The Chicago White Sox are in a good place right now. After a very tough stretch, they have now won 7 of their last 8 games. It has been an outstanding run for them as they look to get back on top of the AL Central and stay there. Pitching has been a big reason why.
Lucas Giolito missed two starts and Lance Lynn has yet to pitch at all this year. Now, Giolito is back so he is with Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Dallas Keuchel, and Vince Velasquez as a part of the current rotation. Everyone has carried their weight lately except for Keuchel.
However, Velasquez only has a few starts in a row where he was good so the sample size is small. There is still a long way to go before we are fully confident in him. As of right now, however, he deserves to stay in the rotation a lot more than Keuchel.
When Lynn comes back, he will be one of the mainstays with Giolito, Cease, and Kopech. That will be one of the best top-four in the American League. Then, the other two guys along with Johnny Cueto will compete for that fifth spot. Two of them can also be in the bullpen and contribute spot starts from time to time.
The Chicago White Sox might want to consider bringing Johnny Cueto up now.
Speaking of Cueto, the White Sox need to call him up now. He has dominated in AAA ball and deserves to be given a chance to return to Major League Baseball. If they let him go, someone else will look at his stats with the Charlotte Knights and scoop him up.
In his most recent start, he went 5.1 IP with three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. He pumped in lots of strikes and mixed in a variety of breaking stuff to help him get outs. His location has been outstanding.
Obviously, we have to see how he does against Major League hitters as opposed to AAA hitters. He certainly deserves the opportunity based on his recent performances. The Charlotte Knights definitely don’t have anyone else that deserves the chance more than him.
If the White Sox can figure out a good number five starter, they will have a World Series level rotation. Johnny Cueto was brought in with that in mind so they might as well try him out. He has nothing else to prove in AAA and he can opt-out after the 15th of May.
Let’s not forget that Cueto was also a part of the San Francisco Giants staff in 2021. They were the best team in Major League Baseball based on record so that experience might be very nice for these young White Sox. We can only hope that this works out.