White Sox Report Cards: Player grades half-way through

Bullpen Part II

There are so many great pitchers in the Chicago White Sox bullpen right now.

Codi Heuer – C

Codi Heuer might not be in the good graces of White Sox fans because of his ERA but there are some things to look at when it comes to him. With some of the other struggling bullpen arms, there is cause for concern. With Heuer, it is clear that he is going to come out of it. His stuff is so nasty but he needs to stop falling behind in counts. When he does that, the other team is able to tee off on “hitter friendly” pitches which is why he has a 1.47 WHIP despite only six walks. The fact that he has 33 strikeouts to those six walks tells you everything you need to know.

Evan Marshall – D

Evan Marshall is one of those pitchers who is supposed to be one of the best on the staff. However, 2021 hasn’t gone well for him and there isn’t any evidence to believe that he is going to come out of it any time soon. He is probably going to have a long-term stint in the IL so it’ll be interesting to see what things look like for him when he returns.

Jose Ruiz – B

Jose Ruiz might have a misconception about him. He has a respectable 3.13 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He also has 31 strikeouts to only nine walks. He isn’t used in high leverage situations as much as some other guys but he has pitched well when called on. If they continue using him to eat up innings when they are up big, not a single person should complain.

Michael Kopech – A

Michael Kopech is the most talented pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization right now. He has multiple A+ pitches that he uses and commands very well. He can combine his high-velocity fastball with his breaking stuff which completely throws off hitters. The cool thing about his fastball is the fact that it moves as well which makes it very hard to hit.

As of right now, he has a 1.67 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP. The amazing thing is that he has 45 strikeouts in 32.1 innings to only 12 walks. It is remarkable what he is able to do. The White Sox are eventually going to make him a starter (he has already made a few spot starts) because of how good he is. As of right now, he is the team’s greatest weapon going into the playoffs. The fact that he can still get better should absolutely terrify the rest of the league.

This has been a brilliant first half for the Chicago White Sox. Players like Brian Goodwin and Danny Mendick deserve credit for their contributions as well but it wouldn’t be very fair to hand them lesser grades based on a few week’s worths of steady playing time. When this team adds guys like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert to the mix, expect them to be dominant.