Chicago White Sox: Three players who surprised big in first week
It has officially been one full week of Chicago White Sox baseball in the year 2021. Things have been up and down for this team that expects to be World Series good this year. The west coast trip that they started the season on didn’t go exactly the way that they wanted it to. They don’t play well out there historically so their 3-4 record to start the year shouldn’t alarm anyone.
Now that they are going home, there are some things to look forward to. The White Sox had some players that went above and beyond anything that we would have expected. That is always awesome, especially when the stars on the team are still trying to get their feet under them. These are the three players who surprised us all in the first week of the season:
Jose Ruiz has been one of the best Chicago White Sox relievers so far this season.
The Chicago White Sox have a lot of really good relievers in their bullpen. Michael Kopech, Aaron Bummer, Garrett Crochet, and Liam Hendriks have all been good. Guys like Matt Foster, Codi Heuer, and Evan Marshall are all amazing pitchers but are still trying to get going so far this season. One name that made the roster but is less known is Jose Ruiz.
Ruiz has been amazing so far for the White Sox. Going in, most believed that he was the worst pitcher in a good bullpen but that might not be saying much even if it ends up being true. He has been sensational and we should be talking about him more.
Jose Ruiz has appeared in 3.1 innings so far this season. He has an ERA of 2.70 with a WHIP of 0.30. It is a small sample size but most of the relievers on the team only have a small sample size because there have only been seven games in seven days. The fact that he looks like someone who can be relied upon heavily is surprising and something that the team should welcome. Hopefully, this player is able to continue doing what he has been doing to help the team win.
Carlos Rodon has been up and down ever since the White Sox made him a really high draft pick. They even released him and made him a free agent after the 2020 season didn’t go his way. They decided to give him another chance with a new contract that paid him a lot less than he would have made if they didn’t release him earlier in the offseason. He knew that he had to now come in and basically resurrect his career.
We knew that Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Lance Lynn, and Dylan Cease were locks to be the top four in the rotation. They also made it clear that Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet were going to start the season in the bullpen. That left that final spot in the rotation to be won by either Carlos Rodon or Reynaldo Lopez. Rodon won it by being significantly better in spring training.
He made his first start of the season on Monday vs the Seattle Mariners and he was brilliant. It was fair to be worried about how it was going to go but he was awesome. He pitched five innings of scoreless baseball, had nine strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.000. The White Sox won the game and he was a surprisingly great player for them in the first week of the season. A big year from Rodon could be the difference between 83 wins and 90 wins.
The coolest story going on in Major League Baseball right now is Yermin Mercedes. That guy worked so hard just to even get a chance as a late bloomer tells you everything you need to know. Now, he is up with the White Sox and has been taking advantage of every opportunity given to him. He had a chance to make the team in large part due to the Eloy Jimenez injury and has been money right from the start.
He didn’t play in the first game of the season but has given Tony La Russa to get him in as many games as he can for right now. It will be a good problem to have when Adam Engel comes back along with Jimenez. Right now, there is no reason to not have Mercedes in the lineup with regularity. For one, he started the season 8-8 which is one of the best starts in the history of Major League Baseball. His stats as a whole make it even better.
Mercedes has a remarkable batting average of .542 to begin the season. He has his first career home run and six RBIs. His slash line is .542/.583/.862 with an OPS of 1.409. Those are MVP level numbers. Of course, it is going to come down to earth as it always does but the White Sox need good play from him this season. If he can fit in as a good quality DH for a while, this team will be lucky to have him.
If all three of these guys are able to keep up the strong play, it will look even better when the superstars start to look more like themselves again. Getting back at home should be really good for them as well to start week number two.