White Sox Starting Pitching Takes A Hit
Just as it seems the White Sox get rolling, one of the starting pitchers goes on the IL. It was reported yesterday that Mike Clevinger would head to the injured list with an injury requiring him to miss at least one start. Considering the depth of starting pitching the White Sox have, this may finish them off if he is out for an extended period of time.
A Weak Offseason Will Hurt Them
The White Sox had a horrible start to the season. They had awful pitching and they couldn’t hit to save their lives. Now, after winning a few series, they are starting to find their groove. But, with the Clevinger injury, it complicates things.
For whatever reason, the White Sox did not address starting pitching depth in the offseason and now it will come back to bite them. The only move they made was signing Clevinger, and that filled the hole left behind by Johnny Cueto. Other than that, there were no notable moves to correct the depth.
Now, with the White Sox missing one of their starters, one that has pitched well enough to keep the Sox in a lot of games, they will scramble to find someone who can fill in for at least a start. If this is a short-term injury then the Sox will be okay, but if this is for a couple of weeks, then they may be done for.
It seems that Jesse Scholtens will be the man to step up and fill in for Clevinger. He pitched well when he was up in Chicago earlier in the year, but that was just a small sample size.
Scholtens currently has a 3.99 ERA in just under 40 innings in AAA. Those aren’t great numbers but considering the rest of the rotation in AAA, he may be the best option. If this is just for a spot start it will be a nice showcase for Scholtens, but we should have some concern if it is a long-term injury. Considering Clevinger’s past injury history, we can’t rule that out, even if it does seem minor.
Davis Martin’s Injury Looms Larger
In any other situation, Davis Martin would have been the obvious call-up and most would have felt good about him stepping in, as he pitched extremely well last year and was looking good in AAA so far this year. I was advocating for him to be on the major league club earlier this year, but unfortunately, we won’t see him at all.
It seems like the Sox may use a committee to cover Clevinger’s start, as it was reported that Jimmy Lambert is starting the game tonight for the White Sox.
Lambert was a starter in the minors for the most part, but that is no longer the case. At this point, I could see him going about 2 innings and then it is handed over to Scholtens for multiple innings. The White Sox really need him to step up and save the bullpen from getting taxed, as they are finally getting better.
There are no decent free-agent arms available so Scholtens really needs to hold down the fort for the time being. Wrist injuries can be tricky and hopefully, it will only cause Clevinger to miss a couple of starts. But, it could also open up a spot for Scholtens if he comes up big for the White Sox. Regardless, the Sox are only 6.5 games out of first surprisingly and have a chance to get right back in it.