"Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025

[jksander]

DRAFT DAY

The Boston Red Sox hold the #1 pick in this year’s draft, and we’ll pick fifth overall, behind Colorado, Pittsburgh and Seattle (who pick fourth due to a comp pick). Boston moved up all the way from 9th overall in the draft lottery, with Colorado gaining a spot to #2 and Pittsburgh gaining a spot to #3. Ours dropped from what originally should have given us the #2 pick, so in all future rounds beyond the first we get to pick second. We can’t complain too much though -- the San Francisco Giants originally held the #1 pick, and they dropped all the way to seventh overall, which is absolutely brutal. Minnesota has a comp pick at #17, along with Baltimore (#20), Cleveland (#28), Arizona (#30) and the Yankees (#36) and there are ten teams picking in the supplemental round following the first round ... so we pick 5th and then don’t pick again until 48th.

Of the players our scout has highlighted as having four star or above potential, only three are college-aged, and among the college aged players deeper into the draft, only 22 players are three star potential or better. So this is definitely not a draft where we’re hoping to find somebody who is a year or two away from the majors ... instead it’s heavy on development risks and players who show a ton of flash at the high school level but who may be fool’s gold. For that reason it’s an incredibly “up in the air” draft heading in, without a ton of clear favorites.

The first four picks in the draft were as follows:

1.1 -- Boston selects LHP Jordan Coker, 18, who may wind up being merely a lockdown closer if his third pitch doesn’t dev.
1.2 -- Colorado selected LF Scott Copeland, 18, who has the perfect power profile for Coors but very little defense ability.
1.3 -- Pittsburgh selected C Nick Spruell, 21, a Wichita State junior with decent framing and blocking and the eye not to strike out.
1.4 -- Seattle went with RF Rob Thomas, 17, with a good outfield arm but little to no range ... but he hits well.

None of them were on our radar, so we got the top pick on our board in 18-year-old left-hitting shortstop Grady Emerson, who has above-average contact potential, plus power potential and plus overall defensive ability at both shortstop and third base thanks to his excellent infield range, arm and ability to avoid errors. I’m very happy with this pick considering how much of a tossup some of these high-end first rounders look to be. If I’m going to go with a long-term risk, I’d rather take the one who could eventually be a top-tier defensive shortstop.

Round 1, Pick 5: SS Grady Emerson, 18 (Argyle HS, Argyle TX) -- 1.0/5.0 (Bonus: $12,000,000)
Round 2, Pick 48: SP Matéo Perret , 18 (International HS, St. Barts, SAI) -- 1.5/4.5 (Bonus: $1,600,000)*
Round 3, Pick 84: SP Greg Wygant, 17 (George W. Jenkins HS, Gibsonia FL) -- 1.5/4.0 (Bonus: $950,000**
Round 4, Pick 104: C Orlando Guajardo, 18 (Colegio Angelo David, Cabo Rojo PR) -- 1.0/3.5 (Bonus: $150,000)
Round 5, Pick 131: CF Willie Perez, 21 (University of Miami) -- 1.0/3.5 (Bonus: $750,000)***
Round 6, Pick 181: SP Ronnie Papagno, 18 (Rosemont HS, Rochester MN) -- 1.5/3.5 (Bonus: TBA)
Round 7, Pick 211: SS Brandon Mattox, 17 (Foss HS, Tacoma WA) -- 0.5/3.0
Round 8, Pick 241: RP Josh Wilson, 18 (Phillips Academy, Salem NH) -- 1.5/3.0
Round 9, Pick 271: CF Malachi Washington, 18 (Parkview HS, Lilburn GA) -- 0.5/3.0
Round 10, Pick 301: SP Jonathan Rodriguez, 17 (Silverado HS, Las Vegas NV) -- 1.5/3.0
Round 11, Pick 331: C Jason Fine, 18 (Milton HS, Westwood MA) -- 0.5/3.0
Round 12, Pick 361: 1B Rich Knepp, 18 (Ridgewood HS, Green OH) -- 0.5/2.5
Round 13, Pick 391: SP Dane Burns, 21 (Illinois State University) -- 1.5/2.5
Round 14, Pick 421: SP Seung-Hyeon Jang, 21 (Vanderbilt University) -- 1.5/2.5
Round 15, Pick 451: SP Taylor Leonard, 18 (Somers HS, Williston Park NY) -- 1.5/2.5
Round 16, Pick 481: RF Garrett Gregorio, 18 (Owasso HS, Los Angeles CA) -- 0.5/2.0
Round 17, Pick 511: SP Jason Muirhead, 22 (Loyola University, New Orleans) -- 1.5/2.0***
Round 18, Pick 541: SP Caden Marcum, 22 (University of Tennessee) -- 1.0/2.0
Round 19, Pick 571: 3B Tanner Zellem, 23 (University of Tennessee) -- 0.5/1.5
Round 20, Pick 601: CF Jason Avila, 22 (Florida State University) -- 0.5/1.5

* Peret profiles as a strikeout machine, with his stuff through the roof but his control ... not so much. His velocity is at 93-95 now, but could eventually reach 100+, so at this spot in the draft I’m fine with him if he becomes an elite closer even if his changeup never meets the potential of his fastball and splitter.

** A real steal in this round, Wygant profiles as a potential ace and even at 17 he looks like he’s not too far from being ready for Kannapolis. He has a potentially elite fastball, curve, changeup and sinker combo, but needs seasoning to develop his control. Would be turning down a scholarship at Arizona to join our minors.

*** Playing in the MLB Draft League

[jksander]

July 11, 2026: The draft is in the books, and tonight we’re ready to take on Kansas City in game two out of three, Drew Rasmussen (4-4, 3.26 ERA, 85.2 IP, 87 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) pitching against Michael Wacha (4-8, 3.69 ERA, 102.1 IP, 86 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). It’s rainy and cool, but the place is packed as has become the norm this season, and we were ready for business from the first pitch. We got four hits in the first two innings, all into left field thanks to the wind, but neither team could get anyone around to score as the clouds hung low over the stadium. Rasmussen was injured midway through the top of the third, and it wasn’t immediately clear what happened ... Sean Burke took over out of the bullpen with two outs and nobody on, getting us out of the inning safely, but the crowd was on edge, as injuries often lead. Two walks and a balk put us in good position in the bottom of the inning, however, and Heston Kjerstad got us on the board by hitting a line drive into right, scoring the game’s first run. Tauchman hit a sac-fly to add one on, giving Burke a two-run cushion as he came out in the fourth for his first full inning of the game. Burke got us through the fifth unblemished, and in the bottom of the inning we added on a run with two outs, thanks to an RBI single from Brandon Valenzuela! Eduard Bazardo took over in the sixth with a three-run lead, and Ryan Weber took the ball from him with two outs and men on first and second, Michael Massey hitting a flyout to right to get us out of the inning with the shutout intact. We brought out Ryan Helsley in the top of the eighth and he got through the inning with just a walk ... but in the top of the ninth Vinnie Pasquantino reached first on an error, Michael Massey advanced him to third with a flyball double, and Blake Mitchell hit an RBI single on one out to get them on the board. With runners on the corners, Ben Joyce took over for Helsley, walking Yunior Severino to load the bases, and a wild pitch drove in run number two ... Christ! A pop-fly to short left held the runners and got us our second out, however, with leadoff man Gavin Cross coming to the plate. He popped out to right field, and we were able to escape this with a 3-2 victory.

Burke got the win, improving to 7-4 with a 2.1 inning effort after Rasmussen’s injury exit ... no hits, a walk and a pair of strikeouts improving his ERA to 4.41. Bazardo (10), Weber (5) and Helsley (8) got holds, and Joyce came out in a tough spot and earned his 14th save, walking one batter and improving his ERA to 4.94. We outhit them 10-4 and yet the game was incredibly tight in the end, which goes to show you can’t count a game as won before you finish. Valenzuela led the way with three hits and an RBI, as our young catcher pushes his average closer to .300 (he’s at .294 right now with 15 doubles, nine homers and 40 RBIs, giving him 3.5 WAR).

Orlando Guajardo, our fourth rounder, accepted his $150,000 signing bonus and will join our organization officially, the 18-year-old heading to our rookie team in the Arizona Complex League. Our scouts favor him more than the OSA folks do, and he’s highly adaptable as a player so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do once he gets a chance to play against other solid prospects.If he can reach his potential as a defensive catcher, I really like what he could be for our team in the future, because he also has the potential to hit for a high average with impact power.

Rasmussen’s diagnosis remains pending, and we’ll avoid sending him to the IL until we know the full extent. He’s being sent for additional scans tomorrow.

July 12, 2026: Another rainy, albeit warmer, afternoon for tonight’s final game against the Royals, and we’ve got Dylan Cease (4-4, 3.43 ERA, 102.1 IP, 116 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) pitching against Cole Ragans (8-7, 4.17 ERA, 99.1 IP, 108 K’s, 1.49 WHIP). And this was quickly a duel to the extreme ... neither team got a hit in the first three innings, as both pitchers were locked in. With one out in the bottom of the fourth we got the first hit of the game when Bellinger hit a flyball single into center, but nothing came of it. Cease got through the fifth without a hit, but he’d walked four against nine strikeouts, so he was already at 81 pitches when the inning ended. He blew the no-hitter in the sixth when leadoff-man Jace Jung hit a single into right, but he stranded him on second with three quick outs to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom of the inning we had our first real opportunity ... with runners on the corners, Ceddanne Rafaela came up to hit, but he hit into a fielder’s choice and the game remained deadlocked at zero as Noah Syndergaard came out to take the mound. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Kansas City broke the stalemate when Nick Loftin hit a solo shot out of left to put them up 1-0 via their second hit of the game and the fifth for both teams combined. Ragans was still going in the bottom of the inning, and he got through the seventh without letting any of our guys on base. Syndergaard got us through the top of the eighth without anyone scoring -- despite runners on second and third -- and we loaded the bases on one out in the bottom of the inning ... Bellinger popped out to shallow center, holding the runners, but we finally caught a break when Rafaela hit a three-run double to shoot us into the lead! Jose Alvarado took over in the top of the ninth with a freshly-minted two-run lead, and he got two quick outs ... Nelson Velasquez then singled into right, and Nick Loftin batted him into scoring position with another single, bringing up flashes of last night in our heads. It got tense as hell in here when Joey Weimer walked the bases loaded, which brought up pinch-hitter Mickey Gasper ... but he popped out harmlessly to right, stranding all three runners as we won 3-1 to complete the sweep!

Cease had a great game, putting up six innings of work with one hit, four walks and nine strikeouts, but Syndergaard got the win after two hard-fought innings, allowing just one hit, one walk and one run with two K’s, improving to 4-2 with a 6.23 ERA. Alvarado earned his first save of the year with a hit and two walks, and we outdueled the Royals on hits 5-3. Rafaela was the star of the night, getting one hit and batting in all three of our runs thanks to his well-timed double.
 
The news regarding Drew Rasmussen is in, and it is a complete disaster ... he’s been diagnosed with a stretched elbow ligament that, while not torn, is going to require at least 10-11 months to recover. His season is over, and though it shouldn’t end his career at age 30, there’s no way to know how he’ll recover from the requisite surgery. We have a team option on his contract for next year with a no-cost buyout, so it’s now a near certainty we’ll exercise that option in the fall rather than paying him $8 million for a season he could possibly miss in its entirety with any setbacks. We’ve put him on the 60-day IL for now, and we’re calling up Shane Smith from AAA Charlotte to take his place. Smith has gone 6-7 this year in the minors with a 6.50 ERA and 103 strikeouts through 101 innings, giving him 1.3 WAR. The 26-year-old went 6-4 for us last year in the majors with a 4.10 ERA and 85 K’s in 90 innings, but had -1.1 WAR ... so we’re hoping he’ll fare better this year in that regard.

We’re hitting the road for our final stretch before the All Star break, with three games against the LA Angels (41-49, 4th AL West) and four against the Minnesota Twins (41-49, 4th AL Central). We’re on a three game winning streak and have gone 9-2 so far in the month of July, bringing a 54-35 record into the trip.

[jksander]

July 13, 2026: We’d expected some nice sunny weather when we flew into Los Angeles, but instead we were greeted with clouds and a strong wind blowing in, with temps in the mid-60s for our first game against the Angels. Not great July weather for so-cal this time of year, but I guess it beats temps in the 90s and sweltering sun. Zac Gallen (10-2, 3.06 ERA, 109.0 IP, 91 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) started for us against Aaron Civale (5-1, 1 SV, 4.18 ERA, 66.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.30 WHIP), and we took a quick lead when Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single to drive in a run in the top of the first. Gary Sanchez hit a solo blast out of left that added on in the top of the second, and moments later Yordys Valdes, hitting in the one spot today, hit an RBI single to drive in another! Incredibly, early in the top of the fourth inning RAIN started to fall ... in LA, in July! ... a misty drizzle that sparkled in the bright stadium lights as Lipcius got on base with a leadoff single. Moments later they grazed Meidroth on the shoulder to load the bases, but we left them that way and went into the bottom of the inning still up 3-0. Tauchman scored off a single by Colson Montgomery in the top of the fifth to extend our lead to four runs, and Gallen lasted through the eighth inning before looking like he’d broken a sweat at all. Tauchman hit an RBI single to pile on in the ninth, and Sam Burke came out for the bottom of the inning leading by five, getting two strikeouts and a flyball to left as we crushed the Angels 5-0. Gallen dominated the game, pitching eight innings with four hits, no walks, no runs and 12 strikeouts, and Burke improved his ERA to 4.35 ... he hasn’t given up a run, earned or otherwise, in ten days, a stretch covering six innings over four appearances! We outhit the Angels 13-4, led by the red-hot swing of Brooks Lee, who had three hits, a walk and a run scored ... the 25-year-old is hitting .342 this year as a defensive backup, with ten doubles, a triple and a homer through 76 at-bats in 30 appearances.

July 14, 2026: Our number one pick, Grady Emerson, accepted his $12 million bonus this morning, so he took his place on our ACL team. This evening we played our second game against the Angels, and the skies were clear this time around, though it was still crisp and cool out. Jonathan Cannon (2-0, 3 SV, 3.00 ERA, 45.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) got the start, facing Reid Detmers (4-7, 5.08 ERA, 79.2 IP, 101 K’s, 1.43 WHIP). Cody Bellinger got us going with a three-run blast out of right in the top of the third, his 20th homer of the season, and seconds later Ceddanne Rafaela hit a solo shot to center-right, his ninth, to give us a 4-0 lead! With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth a sac-fly by Ha-seong Kim added another run, and the rout was on ... Kjerstad batted in two more with a single, and with two outs Rafaela hit a screaming double down the left field line to drive in two more! Tauchman batted him home with a single to put us up 10-0, and they looked completely gutted when they finally got to come back up to hit. They did get on the board, however -- a two-run blast out of right by Zach Neto got the fans who had stuck around onto their feet, cutting our lead to eight, and in the bottom of the fifth Neto hit another, a two-run blast again out of right to get them within six. In the top of the sixth we extended the lead with an RBI single by Tauchman that was coupled with an E7 throwing error, and with runners in scoring position Andre Lipcius added on another pair with a single into right. The Angels were in meltdown mode by that point, as Jack Kochanowicz beaned Montgomery and Kim back to back, loading the bags ... but they got out of the inning with us up 13-4, avoiding abject destruction. Merryweather took over for us in the bottom of the sixth with the commanding lead, and a three-run homer by Lipcius in the top of the seventh put the nails in with a vengeance. Ryan Weber pitched in the bottom of the ninth as a mop-up guy, and the Angels loaded the bases on two outs but couldn’t get anything in ... we won with ease 16-4, and so far they’ve shown zero fight against us as their season seems to be melting away. Jonathan Cannon improved to 3-0 with a 3.42 ERA, lasting five innings with five hits, a walk, six strikeouts and four earned runs, but our bullpen shut them out as we outhit them 16-10! Ceddanne Rafaela hit three times for three runs and three RBIs, while Andre Lipcius added two hits, a walk, two runs and five RBIs alongside Heston Kjerstad, who hit three times with three runs and two batted in.
 
July 15, 2026: It’s our last day playing the Angels in LA, and we have Noah Schultz (8-4, 2.15 ERA, 113.0 IP, 136 K’s, 0.79 WHIP) pitching against Caden Dana (7-4, 1 SV, 2.79 ERA, 58.0 IP, 60 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). In the first two games we’d had our way with the Angels, outscoring them 21-4, and tonight we got off to a quick start again, taking the lead in the top of the second with an RBI single by Tauchman. Moments later we had the bases loaded, one out, with Yordys Valdez at the plate ... he hit one into shallow center, driving in a run to keep them loaded, and Ha-seong Kim hit a sac-fly into left that drove in a third! The Angels got on the board with a sac-fly in the bottom of the fourth by Andrew Vaughn, but we held our lead and Shane Smith took over for Schultz in the bottom of the sixth still leading 3-1. In the bottom of the seventh the Angels got another run back, this time off an RBI double by Daz Cameron, and we brought out Helsley in the bottom of the eighth to try and hold it. But the Angels tied it up with a solo homer on two outs by Nolan Schanuel, and this one was definitely trending in the home-team’s direction. They shut us down in the ninth, so we went to Sean Burke in the bottom of the inning, and just like that this one was headed for extra innings tied 3-3. In the top of the 10th we loaded the bases with no outs, but they used a lot of defensive guile to get out of the jam and nobody scored. Noah Syndergaard took over in the bottom of the inning, and he got one out before the Angels pounced, Luis Arraez hitting a walk-off single to score Scott Kingery as they took the 4-3 win. Syndergaard took the loss, falling to 4-3 with a 6.18 ERA, though the run was unearned. We outhit them 10-5, but they were hungrier down the stretch, and we couldn’t score after the second inning volley. Valenzuela hit three times with a run scored, and Tauchman added two hits, a run and an RBI.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak, so we’ll take our 56-36 record onward to Minnesota where we’ll face the 42-50 Twins for four games as we draw closer to the All Star break. Matt Canterino and Miguel Vargas will start rehab assignments today, and we hope to have both back on the roster when we come back from the break, though we’re 20 games over .500 so we don’t have to rush anyone to come back too quickly.

[jksander]

July 16, 2026: Dylan Cease (4-4, 3.24 ERA, 108.1 IP, 125 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) pitched against Pablo Lopez (4-6, 3.75 ERA, 103.1 IP, 95 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) in game one against the Twins, and Minnesota broke through in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Danny Jansen to take a 1-0 lead. Cease was pitching on short rest and got an out in the fifth, but we weren’t willing to push him any further and brought out Syndergaard with nobody on. He got one out, and then leadoff hitter Luke Keaschall slammed one out of left to extend the Minnesota lead to two. They kept hitting, Byron Buxton adding on with an RBI single, and we were in a 3-0 hole heading into the top of the sixth. We got on the board in the top of the sixth, with an RBI double by Meidroth, and Julian Merryweather took the ball in the bottom of the inning. We got another run back in the top of the seventh when Andre Lipcius reached first on an E6 error, scoring Tauchman from third, and Jose Alvarado came out to pitch after the stretch, striking out the side to keep us firmly in this one! Ryan Helsley took the ball with two outs and a man on second in the bottom of the eighth, and he got us into the top of the ninth with a chance to rally. But they brought out their closer, Jhoan Duran, the man with 23 saves and a reputation as THE lockdown closer of our division ... and it didn’t matter! Cody Bellinger hit his 21st homer, a solo shot out of left that almost went into the upper deck, and just like that we were tied 3-3! Unable to get the lead, we brought out Ben Joyce in a bid for back-to-back extra innings games, and he did the job with two fly-outs and a strikeout ... bring on the 10th! Too bad we had no offensive pop left in us ... they shut us down in the top of the 10th and in the bottom of the inning Matt Wallner singled and after a swinging strike by Buxton, Carlos Correa stole home on an E2 error and we lost our second in a row by a 4-3 margin. Joyce took the loss, falling to 6-5 with a 4.78 ERA, allowing a hit and an unearned run with one strikeout ... they outhit us 11-8, Bellinger leading our offense with two hits, a run and an RBI.

Greg Wygant, our third round pick this year, accepted his $950,000 bonus and will join our Arizona rookie league, but he’s looking good enough out of high school that it is very possible he could be in Kannapolis by next season with our single-A team.

July 17, 2026: Zac Gallen (11-2, 2.85 ERA, 117.0 IP, 103 K’s, 1.03 WHIP) started against Joe Musgrove (4-9, 4.55 ERA, 89.0 IP, 75 K’s, 1.42 WHIP) in game two of this four game set, and this time we took the lead in the top of the first off an RBI double by Brandon Valenzuela. But the lead only lasted us until the bottom of the fifth, when Edouard Julien grounded out to first, driving home Matt Wallner to tie us up 1-1. We got the lead back in the top of the sixth when Brandon Valenzuela hit into a fielder’s choice, making it to first safely when they couldn’t pick Chase Meidroth off at home plate. Colson Montgomery hit his first major league homer in the top of the ninth to add some insurance, and Ben Joyce took over for Gallen in the bottom of the inning, pitching around two baserunners to help us clinch the 3-1 victory! Gallen was incredible, lasting eight innings with three hits, one walk, one earned run and nine strikeouts, throwing 100 pitches on four days’ rest! Joyce saved his 15th game of the year, and we outhit the Twins 8-5, led by Montgomery who had two hits, a run and an RBI, while Meidroth notched two hits and two runs.

Matéo Perret, our second rounder, accepted his $1.6 million bonus and is now headed to our Dominican rookie team. We’re still waiting for our 4th and 6th rounders to sign on the dotted line.
 
July 18, 2026: Ryan Weber (1-3, 2 SV, 25.0 IP, 14 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) got the start out of the bullpen this afternoon in game three against the Twins, and we were hoping he could at least get through the lineup once against their starter Louie Varland (3-6, 4.78 ERA, 81.0 IP, 68 K’s, 1.25 WHIP). He wound up getting us through the third, and in the top of the fourth Brandon Valenzuela hit a solo homer, his 10th of the year, over the center field wall to put us up 1-0! Weber got us two outs in the fourth and then we went to the pen, bringing out Sean Burke, who got us out of the inning still leading by a run. In the top of the fifth Mike Tauchman hit a two-run double to extend our lead, and Eduard Bazardo took the ball at the start of the sixth inning still leading by three. The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer by Joc Pederson, but we got it back quickly in the seventh off a Tauchman RBI single, and a wild pitch scored another, sending us into the stretch leading 5-1. Julian Merryweather got the ball from Bazardo with two outs and men on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, getting a flyout off the bat of Jacob Stallings to send us into the eighth still leading by four. We added on a run in the top of the ninth, and with the lead at five we kept Merryweather out to finish the game ... he pitched around a single baserunner and shut them down, completing the 6-1 blowout win! Burke got the win, improving to 8-4 with a 4.24 ERA by giving us 1.1 innings with a walk and two K’s, while Bazardo then lasted 1.2 innings with three hits, five strikeouts and an earned run for his 11th hold of the year. Merryweather picked up a three-inning save, allowing three hits and nothing else as we got through the bullpen game in style. Our bats were potent, outhitting them 15-9, led by Tauchman who had three hits and four runs batted in, while Kjerstad set him up well with three hits and three runs scored himself.

We have one game remaining before the All Star break, and we definitely need the rest time for our pitching staff ... but we’re continuing to stun the baseball world by being one of the most consistently good teams in the league this year.

We have five players who have made this year’s All Star game!

- SP Noah Schultz (8-4, 2.14 ERA, 118.0 IP, 0.78 WHIP, 10.8 K/9, 4.0 WAR)
- RP Eduard Bazardo (5-0, 2.42 ERA, 48.1 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 0.3 WAR)
- C Brandon Valenzuela (.290/.373/.490, 259 AB, 10 HR, 137 wRC+, 3.8 WAR)
- LF Heston Kjerstad (.337/.399/.512, 246 AB, 10 HR, 147 wRC+, 2.5 WAR)
- RF Cody Bellinger (.299/.355/.544, 344 AB, 21 HR, 8 SB, 142 wRC+, 3.4 WAR)

Willie Perez, our fifth round draft pick, signed his contract and accepted his $750,000 signing bonus. The 21-year-old is currently hitting .180 for West Virginia in the MLB Draft League, and will then likely go in August to Kannapolis, our single-A team in the Carolina league to finish out this year.

July 19, 2026: Jonathan Cannon (3-0, 3.42 ERA, 50.0 IP, 47 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) pitched against Joe Ryan (2-5, 4.59 ERA, 100.0 IP, 86 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) in our final game against the Twins. They outhit us in the early goings, but neither team was able to get any scoring on the board, until the top of the fifth when Bellinger hit a solo shot out of left for his 22nd dinger of the season, giving us a 1-0 lead. Heston Kjerstad hit a three-run blast to just about the same spot in the top of the sixth to extend our lead by four, and by the time they got out of the inning we held a firm grip on a 6-0 lead. Noah Syndergaard took over in the bottom of the inning and Shane Smith came out with two outs and a man on in the bottom of the eighth, at which point the Twins were able to get on the board with an RBI single from Matt Wellner. It didn’t matter, we held tough to win easily 6-1 and we’ll head into the All Star break with a 59-37 record! Jonathan Cannon improved to 4-0 with a 3.11 ERA, allowing six hits with a walk and a strikeout through five shutout innings. We wound up matching them on hits with 10 each, led by Bellinger who had three hits, two runs and an RBI ... that gets him up to .305 ahead of his All Star appearance!

[jksander]

July 20, 2026: Cody Bellinger made it into the home-run challenge this year, giving White Sox fans who had made the trip to Loan Depot Park in Miami something good to cheer about. In round one he faced off against Nolan Gorman of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he put up 23 homers to the 22 Gorman offered up, getting him a shot at Joey Gallo in the second round! Gallo had destroyed Baltimore’s Marcell Ozuna in the first round 27-17, but this time he only put up 23 in his four minutes, so Bellinger certainly wasn’t out of his league ... at one point in the round he hit six in a row, and in the final minute he hit two to get over the hump, finishing with 24 and a win with just over 40 seconds to spare! That earned him a shot at Shohei Ohtani in the final round ... Ohtani had beaten Aaron Judge 33-32 in the first round and Cal Raleigh 26-25 in the second. He went first, knocking in 19, and suddenly this looked like Bellinger’s to win ... and after a very slow start, with just four dingers in his first minute, the wind began to work in his favor! With :45 left on the clock he slammed his 19th over the wall, and #20 followed a few seconds later, as Cody Bellinger became this year’s Home Run Derby champion!

In other news, starter Brandon Pfaadt was ready to come off the IL today, so we sent him to start his rehab assignment in the minors. He’s been out battling elbow inflamation since May 13th, after starting the season for us with a 2-1 record, a 4.08 ERA and 28 K’s in 28.2 innings.
 
July 21, 2026: It’s All Star Game day, and all eyes are on the stars of Major League baseball in this fan-friendly exhibition showcase event! The Marlins’ stadium was packed to the rafters with fans who were lucky enough to score tickets, and Chris Sale (NL) and Garrett Crochet (AL) were the official “starting” pitchers for the game. Noah Schultz came out to pitch in the bottom of the second, the game still scoreless, and though he loaded the bases, nobody made it around to score ... a solid All Star debut for the young phenom! The game turned into a real pitcher’s duel, which is crazy considering each inning featured a new round of pitchers, and you could sense the fans getting restless wanting SOMEONE to score. The NL thought they had their chance in the bottom of the fifth when Jeimer Candelario hit a blistering double into right field, but Mariners pitcher Hunter Harvey struck out Brady House and got Etsuo Den to fly out to left and this game went into the sixth as a scoreless affair. But the National League did finally break through with an RBI double by Jefferson Quero into center field, putting them ahead 1-0, Shane McClanahan giving up the earned run on their seventh hit of the game, while our AL hitters had just one hit to our name. A number of fans booed loudly in the bottom of the seventh when Jeimer Candelario hit into a fielder’s choice, with the out coming at home ... preventing another NL run, but they got what they wanted in the bottom of the eighth when Max Kepler hit an RBI double to extend the NL lead to 2-0. We left runners on the corners in the top of the ninth, and the National League stumped us in the end by that same 2-0 margin. If you wanted offense, this was as dull an All Star game as you’ll see.

Bellinger had a walk and a strikeout, and Kjerstad had two strikeouts ... poor Brandon Valenzuela didn’t do anything in his at-bats. Schultz had a great inning with a hit, a walk and a strikeout, no runs, but Eduard Bazardo didn’t even get into the game ... he and Sonny Gray, along with third-backup catcher Cal Raleigh, were the only players to not get a chance to play in the game. The NL’s Jefferson Quero (two hits, a run and an RBI) was named All Star MVP as the NL All Stars outhit us 11-3.

July 22, 2026: We’ve made a series of promotions within our minors for the final stretch of the season. Below are our key players and their new teams, along with the stats they accrued this season at the previous level. Nobody at the moment is being considered to move up from AA to AAA, and it is becoming clear to me that this offseason I’m going to need to clean house in A+ through AAA of players who are close to “aging out” beyond being actual useful pieces in our development system.

AA -- Birmingham Barons (Southern League)
SP Riley Gowens, 26 (7-4, 3.46 ERA, 93.2 IP, 135 K’s, 1.23 WHIP, 1.3 WAR)

A+ -- Winston-Salem Dash (South Atlantic League)
3B Sam Antonacci, 23 (.270/.379/.356, 15 2B, 23 RBI, 24 SB, 1.7 WAR)
RP Brett Barfield, 22 (1-1, 2 SV, 1.79 ERA, 45.1 IP, 61 K’s, 0.84 WHIP, 1.0 WAR)
CF Bryce Blaser, 22 (.278/.381/.337, 21 RBI, 6 SB, 1.1 WAR)
CL Estarlin Escalante, 22 (3-4, 13 SV, 36.2 IP, 52 K’s, 1.50 WHIP, 0.7 WAR)
SP Blake Larson, 20 (8-3, 3.44 ERA, 96.2 IP, 147 K’s, 1.33 WHIP, 3.1 WAR)

A -- Kannapolis Cannonballers (Carolina League)
3B Hendry Chivilli, 20 (.268/.433/.500, 11 2B, 28 RBI, 5 SB, 1.3 WAR)
CF Brock Sell, 19 (.302/.411/.434, 20 RBI, 17 SB, 1.0 WAR)

Of our players at AAA right now, the most likely to get a call-up late in the season would be:

- RF Calvin Mitchell, 27 (.340/.416/.621, 21 2B, 19 HR, 53 RBI, 5 SB, 1.4 WAR)
- SP Mason Adams, 26 (7-9, 5.70 ERA, 109.0 IP, 96 K’s, 1.50 WHIP, 1.3 WAR)

I’m pleased with the lower levels of our minors, but most of our farm system is young players with a ton of development yet to happen. Ryan Reich, at AA, is our top prospect (#31 BNN) and he’s currently at AA with a 5-4 record and a 4.04 ERA and putting up just shy of a game in WAR ... but he won’t be ready for AAA until next year at the least, and at 22 I don’t see the point in rushing him. Hagen Smith (#86 BNN) is at AAA but still super raw at 22 ... and Colson Montgomery has done moderately well in his 12 games up at the major league level but is not ready to stay up ... he’ll return to AAA once Vargas is done with his rehab stint, most likely by the time Toronto comes to town after our upcoming series against Houston this weekend. There’s a reason our farm system is currently ranked 21st out of 30 teams. But we’re winning games at the big league level, so we have time to start rebuilding the system through the draft and see where that can take us.

We return to action on the 24th with three games against Houston (44-54, 5th AL West) here in Chicago, followed by four against Toronto (47-49, 5th AL East). We’ll then hit the road for three in Cleveland (50-47, 2nd AL Central) before returning to Chicago for three against Arizona (46-50, 3rd NL West) and three against Detroit (42-56, 5th AL Central). We’ll face some tougher teams in the later half of August, but for now we have a chance to build off this break and finish what we started during the first half.

[jksander]

MLB standings effective July 22, 2026.

[jksander]

July 24, 2026: We’re back from the All Star break and on the south side in front of our fans, and Noah Schultz (8-4, 2.14 ERA, 118.0 IP, 142 K’s, 0.78 WHIP) is good to go against the Astros’ Hunter Brown (6-10, 5.22 ERA, 100.0 IP, 98 K’s, 1.62 WHIP). We took the lead in the bottom of the first, Heston Kjerstad hitting an RBI double that scored Ha-seong Kim from second, but they tied it up in the top of the third with an RBI triple by Jeremy Peña on two outs. Heston Kjerstad hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to get us back into the lead, and though we held it through the fourth, Schultz was sloppy and loaded the bases, throwing his way into the 70s and shortening his afternoon significantly. But he got through the fifth thanks to two key strikeouts with runners on the corners, so it wasn’t a bad effort in the end. We added a run in the bottom of the fifth off a double by Kjerstad, and Bellinger followed that with a two-run homer that solidified our lead going into the sixth, up 6-1 as Noah Syndergaard took over on the mound. He was impressive as ever, shutting them down efficiently the rest of the way, and we won by that same 6-1 margin. Schultz pitched five innings with three hits, a walk, nine strikeouts and one earned run, and Syndergaard earned a four inning save, his second save of the season, throwing 38 pitches with no hits and two strikeouts! He now has a 5.82 ERA through 51 innings and has adjusted well to his new bullpen role. We outhit the Astros 6-3, led by Kjerstad who was stellar with three hits, two runs and four RBIs. He’s currently hitting .343 and has earned 2.9 WAR, with a +6.4 zone rating in left field as a defensive power as well.

July 25, 2026: With yesterday’s win we hit the 60-win mark on the season, just eight away from tying last year’s entire win output! We’re currently on track for 100 wins, which would tie our club record set back in 1917 when we won the World Series. That’s a staggering improvement over a two year span, considering our 40-win season in 2024, but we still have to fight through the rest of the season to get there. This afternoon Zac Gallen (12-2, 2.74 ERA, 125.0 IP, 112 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) pitched against Luis Castillo (9-8, 5.62 ERA, 97.2 IP, 95 K’s, 1.54 WHIP), and this time Houston took the lead first, an RBI single by Jake Meyers putting them up 1-0 in the top of the second. We tied it up in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Andre Lipcius, but the Astros retook the lead in the top of the sixth with a two-out solo homer by Yandy Diaz to make it 2-1 heading into the bottom of the inning. We loaded the bases on one out in the bottom of the seventh, and a sac-fly by Kjerstad drove in the tying run, but we weren’t able to get a lead. Gallen stayed out and got three quick outs to get us through the eighth, and when we weren’t able to get a lead in the bottom of the inning Ryan Helsley took over for him in the top of the ninth. Still knotted up 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, we weren’t able to get any offense going and this game went on into extras. Helsley got two outs in the top of the 10th and then let Jake Myers hit a two-run homer to put them up by a pair. With two outs and men on the corners in the bottom of the inning, Ceddane Rafaela came to the plate, took the count to 2-2, and then slammed a three run homer of his own over the wall in right ... WALK OFF WIN, we won 5-4! Gallen had a great night with eight innings and just four hits, two runs and nine strikeouts, but Helsley held strong with two innings and just two hits, two runs (one earned) and two strikeouts as he improved to 3-2 with a 3.30 ERA. We outhit the Astros 8-6, led by Rafaela who had two hits, a run and the three RBIs, thanks to his 10th homer of the year that couldn’t have come at a better time!

July 26, 2026: Dylan Cease (4-4, 3.20 ERA, 112.2 IP, 131 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) took the ball tonight as we looked to keep our win streak going past five games against the Astros, who started Merrill Kelly in his first game since getting called up from AAA. The 37-year-old is wrecked and it’s pretty clear Houston is running out of options in their rotation. Bellinger got us on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double, and Ceddanne Rafaela hit an RBI single to add on, giving us a quick 2-0 lead. Brandon Valenzuela hit a solo bomb out of right in the bottom of the second, and Chase Meidroth picked up his 50th walk of the season in the bottom of the fourth, driving in another run. A sac-fly by Kjerstad made it a five-run lead and moments later Bellinger brought his RBI total to 60 on the year with a two-run double as this one became a rout! Rafaela batted him home with a single, and we went into the top of the fifth leading 8-0. Kjerstad hit a solo bomb out of right in the bottom of the sixth, and Shane Smith took over in the top of the eighth with a nine-run lead at his back. Heston Kjerstad hit another homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Smith completed the shutout as we cruised past the Astros 10-0 for the sweep. Cease improved to 5-4 with a 3.01 ERA, allowing just two hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in his seven innings, while Smith got through his two without a single baserunner. We outhit them 15-2, a dominating performance led by Kjerstad, who was 4-4 with three hits and three RBIs, including his 13th and 14th homers of the year!

The Minnesota Twins sent us an offer for Matt Canterino and Brandon Pfaadt, two players we have currently rehabbing in Charlotte, offering up 34-year-old reliever Brock Stewart in return ... Stewart is on a $2.8 million contract and is still arbitration eligible in the offseason, but they’re offering to pay 50% of his remaining salary to balance out the deal. He has put up a record of 7-3 with three saves, 47 K’s in 43.1 innings, and a 1.13 WHIP, good for 1.2 pitching WAR. We were going to have a roster crunch if we had to find spots for Canterino and Pfaadt in our current rotation, and Stewart is a solid addition to our bullpen who will give us another late innings lock-down option. So we’re making the trade. We’re waiving Syndergaard to make room for him on our 26-man roster, and Stewart will step in immediately as a high leverage stopper.

We’ve also sent Colson Montgomery back down to AAA to make room for Miguel Vargas to return from his rehab assignment. Montgomery could come back up in September if we need him, but he has 19 days of MLB service time this year, and we’ll have to be careful if we don’t want to blow his PPI eligibility ahead of next season.

We’ll put our six-game winning streak to the test starting tomorrow when Toronto (47-51) comes to town for four games.