White Sox: Four little known players who’ll make a big impact in 2021

You might find Codi Heuer to be one of the best pitchers on the Chicago White Sox.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Codi Heuer was an important piece of the bullpen that helped drive the White Sox to the playoffs last season. In 23 innings of work last season, Heuer was lights-out with a 1.52 ERA along with 25 strikeouts. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Wichita State. So far, that’s looking like a steal.

Heuer dominated in 2019 with a combined 67.2 innings between Winston-Salem and Birmingham. With a 2.39 ERA and 65 strikeouts with only one walk, it helped number 65 make the team in 2020.

With a four-pitch arsenal, Heuer is primarily a sinker-baller. He throws it about 63% of the time. Opponents hit a mere .196 and swung and missed 24% of the time in 2020. His sinker is a setup for his best pitch by far in his slider. With a 66.7% whiff percent, opponents hit an abysmal .056 against it last season. That slider helped the White Sox late in the season.

In nearly 13 innings of work in the entire month of September, Heuer allowed only five hits and struck out 15, not allowing a single run. While the team cooled off late in the 60-game-season last year, Heuer stayed dominant.

They say hitting is contagious and that is true. The same goes for pitching. If the team is cooled down, Heuer showed that he could be trusted to carry the bullpen and trusted in tight situations late in the game. He can be that impactful player to help carry the Sox to the playoffs just like last season.