White Sox: Will James Shields Early Success Continue?
By Brian Draus
White Sox veteran starter succeeding early in season. Can right hander sustain early success throughout 2017 season?
Coming into the 2017 season, the vast majority of baseball fans considered once-dominant starter James Shields finished. So far, Shields has flipped the script on us by making it to the sixth inning both starts this season, while allowing just one run. Will he keep this up all season? Let’s delve deeper into his peripherals to find out.
On the bright side, Shields has an incredibly low WHIP that currently sits at 1.03. However, while it may look rosy on the exterior, there are some serious concerns wrapped inside. The most critical is the fact he allowed five walks in 5.1 innings his first start, and another two on Tuesday. Shields last start was a bit of a complex one in regards to his control, due to the fact that the strike zone was far from consistent.
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Over the course of his career, Shields has been a strikeout pitcher. Given it is unlikely he will ever match those numbers again, he has fanned a good amount of hitters (11) so far this season. For a pitcher that has only thrown 10.2 innings, that would put him right around one strikeout per inning pitched, indicating that he may still have something left.
Here is where the major concern comes in, fly balls. Considering the fact that Shields has never been known as a ground ball pitcher, this trend has yet to go away. So far, he has given up a total of five ground balls and 20 fly balls in 2017, which will not make him successful as the weather heats up. If Shields wants to survive the summer months at Guaranteed Rate Field, a four to one fly ball to ground ball rate will not work.
The issue with a high fly ball rate raises a red flag due to one issue, home runs. Shields already allowed two of them (out of four hits all year), and when more balls leave the ballpark expect his ERA and WHIP to rise concurrently. Sox fans need to keep an eye on this very matter in about five weeks, when the temperature rises at ballparks nationwide.
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Overall, Shields start is a good sign for the White Sox organization. However, do keep in mind that he has yet to pitch an entire month, not to mention conditions are favorable for a pitcher this time of year. If the Sox are able to move Shields sometime in the summer, it will be a huge success even if they do take on some of his remaining contract.
Is this what you expected, Sox fans? There will be plenty of it for six more months.