Perfect 10 at plate? White Sox's Eloy Jimenez strives for excellence during journey to bigs By Teddy Greenstein / Chicago Tribune / July 19, 2018

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF JULY 20, 2018 Perfect 10 at plate? White Sox's Eloy Jimenez strives for excellence during journey to bigs Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune Series preview: White Sox at Mariners Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune Don Cooper expects success, asks for patience in White Sox rebuild Daryl Van Schouwen, Sun-Times Scouting report: White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field Scot Gregor, Daily Herald How the White Sox are working through Yoán Moncada, Tim Anderson s defensive growing pains James Fegan, The Athletic Perfect 10 at plate? White Sox's Eloy Jimenez strives for excellence during journey to bigs By Teddy Greenstein / Chicago Tribune / July 19, 2018 Eloy Jimenez once sprinted to right field to take his position before the game s first pitch. Another time, in Class A, he hopped out of the batter s box after launching one over the wall. Remind you of anyone? A certain slugger who owned Chicago 20 years ago? I just reacted, Jimenez recalled of the time he hopped. Not anymore. That was his thing. Sammy Sosa is actually part of why Jimenez signed for $2.8 million with the Cubs, passing up higher bonus offers from the Astros and Rangers. The Cubs were his favorite team because of all the Dominican players who starred at Wrigley Field. Jimenez rattled off the names: Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro. But that was This is Jimenez is his own man. And now he s a member of the White Sox, who open up the second half of the season Friday night against the Mariners in Seattle, or at least he s close. He s a step away from the big leagues at Triple-A Charlotte, where he s hitting.297 with three homers and seven RBIs in 17 games. He missed the first two weeks of July with a hip injury and in his first game back, went 2-for-5 with a double. Shows you how low-maintenance his swing really is, said Chris Getz, the Sox s director of player development. He squared up two balls, had some good ABs and looked like he hadn t had any time off. Any player or former player would be envious of that. Jimenez is not slugging (.484) quite like he did at Double-A Birmingham, where his.556 slugging percentage led the Southern League. But he has struck out just seven times in 64 at-bats.

2 Once he graduates to the big leagues, Getz said, he will put together professional at-bats and do some damage. Jimenez is remaining patient. Sitting in the dugout recently near fireballer Michael Kopech, a visitor asked him which one would be called up first to the big leagues. It would be a tricky question for anyone, let alone a 21-year-old who taught himself English as a teenager by listening to Drake and watching movies like Bad Boys and Avengers. If he chose Kopech, Jimenez would appear to lack self-confidence. If he picked himself, he would seem conceited. Jimenez smiled and replied: Just God knows. Jimenez said he was motivated to learn English so he could communicate with his teammates and coaches without a translator. Sox general manager Rick Hahn said it speaks to his work ethic and commitment to maximizing his potential. He s a gregarious, fun, high-energy kid with a marvelous personality. Said Kopech: The energy he brings reminds you of playing with your travel team. (Baseball) can start to feel like a job, but when you have a guy with his energy in the clubhouse and dugout, it s a lot of fun. Jimenez is not above getting ribbed. While on the disabled list, he fist-bumped a coach who quickly stepped out of the player s way, saying: I don t want you to have another setback. Indeed, there are only two issues that have stalled Jimenez s ride to the South Side. One, injuries. Jimenez has missed time this season with left knee tendinitis, a strained pec muscle (from bench-pressing) and the recent hip injury. He has been nicked up a little and that s a concern, no question, said Charlotte manager Mark Grudzielanek, a 15-year big-league infielder who played two seasons with the Cubs. A bigger guy like that (6-foot-4, 205 pounds), he has to watch his weight and stay light-footed. Jimenez, who said he s not concerned ( no super-big problem, a little problem ), seems rust-proof. After missing about two weeks during spring training, he homered in his first return at-bat on a low slider against the Cubs, no less, the organization that moved him, right-hander Dylan Cease and two other lighter prospects for Jose Quintana last year. Defense is the other issue for the corner outfielder. His routes have to improve, his angles (to the ball), Grudzielanek said. It takes time out there, experience. Understanding where to throw, hitting his cuts, not taking a play off. That can be hard to do for a young guy. Getz said Jimenez needs more time to see balls off the bat and clean up his routes and said he s an average thrower, not Vladimir Guerrero. Jimenez said it s essential for him to be an everyday outfielder as opposed to a designated hitter because when I play the outfield, I feel more in the game. I feel warm every inning. Asked to rate his defense on a scale of 1-10, Jimenez replied: Six or seven. And his hitting?

3 Jimenez responded quickly, as if turning on a 95 mph fastball. Ten, he said. The Sox promoted Jimenez to Charlotte last month after he hit.317 with 10 homers, 15 doubles and 42 RBIs in 53 games at Double-A Birmingham. Sox brass wanted to see how he would react to facing nastier breaking balls and savvier pitch sequences from veteran arms. He s very talented in the box, no question, Grudzielanek said. He s a confident hitter, which is awesome. Jimenez s first love was basketball, the sport his father, Luis, played professionally in the Dominican Republic. Then he focused on Taekwondo. At 9, Luis convinced him to try baseball. His first time at the plate in a game, Jimenez said he got beaned in the helmet and essentially told his dad, No mas. But his father convinced him to give baseball another shot. My second at-bat, Jimenez said, I hit a home run. I decided: I like it. Series preview: White Sox at Mariners By Phil Thompson / Chicago Tribune / July 19, 2018 All games on WGN-AM 720. Friday: 9:10 PM, WGN-9. RH James Shields (4-10, 4.43) vs. LH Wade LeBlanc (5-1, 3.63). Saturday: 9:10 PM, NBCSCH. RH Dylan Covey (3-5, 5.69) vs. RH Felix Hernandez (8-7, 5.13). Sunday: 3:10 PM, WGN-9. RH Reynaldo Lopez (4-7, 3.91) vs. LH Marco Gonzales (10-5, 3.41). Don Cooper expects success, asks for patience in White Sox rebuild By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / July 19, 2018 Don Cooper marches onward, doing what he always has strived to do in good times, bad and in between as the White Sox pitching coach the last 16 years: make fringe pitchers good and good pitchers great, squeezing every ounce of ability out of everyone in his care to make them better. Chris Sale, who became great under his watch, is on the Red Sox. And Jose Quintana, who became good, is on the Cubs, leaving Cooper, 62, with four 20-something starters and a couple of young relievers to mold for the future. There have been good days but more bad for a rebuilding team that s coming out of the All-Star break going into its game Friday in Seattle. We re going through our trials and tribulations, and we re building for the future, Cooper said. Our future is coming. There are better days ahead for us. I believe this or I wouldn t want to do this. Cooper envisions certain guys on his staff pitching for a championship club on the South Side.

4 I think Reynaldo Lopez is a guy, he said. [Lucas] Giolito is showing more signs. He s throwing the ball as good as I ve ever seen him throw the ball that s what my eyes tell me. I don t profess to have all the answers, but I know what I like, and just from sitting around here, I think I know what works and what doesn t. I know the things we re doing with Lopez, Giolito, [Carlos] Rodon, Dylan Covey, the things we re talking about with [lefty reliever] Jace Fry, the things we ve been doing for a couple of years with [bullpen righty Juan] Minaya. I m good with where we re at and even better with where we re going. These will be the first full seasons for Lopez and Giolito, both 24. Lopez (3.91 ERA) has been good, while Giolito (6.18) leads the American League in walks with 60. Covey (5.69) was good for a stretch after coming up from Class AAA Charlotte but has regressed in his last five starts. Rodon, on the comeback trail from shoulder surgery in September, has looked like next season s Opening Day starter in three of his last four starts. So it has been a mixed bag, just as Cooper expected coming out of spring training. We all know we re building for the future, he said. For the young guys, let s lay a good foundation. Take advantage of every sideline, catch day to make yourself better. I m happy with the progress guys have made. We re young, Rodon said. The beautiful thing is we have 67 more games to play, 67 more games to learn. Cooper says it s too soon to know who will be around when or if the Sox are good again. That s something to discuss later, he said. Right now, we have who we have, and we still prepare to win every game with who we have. If we lose a tough game, nobody is sitting there, saying, Aw, don t worry about it, guys, we re just developing here. It s a rebuild. No, it sucks when you lose a game. Cooper knows from seeing the Astros, Royals and Cubs suffer before enjoying World Series success that pain is part of the process. He knows free agents will filter in and trades will be made to upgrade the majorleague roster in the coming years. He sees prospects such as Michael Kopech knocking at the door. He stresses patience. Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan it took them awhile to be successful, Cooper said. So if you have to have patience with three Hall of Famers, shouldn t everybody be afforded that patience? It takes time. Scouting report: White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field By Scot Gregor / Daily Herald / July 19, 2018 TV: WGN Friday and Sunday; NBC Sports Chicago Saturday Radio: WGN 720-AM Pitching matchups: The Sox's James Shields (4-10) vs. Wade LeBlanc (5-1) Friday at 9:10 p.m.; Dylan Covey (3-5) vs. Felix Hernandez (8-7) Saturday at 9:10 p.m.; Reynaldo Lopez (4-7) vs. Marco Gonzales (10-5) Sunday at 3:10 p.m. At a glance: The White Sox come out of the all-star break at 33-62, the third-worst record in baseball behind the Royals (27-68) and Orioles (28-69). The Sox are 13th in the American League in runs scored (384) and 14th with a 4.92 ERA. Outfielder Charlie Tilson was optioned to Class AAA Charlotte on Wednesday. Either Avisail Garcia (hamstring) or Nicky Delmonico (fractured hand) will come off the disabled list and replace Tilson. Shields is 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA over his last 7 starts. The veteran right-hander ranks eighth in the AL with

5 126 innings pitched. The Mariners (58-39) were a big surprise in the first half. Looking to go to the playoffs for the first time since 2001, Seattle ranks 10th in the AL with 412 runs scored and eighth with a 4.05 ERA. Closer Edwin Diaz leads the majors with 36 saves. The Mariners won 2 of 3 games vs. the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in late April. Next: Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Monday-Thursday How the White Sox are working through Yoán Moncada, Tim Anderson s defensive growing pains By James Fegan / The Athletic / July 19, 2018 The hyper-athletic, rangy and strong-armed double-play pairing of Tim Anderson and Yoán Moncada hasn t attracted much attention for those qualities through the first half of the 2018 season. Errors are still up there, so I ve got a lot more work to do to try to get those down, Anderson said. Some of my errors have been throwing from weird angles. Some of them have just been bad throws. Some have been misplayed. It s been all over the place. I feel like the more that I go, it s going to continue to get better as I grow into more of a baseball player. Anderson, the rare player with the wherewithal and perspective to view his own performance through a trust the process lens, brims with optimism about his defensive progress, but in self-assessing his first half in the field, mentions the error count without prompting. Combined, he and Moncada have committed 28 errors, with Moncada s 15 registering as the highest of any second baseman in the majors, and Anderson s 13 coming in second among shortstops, behind former Sox infielder Marcus Semien. Only three of Anderson s errors have taken place after June 1, and three took place in one game in Detroit when he wore extra padding over a jammed thumb. The numbers tell a similar story with Moncada and Anderson of having the physical tools for the position while developing consistency on the job. But they also show that the 25-year-old Anderson (above-average in most all-encompassing defensive metrics despite the miscues) is several steps ahead of the 23-year-old Moncada, who has become inundated with questions about what he s doing to stem the tide of missteps. Just keep working on all aspects of my game, Moncada said through team interpreter Billy Russo. Just baseball. Things happen and you have to learn from them and I m trying to learn everyday. Beating Moncada over the head with lectures about fundamental shortcomings can have troubling effects beyond just annoying scrums with reporters. In the wake of a spate of errors from Moncada seemingly brought on by a lack of caution, and not getting his body behind ground balls that he failed to cleanly glove, the White Sox coaching staff stressed the importance of hustling to get his whole person behind the ball when possible and cautiously attack with two hands. They found their young second baseman trying to apply the advice he received whenever possible, though without having yet developed the feel for when and where it was needed. There s a couple scenarios where he played balls to his left and we were like Hey listen, we broke it down, showed him, You can bust to it, get in front of it and still make that play, because if it takes a bad hop, it s in front of us, we have a chance,' bench coach Joe McEwing said. After showing him a couple, a play in Boston stays in my mind: he busted to his left and went down with two hands because we re pounding, Get in front of it, keep that ball in front of you, and it was a one-hand play, and he went with two because in the back of his mind, he s like OK, I need to get to this, but the ball s hit firm, too firm for it to be a two-hand play, now he loses all his range and mobility. He s going down with two instead of one and having that flexibility. He s getting caught in between on some, and that s the constant learning. That s the experience, that s the reps of it. In manager Rick Renteria and McEwing, Moncada and Anderson have a pair of former infielders lording over their every step on the dirt, and they have the ability to immediately diagnose the root of any problem. But McEwing, who gets as much usage out of his fungo bat as any member of the coaching staff, and uses

6 the pronoun we when discussing Anderson or Moncada s play, would cite that as an example of where the coaching staff tries to stop short of taking their young infielders aggressiveness and instinctual responses away from them. They re both accountable for their mistakes, but are still figuring out what to do with that energy. Players want to please managers and coaches, and sometimes that s not as good as you might want it to be because then they tie themselves up, Renteria said. You want them to express themselves physically with the skills that they have, and we have to continue to find a way to allow them to do that. While flashy young fielders who struggle with tactics are frequently an anathema to fans, this is what a developing team wants: high-potential athletes with room to improve rather than guys who have made it to the majors solely on polish and execution and lack upside. And McEwing, who categorizes the errors Anderson and Moncada have piled up as young mistakes, sees upside, and compares their potential and athleticism favorably to players he s coached, like Eduardo Escobar and Yolmer Sánchez, or played with, like Édgar Rentería and Rey Ordóñez. Their potential is off the charts, McEwing said. They will clean up. They will all clean up. We learn from every mistake, every ball that we may have a misplay on. There are a lot of things they do extremely, extremely well, they re both very gifted. While Anderson would say a lot of his errors come from throwing on the run, or at strange angles, and the most straight-forward fix would seem to be to make more effort to plant his feet to set up a traditional throw, McEwing is more encouraged about him expanding his arsenal. Where the previously baseball-raw Anderson would hesitate to do anything besides throw over the top, he s expanding to throw lower threequarters, sidearm, or underhand, which gives him a quicker release when he s off balance or on the move. McEwing thinks it will serve him well down the road, even if he s still sharpening the accuracy now. Sometimes it gets boring doing standard stuff so much that you want to do something different. Anderson said. That s basically what happens when you keep practicing, keep working on it. That s something I ve been working on, just practicing, messing around with and it s able to help me in games. Sometimes it makes it even quicker to get it over there. Moncada has been playing professional ball since he was a teenager, so his story and his struggles are not perfectly analogous to Anderson, who was a raw talent and beset by every off-field distraction imaginable last year. Yet Anderson can still see some similarities between what his teammate is going through now, and his own 28-error 2017 season. He has the same suggested remedy that the Sox used on him, which was pretty unpopular at the time: keep playing him. McEwing wouldn t have it any other way. I have extreme confidence in both of them, McEwing said. I would go to war with the two of them every single night.