The Chicago White Sox have reached the halfway point of the season, where they are on pace to win 52 games. While that is still an awful record to finish with, it would be an 11-game improvement from last year's historically awful team.
One reason the Sox are not on track to win more games is the bullpen. The pitching staff continues to blow leads. The White Sox lead the league in blown leads with 27.
While this year's team has a more positive feel to it than last year's losers, the White Sox are nearly halfway toward matching last season's 56 blown leads.
The bullpen has more promise this season than last year
Any positivity with this year's bullpen is because of the exciting young arms, such as Grant Taylor and Wikelman Gonzalez getting an opportunity. Steven Wilson is also throwing much better than last season. He was so bad in 2024 that he got designated for assignment in the offseason, but now he has a 1.73 ERA and looks like a valuable trade chip.
Veteran Dan Altavilla is making me eat my words by throwing well since getting called up to replace the injured Miguel Castro. His stuff has looked good, and he has been getting some big outs. Maybe the front office was correct to call him up before Taylor or another promising prospect such as Peyton Pallette.
The team's bullpen matters since the White Sox have been in a lot more close games. The White Sox have only been involved in 27 blowouts, where the team is 10-17 when the game is decided by five runs or more. Two thirds of the games the Sox have played, they have conceivably had a chance to win.
The club has played in 24 games decided by a run and the Sox are a shocking 4-20 in those tight games with 14 blown saves. If this year's team wants to finish with more than 52 wins, the bullpen must get better at sealing a victory.
There are some arms in the bullpen that are giving the Sox better outings lately, where the team has a shot at winning. Unlike last season, when the team had hardly any pitchers worth trusting in tight situations, this year's group has some guys worth putting your faith in.
Tier 1 - Trust these guys completely
Grant Taylor
Mike Vasil
Grant Taylor is just seven games into his big league career. He has been as good as advertised since getting promoted from Double-A Birmingham. His fastball has been lethal, with the velocity averaging 99.2 mph.
He passed his first test to be a closer by notching his first career save last Sunday against Toronto. Taylor has given up just two earned runs and walked one in eight innings. His potential to be an elite high-leverage reliever is showing with every outing.
Mike Vasil has been outstanding in long relief since being claimed off waivers before the season started. He is technically still a Rule 5 pick after the Tampa Bay Rays took him in the Rule 5 Draft, then cut him after he failed to make their Opening Day roster.
Long relief was first a role given to Vasil to hide him on the 26-man roster. Instead, he has found a way to pitch significant innings and provide value. He has also thrived in high-leverage situations.
He provided some big innings in Tuesday's game to keep the Sox not only in the game against Arizona, but also preserved the rest of the bullpen a day after Shane Smith could only last two innings in his start. That short outing by Smith sort of scuttled the idea of a bullpen game on Tuesday, and thankfully, Vasil ate a bunch of innings.
Diving into Vasil's numbers would indicate it is hard to trust him since he has a 4.71 FIP with his 2.82 ERA. He also has a 16.7 strikeout percentage to an 11.5 walk percentage. However, Vasil has been great at getting groundball outs with a 48.4 groundball percentage.
Tier 2 - Trusting they can still pitch well to build trade value
Steven Wilson
Dan Altavilla
Tyler Gilbert
Dan Altavilla's stuff has looked good since he was called up to replace the injured Miguel Castro. In his first eight games, he did not allow a single run. He has given up three earned runs since May 30, although those have come during his last three appearances.
If Altavilla can keep his ERA under 2.50, then maybe a contender will be interested in acquiring him at the deadline. his FIP being at 6.40 does not inspire a ton of confidence, so opefully he can be dealt sooner rather than later.
Altavilla has had games where he has had trouble throwing strikes. Despite the nice ERA, that high FIP is why it is hard to put him in the same category as Taylor or Vasil.
Steven Wilson was terrible last season after he came to the South Side in the trade that sent Dylan Cease to San Diego. He had an injury-riddled, ineffective 2024 season. He finished with a 5.71 ERA and was designated for assignment in the offseason.
Thankfully, Wilson chose to stay with the White Sox organization, because he has been very good since being added back to the 26-man roster. When his sweeper is working, Wilson is nearly unhittable. The hope is he maintains his elite numbers and entices a contender to give up a good prospect at the deadline.
Lefty Tyler Gilbert has spent a lot of time this year on the Injured List, but when he has been available, he has allowed just seven earned runs in 19 innings. During his last four outings, he has not given up a run with four strikeouts.
This would be another veteran lefty that, if he continues to pitch well, a contender might want to add to their bullpen for a stretch run.
Tier 3 - Getting close to earning complete trust
Tyler Alexander
Brandon Eisert
Alexander has been surprisingly solid since being claimed off waivers from Milwaukee. He has a 2.13 ERA in five appearances and 12.2 innings in a White Sox uniform, with his last two outings being strong.
However, Alexander came to the White Sox after struggling mightily for the Brewers this season. It's hard to let that go, which is why he still must do more to earn his way up the trust rankings.
Brandon Eisert has had some good outings, and he has also had outings where he has given up the lead. It really comes down to how good his stuff is that day. If he is locating well, he has been getting critical outs. Eisert's advanced numbers are really solid, but he hasn't had it produce consistent results just yet.
Eisert does seem like he has the potential to carve out a low-to-medium leverage lefty role in the long run. However, he too has some work to do.
Tier 4 - Hope he can be trustworthy
Wikelman González
Wikelman González has pitched in just two games since being called up to make his debut. The stuff looks promising, resulting in five strikeouts over four innings. But González needs to improve his command. He has walked four in those two outings.
His stuff has never been questioned. His fastball has an above-average 60 grade, with a curve, change, and slider all having solid 50 grades.
It is the control of his arsenal that has been a problem for him his entire pro career. Walks were an issue this season in the minors, where it got to the point that the club moved him to the bullpen. If he can command better in future appearances, then he has the potential to move up the trust tree.
Tier 5 - Do not trust at all
Jordan Leasure
I feel like all Jordan Leasure does is give up runs when he is called upon. At the beginning of the month, he had already allowed eight of the 13 inherited runners to score.
In the 20 appearances categorized as high leverage, Leasure has allowed 13 runs. It has been very hard not to get nervous when he enters the game.