DIGGING FOR TREASURE
Celebrating Sox isn’t easy during historically bad start, but a handful of young pitchers still offer some hope
Nick Nastrini one game, Jonathan Cannon the next.
Let’s see what you’ve got.
There’s a search party going on — a hunt for reasons to watch the White Sox, who at 2-14 are off to their worst start ever.
Outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is hurt, and so is third baseman Yoan Moncada — not a rare occurrence for either player. The lineup is filled with 30-somethings such as outfielders Robbie Grossman and Kevin Pillar, who were signed to minor-league deals late in spring training; Paul DeJong, signed to a relatively inexpensive one-year, $1.75 million deal in the offseason, and catcher Martin Maldonado, who’s batting .065 in 10 games.
The pitching staff is filled with starters trying to prove they belong as credible rotation pieces: Michael Soroka (6.98 ERA in four starts), Chris Flexen (8.78 in three) and Erick Fedde (4.30 in three).
There’s skepticism about what the farm system can offer — a much different outlook from the previous Sox rebuild, when Robert and Moncada were seen as the faces of a promising future.
Perhaps Nastrini, who was acquired with reliever Jordan Leasure from the Dodgers in the trade for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly last season, and Cannon, whom the Sox drafted in the third round out of Georgia in 2022, can create something to feel good about. For example, Cannon following Nastrini’s solid major-league debut with a good start Wednesday would be more than welcome at a ballpark that has been immersed in gloom and doom these first three weeks of the season.
Nastrini (0-1) had a good spring training while being projected as the fifth starter and pitched two-run ball over five innings with five strikeouts in a 2-0 loss to the Royals on Monday, looking composed and ready for more assignments. That doesn’t ensure 25-30 starts for the next several seasons, but it’s a building block.
“I think it went pretty good,” said Nastrini, who described his debut as “an out-of-body experience.”
On his heels comes Cannon, whose scheduled debut Tuesday was weather-postponed until Wednesday afternoon as the first game of a doubleheader. Nastrini and Cannon will be the third pair of Sox pitchers to debut in back-to-back games, following Charlie Biggs and Fabian Kowalik in 1932 — as part of the worst team in franchise history — and Roy Patterson and John Skopeck in 1901.
Rated by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in the Sox organization, Cannon, 23, allowed three runs over 9‰ innings with 11 strikeouts in two starts at Triple A Charlotte. Regarded as a strike-thrower, he has a 4.17 ERA over three minor-league seasons.
Nastrini is penciled in to start again Sunday in Philadelphia. Manager Pedro Grifol wasn’t forthcoming about how much run in the rotation Nastrini and Cannon will get. He said it was under discussion.
“We obviously think highly of those guys, enough to where we gave them back-to-back debuts here,” Grifol said. “Nastrini showed us [Monday] that he’s got the mindset and presence and character to pitch at this level. And we’ll see what Jonathan does and evaluate it.”
Veterans Brad Keller and Mike Clevingers are ramping up in Charlotte and Arizona, respectively, and likely will be with the Sox in the coming weeks, offering stability and depth. But those two could be dealt away by the July 31 trade deadline. They’re clearly not the future.
Nastrini, Cannon and Leasure (six scoreless appearances) could be. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll be worth watching.