SOX’ REVIEW MIRROR
A look back at some of the highlights and lowlights in Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz.— The White Sox packed their bags and fled the desert Sunday, ay, six weeks of spring training in the he rearview rearviewmirror. mirror.
Looking back, ack, there’s good, bad and of ugly, strong too. o. performances The good consistg consisting from key players, the bad as in numerous injuries juries to top prospects — some sed
severe — and the ugly being one too o many uncalledunballs, for fly balls, one of which resulted ulted in an outfield crash involving openi ny ng- day left fielder Nicky Delmonico and utility infielder Tyler er Saladino.
That one could’ve been worse, but the Sox were due ue for some good fortune on the injury y front after weeks s of sprains, soreness eness and a rupture re inup involving key components of their promising rebuild.
As the Sox head for Charlotte for an exhibition against the Class AAA Knights ( 5: 05 p. m., NBCSCH+), let’s review how it all went down in the desert.
The good
Right- hander Lucas Giolito ( 2.04 ERA, 17 strikeouts, four walks in 17„ innings) followed a good lateseason showing by pitching like the best starter on the staff, picking up some velocity and commanding manding an assortment as of pitches that tha includes a curveball, slider s and two changeups. changeup He will follow opening- day d starter er James Shields Shie in the rotation. Second Seco baseman man Yoan Yoa Moncada da settled in nicely in the leadoff lea spot, finishing strong and bat batting .271 with eigh eight walks, three stolen bases and three home runs, including a 441- foot blast. Adam Engel, Enge getting another crack to start in center despite batting ba .166 last season beca because of his defense and sp speed, made more contac contact, batted .370 and slugged four home homers. Designated D hitter Matt Davidson v batted .328 with eight extra- base hits, including four homers, and led the Cactus League with 19 RBI.
Outfielder Eloy Jimenez managed to be a star in only nine plate appearances, blasting a pinch homer against the Cubs ( who traded him) and hitting a homer and triple in his next two at- bats the next day.
Right- handerNate Jones looked fit and ready to anchor the bullpen, logging seven scoreless appearances after elbow surgery in July.
The bad
In a rebuilding year, there was an air of intrigue going into camp, knowing top prospects would get exposure on the major- league side, but one injury after another drained some life from it, especially 2017 first- rounder JakeBurger’s ruptured Achilles tendon that will sideline him for a season. Outfielder Micker Adolfo was sidelined by a sprained ulnar collateral ligament ( but was and is able to get at- bats this season as a designated hitter). Outfield prospect Luis Robert’s sprained left thumb is in a cast because he caught it on a spike sliding into second base ( he would later homer with the sprain), right- hander Alec Hansen was halted by forearm soreness ( an MRI exam was clean) and Jimenez was limited because of knee tendinitis.
The ugly
The morning after a game in whichmore thanonefly ball or infield
pop wasmisplayed, manager Rick Renteria ran the squad through pop- up drills. But days later, Delmonico injured his left shoulder and Saladino suffered a concussion when Delmonico didn’t call for a ball. The good newswas both were said to be ready for opening day a week later, leaving the Sox better off health- wise on their opening- day roster than some teams that lost key players in the last week of camp.
All said and done
“All of us leave camp feeling you can do better,’’ Renteria said Sunday, his teamwell on itsway to victory against the Brewers and a 16- 12- 1 record in Arizona.
“In the beginning, we had some hiccups that we targeted to clean up our communication in the outfield and infield. We had some cutoffs and rundowns that ... didn’t develop well.’’
The Sox aren’t built to compete in 2018, but Renteria will keep the bar high on fundamentals.
“The mindset is to play as clean a game as we can,’’ he said.
As they say, that’s what spring training is for.
Let the real games begin.