The Chicago White Sox may have lost the game Tuesday night at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins but it would be false to say White Sox right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton wasn't marvelous in his debut which the club.
While it was a minimal performance, Middleton pitched to four batters and retired four batters. He ended up pitching 1.1 innings while striking out 3 (he struck out the side on his first three batters faced) and kept his ERA for the 2023 MLB season at zero.
Middleton impressed many of the White Sox community as he threw a controlled, high-velocity fastball along with a nasty off-speed arsenal. Middleton simply made the Twins' offense look silly. Hopefully, there is more of that to come for the newest member of the Chicago White Sox bullpen.
The White Sox's bullpen needs consistent producing arms in it and if Middleton does what he did Tuesday night, the fans of the south side should be expecting to hear and see his name come up a lot more than expected prior to when the year started.
Keynan Middleton was great in his Chicago White Sox debut on Tuesday.
Keynan Middleton struck out the side in his White Sox debut, touched 97 mph and got whiffs on both his slider and changeup. It was a strong first impression.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) April 12, 2023
The White Sox believe he could be an answer towards getting right-handed hitters out and he is expected to do so for the rest of the 2023 season. Thus far, it's a massive plus for the White Sox bullpen but yet again, it was a minimal performance and only his first appearance of the season.
Middleton is an arm that fits into the Chicago White Sox bullpen, especially once Garrett Crochet, Joe Kelly, and Liam Hendriks come back.
As a whole, and when collectively available, the bullpen has the potential to lock down many opposing hitting lineups. The problem is staying on the field throughout an entire MLB season which has been a problem for everyone since 2020.
Keynan Middleton, K'ing the Side pic.twitter.com/NR6dNne6WP
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 12, 2023
If the Chicago White Sox bullpen were 100 percent healthy bullpen-wise, the arms that would pitch in game-leading situations would most likely be Reynaldo Lopez, Aaron Bummer, Garrett Crochet, Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, Jake Diekman, Liam Hendriks, and now potentially Keynan Middleton.
It will be interesting to see how Middleton's season pans out. Hopefully, he remains a positive in what has been an up-and-down Chicago White Sox bullpen thus far.