Chicago White Sox: 3 reasons to call up Jake Burger
High expectations fell upon young Jake Burger when he was selected 11th overall in the 2017 draft. Unfortunately, his path to the show was stalled after two Achilles heel injuries. Fortunately, Burger has not skipped a beat and is tearing it up. It is not unrealistic to say he can help this 2021 Chicago White Sox team win.
Jake Burger might force the Chicago White Sox to call him up before 2021 is over.
After being out of baseball for three years, Burger has returned better than ever. In just 15 games with the Charlotte Knights this season, he contributes in the parts of the game where the White Sox are struggling. Not to mention he will add much-needed depth to an injury-bug-bitten team that keeps getting bit.
Realistically it may be too early to call up Burger, even though he was being considered as a potential DH candidate in Spring Training. Not to mention Andrew Vaughn, a prospect with little to no minor league experience, is the current everyday left fielder. This front office has trust in the top prospects and so far, they have no reason not to.
The story of Jake Burger is building into a motivational comeback journey. It shows that he has worked hard to come back and contribute at a high level. Considering where this current White Sox team is in terms of depth, he will likely get the call-up, potentially this year. Although it may not be in June or July, he could be a September call-up even. Here are three reasons to call up Jake Burger:
Jake Burger of the Chicago White Sox has put up a great slash line in AAA.
For a player who has been out of baseball since 2017, a slow start is what to expect. They have not faced any type of professional pitching since then and might have a hard time readjusting. Not Jake Burger, though.
In the 2021 spring training, Burger was 4-13 in seven games. With only one double and RBI, he did not perform well enough to make the team. He would have had to put up Hall of Fame type numbers to have made the team out of spring, so it was expected he would start his season as a Charlotte Knight. What was not expected was how quickly he would get to work.
In his first 15 games back in baseball and 62 at-bats, Burger is slashing .274/.318/.661 with an OPS of .979. He has 15 runs batted in while scoring 11 times himself. His six doubles and six home runs make up more than half of his 17 hits, as seen in his .661 slugging percentage.
Defensively, he has been surprisingly well for someone recovering from two Achilles injuries. In 118 innings of work at third base, Burger has 26 assists and ten putouts with only four errors. In his 40 defensive chances, he has a fielding percentage of .900. Not great, but still pretty good.
Of course, his value is in his bat right now and he is swinging a hot one. With 17 strikeouts, however, plate discipline is something he will have to work on before getting promoted. This could be overlooked, considering he is also hitting well situationally and driving in runs.
Jake Burger can definitely help the Chicago White Sox with runners in scoring position.
Against the Yankees and Cardinals, it has been clear that this team is struggling to hit when runners are in scoring position or on base for that matter. In just those six games, the White Sox have been 5-43 with runners in scoring position. That is an average of .116.
In 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Jake Burger has seven hits, a double, and two home runs with 10 RBIs. He has also scored six times, which shows that his hitting is contagious. Of those 19 at-bats, nine have come with two outs. He has three hits in those nine at-bats, two of which are doubles.
He is not only driving in runs but extending innings. His teammates then have opportunities to drive him in as well. The White Sox have been struggling this season in keeping the line moving and turning the lineup over.
While his current OPS of .993 is tremendous, his 1.137 OPS with runners in scoring position is one this current Sox team could use. A team will have a hard time winning if they cannot deliver in high leverage situations like capitalizing when runners are in scoring position. Injuries have taken out two of the team’s most significant offensive contributors, so other players need to step up.
Some have stepped up but as of late, this team is falling behind offensively. If Burger continues to come through in the clutch, there is no doubt that he deserves a call-up.
Jake Burger can help the Chicago White Sox at different spots on the field.
With a fully-stacked and healthy White Sox team, this is not an issue. Of course, you can’t always get what you want. Leury García splits his time between the outfield and infield as he can play pretty much everywhere. Danny Mendick provides infield depth as well. With the outfield taking the biggest hit of the lineup, they have switched to full-time in the outfield to fill those spots.
When called up, Burger will provide depth to third and DH to help ease the pressure off Yoán Moncada and Yermin Mercedes to play every day over a long stretch of games without an off day.
At this current moment, taking Moncada out of the lineup a little bit more is not such a good idea considering he is heating up. Over the course of the season, though, he may feel the effects of fatigue. That could be a sport for Jake Burger.
Mercedes is showing that his 8-8 to start the season was no fluke as he is fifth in batting average at .335. Yet, he has been 4-21 with no extra-base hits in the past six games. He only struck out four times, so he is putting the ball in play. After Wednesday’s game, it was made clear he is in desperate need of a day off or two.
In Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals, Mercedes left ten runners on base himself alone. DH has been the most problematic position for the White Sox ever since Jim Thome left. Mercedes stepped up big time at the beginning of the season and is still a great hitter but he is human and gets tired.
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Jake Burger, who was mentioned in Spring Training to be the potential DH, is showing in Triple-A that he has what it takes to hit well when it matters. It may still be too early to call up Burger as he has been out of the game for a while. However, it would be hard to ignore his stats if he continues to drive in runs. A September call-up is very much on the table and the southside could see Jake Burger sooner than expected.