We don't yet know how the story of the 2021 White Sox will end, but we do know that it can't be written without the string of hot weeks from unexpected sources that bridged the gap during the months missed by Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert. From Yermín Mercedes to Jake Lamb to Brian Goodwin to Adam Engel to Jake Burger to Gavin Sheets, they all plugged the hole at DH for multiple weeks when it appeared the Sox could turn to no one else.
The thing about that sequence is that nobody caught a second wind. Brian Goodwin is the only one who hasn't disappeared after he arrived, but he's hitting .222/.317/.340 over his last 50 games. Otherwise, Yermín Mercedes has more retirement announcements (1) than at-bats for the White Sox (0) since they optioned him down in June. Lamb was designated for assignment and claimed by the Blue Jays, with whom he looks like the same guy. Engel returned to the injured list, and Burger suffered a bone bruise that threw him off.
Sheets might be the last chance at lightning striking twice, and his propensity to break out of slumps with big games is what keeps him fascinating. He announced his return to the roster in September with a two-homer game against Pittsburgh. Then, after going 3-for-22 with a walk and seven strikeouts over his next eight games, he pounded the Angels by going 3-for-4 with a majestic three-run homer and four RBIs overall.
Sheets has been able to show immediate improvements in some respects after getting some time to regroup in Charlotte. After going 0-for-12 against left-handed pitching in his first stint, he's 2-for-3 with a walk this time around. After being held to just one hit on a breaking pitch over his first 100 plate appearances, he's got two of them in September.
Both of those factors can make him more of a weapon as the White Sox try to determine their best postseason roster. If he could count on getting a 50-percent floor of fastballs, he'd probably be dangerous. But just like Mercedes, Sheets had a hard time putting up a fight once he got to a two-strike count.
Unlike Mercedes, catching up to MLB velocity is not the core issue, so there is room for refinement. James Fegan paints the picture of a guy who is trying to exploit his newfound lifter-puller progress without completely shedding the well-rounded hitting skills that made him an inning-to-inning threat in the minors.
“We’re just trying to stay narrow,” Sheets said, before explaining the consequences of not doing so. “I get out of my legs, and then the balls I’m driving in the air start turning into groundballs or add topspin on long drives. Just trying to stay small and drive the ball.” [...]
“I found myself getting to two strikes a lot,” Sheets said. “Whether it was taking pitches or missing my pitch, with getting too big with my swing. So just trying to be ready to go first step when I step in the box, and if I get my pitch, to be able to put a good swing on it.”
With Andrew Vaughn down, Goodwin stagnating and Engel's legs not worthy of trust, there is a Sheets-shaped opening for serious right field plate appearances. It's hard to imagine him usurping Goodwin, but he wasn't a lock to oust Lamb from an expanded roster, so it can't quite be discarded.
In order to make that happen, he'll have to limit the slumps in between triumphs. It's easy to get carried away when Sheets shows off because big left-handed homers never go out of style, but that immediate gratification can only cover so many subsequent 0-fers. Sheets did double on Wednesday night, but he struck out in his other three trips and ran into an out at home, so stringing together successful nights -- or at least going 2-for-3 in going 2-for-4 -- remains on his to-do list.
Beyond Sheets, second base could have a say in all of this. The White Sox acquired César Hernández assuming he'd be the everyday second baseman, and if he were to eventually resemble that guy, Leury García might be the most obvious play in right field with the way he's hitting. But if Hernández's production continues to languish under a .600 OPS while García continues resembling a starter, then it could be an open call in right field after all.
(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)
