Chicago White Sox: 3 most underrated relievers in the bullpen
On paper, the Chicago White Sox bullpen was supposed to be one of the best in baseball heading into the season. Aaron Bummer even went as far as to say that the goal was to be undefeated when holding a lead after the fifth inning. During the trade deadline, they bolstered it with a couple of additions from the Cubs.
With those additions, the White Sox bullpen is primed and ready to help the team make a deep postseason run. The Chicago White Sox bullpen features some big arms. They are headlined by guys such as Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, Aaron Bummer, and Micheal Kopech.
Liam Hendriks was voted the best reliever in baseball according to MLB Network over the offseason. He also leads the American League in saves. Craig Kimbrel is a future Hall of Famer who has amassed over 1,000 strikeouts during his career.
Aaron Bummer signed an extension with the White Sox after two very productive seasons with the team. He limited opponents to a .507 OPS over the course of 2019-2020, which is the lowest mark among MLB relievers. His 27 holds in 2019 were also the third-highest total in franchise history.
Micheal Kopech was a featured piece in the Chris Sale trade and quickly turned into a top prospect in the White Sox organization. His blazing fastball and filthy slider make him one of the most fun players to watch pitch on the White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox has a very good bullpen that they need to stay healthy.
While these guys get most of the attention, there are some underrated relievers in the White Sox bullpen that deserve some credit for their contributions this season. Here are the three most underrated relief pitchers for the White Sox this season:
Garrett Crochet
Garrett Crochet is one of the best pitchers on the entire Chicago White Sox staff.
Garrett Crochet has always been a stud. He was a first-round draft pick out of Tenessee in 2020 and a couple of months after being drafted he was pitching in the major leagues despite not having an inning of minor-league action under his belt. He became the first player in the 2020 draft class to debut in his draft year and the first White Sox pitcher to do it since Chris Sale in 2010.
Crochet made an immediate impact on the White Sox. He made five scoreless appearances and fired 45 of his 85 pitches at 100-plus mph. His 45 fastballs over 100 were the second-highest total in the big leagues even though he only pitched six innings. He also struck out eight of the 22 batters he faced and walked none. With the glimpse Crochet provided fans in 2020, people knew he was going to be good. However, not many people realize just how good he has been.
Crochet is arguably the second-best reliever in the bullpen at this point in the season. His 1.1 WAR is the second-highest in the bullpen behind only All-Star closer, Liam Hendriks. His 2.66 ERA for the season trails only Craig Kimbrel.
Crochet has been called upon in a variety of different situations and has gotten the job done the majority of the time. They have used him as an eighth-inning setup man, in extra innings, and as a long reliever. Crochet has only given up two home runs this year. His ERA+ which adjusts to the players’ ballpark is the best in the bullpen and the third-best on the pitching staff overall.
Crochet has also been riding a hot stretch recently. He hasn’t given up a run in his last seven games. Look for Tony La Russa to lean heavily on the flame-throwing southpaw this postseason.
Jose Ruiz
There have been many situations where Jose Ruiz has been great for the Chicago White Sox.
Along with being underrated, Jose Ruiz is the most underappreciated member of the White Sox bullpen. Ruiz gets a bad rap because of his 6.08 ERA in 2019. Since then, he has been sneaky good.
He opened the following season on the injured list and was reinstated from the IL on August 9th. Six days later, he made his season debut against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 15th and tossed a scoreless inning. He only allowed one run in five games in 2020 and has built off that this season.
Jose Ruiz had to earn a job out of spring training. His big arm combined with some solid outings were enough to convince the White Sox he deserved a roster spot. Ruiz has not disappointed them this season.
In 62.1 innings pitched this year, he has posted a 2.89 ERA to go along with 61 strikeouts. He has the fifth-most strikeouts which are impressive considering that he shares the same bullpen as K machines such as Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, Aaron Bummer, and Garrett Crochet.
Like Crochet, he has also been dialed in recently. He has not allowed a run in his last 8.2 innings. He is also riding a streak of ten-game consecutive games without allowing a run. It should be noted that Ruiz has seen a dip in production during high leverage situations. He does his best work when pitching in low leverage situations.
Ryan Burr
Ryan Burr has been a solid addition to the Chicago White Sox bullpen this year.
After two Tommy John surgeries, including a season-ending one in 2019, Ryan Burr was an afterthought heading into the 2021 season. At the time, he was most famous for being teammates with Ian Hamilton in Triple-A Charlotte. Having Burr and Hamilton on the same team caught the attention of history buffs and music lovers alike.
Ryan Burr made a bold proclamation during the offseason. When the MLB asked fans on Twitter which player was about to have a breakout year, Ryan Burr responded by saying “me”. He then proceeded to string together 11 consecutive scoreless appearances to open the season. In those 11 games, he only allowed two hits.
The first earned run he allowed was on July 5th against the Minnesota Twins. Since August 17th, he has fired nine scoreless innings in 8 of his 11.2 innings pitched. Burr is no stranger to the late innings. He is the all-time saves leader for Arizona State and earned 2015 All-Pac-12 First-Team honors. That experience has carried that over to the White Sox this season.
For the season as a whole, opponents are hitting just .214 against him. His 11 runs allowed are the fewest amongst any White Sox pitcher with at least 30 innings thrown this season. He has recorded two holds and even started a game for the White Sox throwing two scoreless innings during a bullpen day against the Seattle Mariners. Ryan Burr has definitely flown under the radar for how effective he has been for Tony La Russa and company.
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