White Sox: Lefty hitter Daniel Palka and his route to Chicago
In the past few games, a new face has emerged in the White Sox lineup and you may have been wondering how he got there.
The newest addition to the Chicago White Sox lineup is a left-handed batter named Daniel Palka.
This rookie has played in just a handful of games with his debut occurring on April 25 against the Seattle Mariners.
How has he been at the plate?
His first Major League hit came on April 28 against the Kansas City Royals. And, he didn’t just hit one, two singles, a double, and a home run. Not too shabby for the kid’s third game.
In his next game, he went two for two with a double and a triple. He is batting .300/.300/.650 after 20 at-bats. He has not yet walked and has six RBIs. During his six games, he has served as the DH, as a pinch hitter, and he has played in right field.
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Palka came to the Sox through waivers after he was released by the Minnesota Twins in November 2017. But, he did not begin his baseball career there. In 2013, he was drafted in the third round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was traded in November 2015 to the Twins in exchange for Chris Herrmann.
Why is he on the roster?
Palka is in the lineup as a replacement for Avisail Garcia who is on the 10-day DL for a hamstring strain. Since his departure on April 24, Palka has been a satisfactory replacement.
Prior to arriving in Chicago, Palka was in Charlotte with the Triple-A Knights. There he was batting .286/.384/.476 with three home runs and seven RBIs. Palka has been playing in Triple-A teams since he joined the Twins organization in 2015. During his time with the Diamondbacks organization, he never moved about Single-A+. He has also played overseas in the Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues.
Palka stands 6’2 and weighs 220 pounds. He is 26 years old. In his latest review on Fangraphs, Eric Longenhagen reported that Palka has a noisy swing with a 27% career strikeout rate. However, he does have a good understanding of his strike zone, which could make him a useful bat off the bench.
Next: Where the Sox stand in the batting stats rankings
Hopefully, Palka can keep his batting stats up until Garcia is ready to return. The White Sox and the fans could use some positivity in the lineup.