Chicago White Sox: 2021 grade for Codi Heuer

Codi Heuer had a great start to his career with the Chicago White Sox. He was awesome in 2020 as he finished the year with a 3-0 record, 1.52 ERA, a 0.887 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work over 21 appearances. Heuer was used as a late-inning reliever in 2020 but only had one save during that season.

He came into 2021 figuring to be a big part of a loaded bullpen. With Liam Hendriks, Michael Kopech, Garrett Crochet, and Aaron Bummer in the mix, Heuer playing well would have really helped. Unfortunately, he did not have a good start to the season.

His 2021 continued to be a step back through the first half of the season. Going into the MLB trade deadline, Heuer had an ERA of 5.12 and WHIP of 1.442 so it was clearly a tough year to that point. However, he did have 39 strikeouts over 38.2 innings pitched (40 games played) so you know that his stuff is amazing. He just needed to work on his command because we all know how lethal he can be.

The White Sox sent Heuer to the Chicago Cubs along with Nick Madrigal in exchange for Craig Kimbrel. We all know about how Kimbrel wasn’t great with the White Sox in Heuer’s setup role and might trade him before the offseason is over.

Heuer ended up turning his season around with the Cubs which made things even worse from the White Sox side of the trade. On the north side, he had a 3.14 ERA with a 1.151 WHIP in 25 games. He finished nine of the 25 games he appeared in but only earned one save. You gotta keep in mind that the Cubs weren’t good at all soo he didn’t come into very many leads.

One thing that was interesting was the fact that his strikeouts came way down with the Cubs. He only had 17 in his 25 games played (28.2 innings pitched). The Cubs don’t have many power pitchers there right now so you also have to wonder if philosophy is a reason why as well. Regardless, pitching well and efficiently is the main thing he is looking for.

2021 Final Grade: C

Codi Heuer gets a C. He would get a D or an F if it were just his White Sox stats taken into consideration. However, it is only fair to include his entire season statistics. It wasn’t fun to watch him play well on the Cubs but he deserves credit. He is a very good pitcher.

2022 Expecations:

It is unclear what role in the bullpen Codi Heuer will have with the Cubs in 2022. It will more than likely be late in games as either the closer or the setup man. Either way, you can expect him to have very good numbers. With a new team and a lot to prove, he should take the next step in 2022.