby Zavala
#SoxMorgue
- Dylan Covey, right shoulder inflammation
- Jace Fry, left shoulder soreness
- Welington Castillo, strained left oblique
- Manny Bañuelos, left shoulder inflammation
- Tim Anderson, sprained right ankle
Awards
- Player of the Month: Yoan Moncada
Partially because he missed some games with "upper back tightness," and partially because Eloy Jiménez started overcoming some of his challenges at the plate and in the field, Moncada had one of the sneakier four-digit OPS months you'll see. It helped that he missed mostly lefties during his absence, but his biggest strides came by closing the platoon gap in the sample he did face:
- vs. RHP: .391/.429/.609 over 49 PA
- vs. LHP: .353/.450/.824 over 20 PA
There's still a gap in his hit tool between his left-handed and right-handed swings, but the contact he's making is starting to increase in volume.
- Least Valuable Player: Rylie Cordson
Ryan Cordell and Charlie Tilson finished within 21 points of each other in terms of OPS, and both had OPSes below .500 while making 24 starts between them. The third outfielder platoon failed about as hard as one can.
- Most Valuable Pitcher: Lucas Giolito
A streak of eight strong starts was snapped by two strong offenses -- the Red Sox and the Cubs -- which threatened to put a little bit of a tarnish on Giolito's first half as one inflated by stat-padding. Then he went out and threw five easy zeroes against the Twins before storms cut it short, locking in a league-leading 11th win and an All-Star berth. But hell, even if he can only work over bad teams, there's still nobody on his staff that challenges him for this title.
- Least Valuable Pitcher: Odrisamer Despaigne
Despaigne finished with the same ERA as Ervin Santana (9.45) after his three-game White Sox career, taking the heat of Reynaldo López and Iván Nova for a month.
- Fire Man: Aaron Bummer
No White Sox reliever worked harder than Bummer, who led the White Sox in appearances and recorded more than three outs five times. He showed signs of cracking by the end of it, but in month that featured no lights-out performances from relievers, Bummer stands out for the workload, his 3.00 ERA, as well as stranding six of seven inherited runners.
- Gas Can: Jose Ruiz
Kelvin Herrera might register as a higher-profile disappointment, and he, Evan Marshall and Jace Fry all had ERAs over 7, but Ruiz pitched in eight games and was scored upon in six of them. He gave up nine runs over 8⅓ innings and walked as many as he struck out. That's pretty much this label personified.
- Bench Player: Welington Castillo
Castillo picked himself off the mat after losing the starting job in earnest to James McCann, hitting .273/.304/.545 with a couple big homers over 23 plate appearances. He should've had another extra-base hit to add to the total, but he was limited to a single off the wall and exited the game due to an oblique strain, cutting short his month.
- Stench Player: Yonder Alonso
Alonso went from starting just about every game to sitting two out of three in June, and his bat didn't respond. Over 35 plate appearances in June, Alonso hit into more double plays (five) than he hit safely (four, all singles), and the White Sox cut him loose at the end of it.
- Gold Glove: Yolmer Sánchez
After committing errors in four of his first 10 games, Sánchez has recovered to make just one over his last 65. A low error count can be overrated, but not for somebody with Sánchez's range or derring-do. He had a great month making adventurous throws, like when he cut down the lead runner three times in one game, and made two perfect relay throws in the same game to gun down runners at home and third.
- Hands of Stone: Eloy Jiménez
The good news is there were a couple of inflection points that forced some positive changes in Jiménez's defense. After Aaron Hicks took advantage of Jiménez's chronic hesitancy returning the ball to the infield by scoring from first on a double to left, Jiménez started making quicker decisions when it was in his hands. Likewise, the embarrassing screenshots are decreasing in frequency as well, with the last one on June 25. He actually stands a chance of yielding this title to somebody else next month.
Timeline
High-water mark: A Lucas Giolito-led shutout over Cleveland helps the Sox grab a share of second place for maybe the last time all season. (June 2)
Honors: Giolito becomes the first White Sox pitcher since Chris Sale in June 2015 to be named the American League's pitcher of the month, and the first Sox righty since Jake Peavy in April 2012. (June 3)
Draft taps: The White Sox stay the course in their draft strategy by selecting the best overall collegiate hitter, Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn. Then they change course drastically by taking prep righties Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist in the second and third rounds, the first high school pitchers selected by the Sox in either first two days of the draft since Spencer Adams in 2014. (June 3-4)
Long drive competition: Eloy Jiménez throws his hat in the ring for the team's longest homer by crushing a 471-foot blast over the batter's eye at Kauffman Stadium. (June 9)
Mystery Mon: Yoan Moncada leaves a blowout loss to the Nationals with upper back tightness, and only appears in one game over the next seven days, which he can't even complete. He never goes on the injured list and the Sox play with a short roster for too long, but no lasting damage is done. Moncada comes out of his non-IL injury stint looking strong, slugging .797 over his last nine games of the month. (June 10)
Thome territory: While Jiménez's homer to center at Guaranteed Rate Field registers 10 feet shorter than his Kauffman blast, it's more striking visually, as it lands over the batter's eye and bounces up the stairs of the party deck behind center field. It's his first homer in front of home fans after smashing his first eight on the road. (June 11)
The best battle: Leury Garcia submits his candidacy for "plate appearance of the year" when he crushes Adam Ottavino's 11th pitch of the sequence out to right for the go-ahead homer in a 5-4 victory over the Yankees. (June 13)
Bombing the Bombers: Jiménez submits his third multi-homer game, and his second against the Yankees when he delivers a pair of three-run shots in the biggest victory of the month by margin. (June 14)
Clubbing the Cubs: Remember how I was saying Moncada's month felt quiet because all of Jiménez's hits sounded loud? He capped off his mid-month tear with a ninth-inning, game-winning two-run shot that silenced half of Wrigley Field. (June 18)
Safety first: The White Sox are the first team in Major League Baseball to announce the extension of protective netting from foul pole to foul pole. (June 18)
Two firsts in one: Zack Collins notches his first MLB hit in style, crushing an Ariel Jurado homer out to center of Globe Life Park in his second career plate appearance. (Although he's still waiting for his second hit a fortnight later...) (June 21)
A ringing endorsement: After a second awful start, the writing is on the wall regarding Odrisamer Despaigne when Rick Renteria describes his status as "Despaigne is here until he's not." The White Sox designated him for assignment two days later, but he landed in Charlotte. (June 22)
Conditions apply: A season full of playing on soggy fields finally catches up to the White Sox, who lose Tim Anderson to a sprained ankle when his foot slips while planting on an off-balance throw. (June 25)
Another best battle: Jose Abreu makes a run at García's claim for the plate appearance of the year when he caps off a 10-pitch battle against Ryan Brasier -- complete with six foul balls -- by hammering a fastball over the Green Monster for a go-ahead two-run homer that also erased the sting from Alex Colomé's first blown save of the year. (June 26)
Stopped stealing: Abreu's homer also negated a questionable hit-and-run decision one batter before that resulted in García getting caught stealing at second. The unsuccessful attempt put the White Sox at below .500 in the stolen-base department:
- April: 22-for-26
- May: 16-for-26
- June: 4-for-9
Yonder sent yonder: Three months into a miserable season -- and just a few days after close friend Jon Jay joined the White Sox -- Yonder Alonso sees his disastrous White Sox career ended by DFA. (June 28)
Farmageddon: In one press conference, Rick Hahn announces season-ending surgeries for Jimmy Lambert, Ian Hamilton and Zack Burdi and a negative forecast for Jake Burger, dealing an incredible blow to the White Sox' prospect depth. Ryan Burr's season was also over due to Tommy John surgery. (June 28)
High notes: The month of June closes with two pieces of positive June -- the promotion of Dylan Cease, and All-Star berths for Lucas Giolito, Jose Abreu and James McCann. (June 30)
