White Sox to designate Yonder Alonso for assignment

Yonder Alonso

There hasn't been an official announcement, but the White Sox are expected to designate first baseman Yonder Alonso for assignment, according to sources.

Such a move will no doubt bring much rejoicing from the fan base, as Alonso has been a huge disappointment this season.

In 67 games, Alonso has posted a slash line of .178/.275/.301 with seven home runs, six doubles and 27 RBIs. His name has been left out of the lineup more frequently in June. As we sit here on the 27th day of the month, he's had only 35 plate appearances since June 1.

Most people believe Alonso was acquired from the Cleveland Indians over the offseason to try to lure his brother-in-law Manny Machado to the South Side of Chicago. The Sox swung and missed on that sales pitch. Machado signed with the San Diego Padres, and that left general manager Rick Hahn in damage control mode, as he tried to justify the acquisition of Alonso as a "baseball move."

From that perspective, the left-handed Alonso was supposed to provide some pop against right-handed pitchers. He was nothing short of a miserable failure. He actually posted reverse splits while in a Sox uniform.

Against righties, Alonso slashed .156/.249/.249 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 197 plate appearances. That's too pathetic for words, and it's the sort of performance that causes a man to lose his roster spot.

Presumably, the Sox will make two additions to the 25-man roster before they open a weekend series with the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Shortstop Tim Anderson is expected to hit the injured list with a high ankle sprain suffered Tuesday in Boston.

There has been no starting pitcher announced for Friday's game, so the Sox will add at least one pitcher to the roster. Perhaps they will also add an outfielder (Daniel Palka? Adam Engel?) knowing that everyday center fielder Leury Garcia is likely going to play shortstop while Anderson recovers from his injury.

Tim Anderson is hurt, but at least Jose Abreu came up with a big home run

Tim Anderson

Just when it looked as though the White Sox were going to get swept in Boston and limp home (literally) with a 2-6 record on their eight-game road trip, Jose Abreu flipped the script.

The Sox's first baseman capped a three-hit, four-RBI performance Wednesday with a two-run homer with one out in the ninth off Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes. The blast turned a 7-6 Sox deficit into an 8-7 victory and put an end to an afternoon of frustration that saw the South Siders blow the 6-3 lead they had going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

It was a long, tough trip, with two games against the Cubs, three against the Texas Rangers and three against the Red Sox. My hope was that the Sox would manage a win in each stadium, and that's exactly what they did. A 3-5 record is hardly brilliant, but given the lack of starting pitching and a taxed bullpen, cobbling together a few victories against three hard-hitting teams is good enough for now.

The worst news for the Sox? Shortstop Tim Anderson, who is in the midst of a breakout year, left Tuesday night's game in Boston (a 6-3 loss) with a high ankle sprain. Anderson's X-rays were negative, and he was scheduled for a MRI on Wednesday. When I saw the play, I feared a season-ending torn Achilles, so if it's not that, I feel lucky.

Nevertheless, Anderson is going to miss some time. How much time is unclear, but I would expect him to be placed on the injured list during Thursday's off day, before the Sox open a three-game weekend series at home against the Minnesota Twins.

Former Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar has been playing at Triple-A Charlotte this season, and some think he'll get the call-up as a result of Anderson's misfortune.

I'm not so sure. The Sox have three players on the 25-man roster -- Leury Garcia, Jose Rondon and Yolmer Sanchez -- who have played shortstop in their careers. They also have only three starting pitchers on the roster, and no starting pitcher has been named for Friday's series opener against the Twins.

Both Ivan Nova and Lucas Giolito are receiving an extra day of rest in between starts. They will pitch Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Does that make Friday night another bullpen day? The Sox just did that Tuesday. Or will they call up another starter?

Either way, I think a pitcher replaces Anderson on the roster. It's either another starter to pitch Friday night, or it's a bullpen arm to help get through Friday's game.

Fans hoping to see either Escobar or Danny Mendick may have to wait. Even if the already-present options at shortstop aren't great, they are still better than the options among starting pitchers.

Kelvin Herrera: Quietly a bad offseason acquisition

Kelvin Herrera

Throughout the years, it feels as though the White Sox have had trouble getting much out of veterans they acquire in trades or sign as free agents during the offseason.

This year's crop of veterans is a mixed bag. Catcher James McCann looked like a poor signing at the time it was made, but McCann has surprised with an All-Star-caliber season. Alex Colome, acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a trade for catcher Omar Narvaez, has been a success. He's converted all 16 of his save opportunities entering Tuesday's play.

All that said, Yonder Alonso and Ivan Nova have been unqualified disasters. Fans are calling for Alonso to be designated for assignment, and based upon his .579 OPS as a first baseman and a designated hitter, rightfully so. People are unhappy with Nova, but they generally realize the team is stuck with him because injuries and poor performance have eroded what little starting pitching depth existed in the organization coming into the season.

The horrible play by Alonso and Nova has obscured what has been a disappointing season for right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera, who signed a two-year, $18 million contract with the Sox as a free agent this past offseason.

Herrera was coming off a foot injury, so there was some risk in the signing. But hey, it wasn't an arm injury, and Herrera is only 29. He's got a World Series ring from the Kansas City Royals on his finger, and he was an integral part of the bullpen on some successful Royals teams.

There was no reason to believe that signing would be a disaster, but it hasn't been good. Herrera coughed up the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Monday in a game the Sox eventually lost to Boston, 6-5. Herrera was summoned to protect a 5-4 lead and couldn't hold it.

This is the continuation of a trend we've seen since May 1. Perhaps Herrera has escaped some criticism because he had a good month of April. Sometimes, first impressions are lasting impressions. However, things have gone to hell since that point. Check out his monthly splits:

April: 0-0, 2.51 ERA in 14 games, 0.977 WHIP
May: 2-3, 17.18 ERA in 9 games, 3.136 WHIP
June: 1-0, 4.91 ERA in 9 games, 1.500 WHIP

Add it all up, and Herrera is 3-3 with a 6.83 ERA. He's allowing 11.5 hits per nine innings and has a 1.655 WHIP, which is terrible for a short reliever. Those June numbers are mediocre, I suppose, and they represent a bit of a bounce back from an atrocious May. But I don't think Herrera has earned the right to be trusted in the eighth inning, on the road, in a one-run game, against a quality lineup such as the Red Sox.

Right now, Sox manager Rick Renteria is going to have to ride right-hander Evan Marshall and left-hander Aaron Bummer in the setup roles for Colome. If one or both of those guys aren't available, the Sox need to turn to ... gulp ... Juan Minaya for the time being. He's the next best reliever on the Sox, with his 2.42 ERA and 1.299 WHIP.

Colome and Herrera both have a year of team control after this season. If you're thinking trade, somebody's going to want Colome. The Sox are likely stuck with Herrera for next season. It's unlikely has value will be recouped before the July 31 trade deadline.

White Sox activate Jon Jay, designate Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment

Jon Jay

Jonah Keri of the The Athletic released his weekly power rankings Monday. The White Sox are accurately ranked No. 23, and in his comments, Keri offered the opinion that perhaps the Sox need to move on from Ivan Nova.

"Carrying a pitcher with a 5.91 ERA, a flaccid strikeout rate and more than 1.7 homers allowed per nine innings is what you do when you’re fully tanking, not when you’re trying to win games," Keri wrote. "Whether it’s mining the farm system or going outside the organization, the Sox should try to find a better option for their rotation."

I cannot disagree, but here's the problem with that statement: There are two spots in the Sox's rotation that are even bigger question marks than the spot occupied by Nova.

The Sox cleaned out some of the trash Monday when they designated Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment. The 32-year-old right-hander made three starts for the Sox and went 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched.

Despaigne allowed 31 (!) base runners in those 13.1 innings -- 24 hits and seven walks. He recorded only seven strikeouts. In his most recent outing, he was handed a 4-0 lead against the Texas Rangers and promptly gave it all back in three innings as part of a 6-5 loss.

In that game, it took Despaigne 39 pitches to get through the first inning. He threw 68 pitches for the outing and got only two swinging strikes. He doesn't have the stuff to get people out, so good riddance.

The Sox replaced him on the 25-man roster with veteran outfielder Jon Jay, who hasn't played yet this season. In 16 games on a rehab assignment, Jay went 21 for 63 (.333) with a couple of doubles and seven RBIs. That's an extraordinarily long rehab stint, and I was wondering whether the Sox were trying to trade one of Jay, Charlie Tilson or Ryan Cordell.

Instead, all three of those men are on the roster, which makes for a crowded outfield. Meanwhile, there are only three starting pitchers on the 25-man -- Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Nova.

What a strange situation. When will upper management do something, anything to fix this problem with starting pitching?

It's literally Giolito and pray for rain at this point, and there's no way Giolito can keep up the ridiculous hot streak he's been on over the past couple of months.

Despaigne clearly was not the answer, and never had a chance of being the answer. If Rick Hahn does not want to call up Dylan Cease, he better be working the phones for a trade.

Lucas Giolito finally loses a game. Here's why it's not a concern.

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito suffered his first loss since April 6 on Wednesday, giving up six earned runs over 4.1 innings against the Cubs.

The Cubs won, 7-3, and ended Giolito's run of nine wins in a row.

Here's why it's not a concern: First off, hey, everybody has got to have a bad game sometime. Nobody in the history of baseball has gone undefeated. Giolito (10-2) is still among the best pitchers in the American League, despite the screeching from a few village idiots who believe that he "hasn't beaten good teams." Two victories over the New York Yankees (46-27) and a complete-game shutout against the Houston Astros (48-27) say otherwise.

Secondly, Giolito's line in this game was weird: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 9 Ks, 3 BBs, 3 HRs.

Nine strikeouts out of the 13 outs recorded. Cubs batters swung and missed 21 times at the 88 pitches Giolito threw. That tells us the good stuff was still there. There were a few too many mistakes. That's all, and that's going to happen.

Of note: All three Cubs home runs came on changeups -- the grand slam by Willson Contreras in the first inning, the solo shot by Contreras in the third and the solo home run by David Bote in the fourth. All were on pitches thigh-high or lower.

Giolito's best weapon is his high fastball. He's been able to get the high strike called for almost all his starts this season. Not in this start. For whatever reason, home plate umpire Cory Blaser wasn't giving anything above the thigh.

Cubs batters still swung (and missed) at the high fastball at times, but they didn't have to swing at it -- it wasn't being called for a strike. In this game, Cubs batters could afford to sit on changeups down, and the strategy paid off in three home runs.

That's something to keep an eye on in Giolito's next start Monday against the Boston Red Sox. Are opposing batters sitting change, and can Giolito make the adjustment?

It's almost a certainty the home plate umpire will be more friendly next game, too. Right now, I'm inclined to think this was just a blip and a bad game for the guy who has been far and away the best Sox starter this season.

Eloy Jimenez's game-winning home run puts crosstown trade back in spotlight

Jose Quintana

It wasn't so much that the White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-1, on Tuesday night. It was the way the Sox beat the Cubs that provoked so much discussion.

Eloy Jimenez, the Sox left fielder and former top Cubs prospect, hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning off Pedro Strop to break a 1-1 tie. Sox closer Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his 15th save in as many chances, and that was that.

But Cubs fans are pretty unhappy about this one, with a player that their front office traded away coming back to haunt them while wearing a Sox uniform.

This result has provoked a new round of discontent about the July 13, 2017, trade that saw the Sox send left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana to the North Side in exchange for Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Bryant Flete and Matt Rose.

Cubs fans are feeling their team gave up "too much" for Quintana, whom they perceive as a bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher. I saw one comment on Facebook this morning where someone indicated the Cubs never should have made the deal because "they were not a powerhouse" in 2017.

I think this is all foolish. Quintana has helped the Cubs for the past two years. I don't think they make the playoffs, let alone the National League Championship Series, in 2017 if they don't make the trade. In case we forgot, the Cubs were 43-45 at the time of the deal. They finished that season 93-69 and won the NL Central, with Quintana going 7-3 for them in 14 starts.

Jimenez is a rookie in the major leagues, and a promising one at that. His home run last night was his 12th of the season, and we're not even halfway through the year. Cease is expected to be in the major leagues before 2019 is over. Flete and Rose are no longer in the Sox organization, so forget about them.

Did the Cubs give up too much? Maybe. It depends on the career arc of Jimenez and Cease. Both are still young, and it's not clear just how good they will be.

My assessment: The trade has helped the Cubs and is continuing to help the Cubs. The trade is starting to help the Sox and will continue to help the Sox going forward. I would have said that before Tuesday's game, and I say that now.

In baseball, you can't wildly change your assessment about players and trades based upon one game.

I disagree with the idea that Quintana is a bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher. Line up his numbers with Jon Lester's, and there isn't that much of a difference. (Worth noting, Lester is revered by Cubs fans):

Quintana in 2017: 7-3, 3.74 ERA in 14 starts, 1.103 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 7.7 H/9, 2.2 BB/9
Lester in 2017: 13-8, 4.33 ERA in 32 starts, 1.323 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 8.9 H/9, 3.0 BB/9

Quintana in 2018: 13-11, 4.03 ERA in 32 starts, 1.319 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 8.4 H/9, 3.5 BB/9
Lester in 2018: 18-6, 3.32 ERA in 32 starts, 1.310 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 8.6 H/9, 3.2 BB/9

Quintana in 2019: 4-6, 3.87 ERA in 14 starts, 1.339 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 9.1 H/9, 2.9 BB/9
Lester in 2019: 5-5, 4.08 ERA in 13 starts, 1.344 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 9.9 H/9, 2.2 BB/9

Look at those peripherals, folks. There isn't a big disparity here, and this isn't a small sample size. I'm not sure I understand the contempt for Quintana among many in the North Side fan base.

If Cubs management declines the team option on Quintana this offseason, I'd take him back on the South Side without a second thought. He's clearly better than Ivan Nova and Odrisamer Despaigne, you know? 

White Sox set to call up former first-round pick Zack Collins

When is the right time to call up a prospect? It's been a contentious question for the White Sox and their fan base over the past few years, as Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada, Reynaldo Lopez, Michael Kopech and Eloy Jimenez have trickled into the big leagues.

In all five cases, some fans -- including me -- criticized the Sox for slow-cooking the rebuild and leaving the prospects in the minor leagues for too long. General manager Rick Hahn's "abundance of caution" quotes have become both the stuff of legend and annoyance.

Now, the team is expected to call up its 2016 first-round draft pick, catcher Zack Collins, before Tuesday's game against the crosstown Cubs, and I don't think too many people are going to be repeating that criticism. 

Collins is a curious case because his defense behind the plate is a work in progress, and some people don't believe it will ever be good enough for him to be a big league catcher. In addition, his bat has been respectable but not dominant this season at Triple-A Charlotte. Is he really ready? Good question.

Collins is slashing .250/.374/.482 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 50 games. He takes his walks -- 36 in 206 plate appearances -- but he's also struck out 66 times.

The Sox insist Collins can stick behind the plate, but he's also been playing some first base in Triple-A, sharing the catching duties with fellow prospect Seby Zavala.

It looks as though Welington Castillo could be headed for the injured list after leaving Sunday's 10-3 loss to the New York Yankees with lower back tightness. That would create room for Collins to do some catching, but it's hard to see a scenario in which he would play every day, with James McCann slashing .324/.374/.509 and earning praise for the way he handles the Sox pitching staff.

McCann is getting All-Star consideration and has earned the right to most of the playing time behind the plate for the Sox.

But, McCann and Castillo have *both* been in the lineup in recent games. Whichever man is not catching has served as the designated hitter, with Yonder Alonso continuing to swing the bat poorly and generally riding the bench.

After playing regularly throughout April and May, Alonso has seen his playing time slashed in June. He has only 20 plate appearances this month. Alonso, who is slashing .180/.280/.312 for the season, is 2 for 18 in June.

Might Collins be taking over for Alonso in a 1B/DH role on days in which McCann is catching? I think that's quite possible, if the team wants to cut ties with Alonso.

One skill that Collins seems to bring is an ability to hit right-handed pitchers. Here are his splits at Triple-A:

• vs. RHP: .268/.400/.512, 18.75% BB, 27.5% K
• vs. LHP: .189/.283/.378, 13.0% BB, 47.8% K

He can't hit lefties worth a damn, so we probably won't see Collins start at Wrigley Field this week. The Cubs are starting Cole Hamels on Tuesday and Jon Lester on Wednesday -- both lefties -- and there will be no designated hitter in the National League park.

But once the Sox return to American League action Friday against the Texas Rangers, we may very well see Collins at DH when McCann is catching, and McCann at DH when Collins is catching. Or, we may see Collins at first base for a couple of days here and there to get Jose Abreu a "half-day" as a designated hitter. We've seen Alonso in that role throughout the season to this point, but his bat is weighing down the lineup, and his time may be up.

I wouldn't think the Sox would call up Collins unless they were intent on giving him an extended chance to stick. Castillo was on the seven-day concussion list earlier this season, and the team called up Zavala for a few days.

Collins is a more significant prospect than Zavala. He's a former first-round pick. A significant investment has been made in him. I don't think the Sox would call him up for just "a few days."

That must really believe he's ready, despite his weakness against left-handed pitching and his defensive shortcomings. That .912 OPS against right-handed pitching at Triple-A makes Collins interesting, and we'll see if he can carve a niche in the big leagues by hitting right-handers, whether he's catching, playing first or DH'ing.

Just too much bad pitching on the White Sox

Odrisamer Despaigne

One more thought before I take a break from this for a couple of days -- I'm actually going to the White Sox game on Thursday when they play the New York Yankees, so I won't have time to blog.

It wasn't Odrisamer Despaigne's fault that the Sox got beat, 12-1, by the Washington Nationals on Monday night. The 32-year-old journeyman was making his first start for the South Siders, and he did a credible job.

He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. He struck out two and walked two. It was a quality start, and that's good enough to win sometimes.

The front end of the bullpen -- Jose Ruiz, Josh Osich, Thyago Vieira and Juan Minaya -- gave up nine runs over the last three innings and caused the Sox to get humiliated.

That being said, it's frustrating that Despaigne is on this team in Year 3 of the rebuild. This is the sort of pitcher who makes starts for you in the first year of a rebuild -- see Derek Holland and Mike Pelfrey in 2017. These are all pitchers of similar quality.

And the relief pitchers listed above, with the possible exception of Ruiz, also are nothing more than roster filler, to put it charitably. Less charitably, they are cannon fodder. Minaya has had plenty of chances. Vieira can't find the plate. Osich has tried and failed with other organizations.

By now, wouldn't you like to think more interesting pitchers would be around in the organization and available to take these innings? Alas, it isn't to be. Manny Banuelos is starting Tuesday against the Nationals, and he's another guy who you'd expect to see in a first-year rebuild.

Year 3, and there are still mornings when I wake up and say, "The Sox are in trouble today." It's so frustrating to watch this bad pitching, especially when there are position players who are decent and making progress on this team.

White Sox place Jace Fry on the injured list, release Nicky Delmonico

White Sox relief pitcher Jace Fry has been placed on the injured list with a swollen ERA, errr ... left shoulder soreness.

The move is retroactive to Saturday, and I can only hope that Fry has been struggling because he is hurt. He's been one of the most disappointing players on the Sox this season, compiling a 1-2 record and a 5.97 ERA in 28 appearances.

Fry has given up 21 hits and walked 17 batters in 23.1 innings pitched. That's a lot of base runners, and Aaron Bummer clearly has passed him as the most reliable left-handed relief option on the team.

The move makes room on the 25-man roster for Odrisamer Despaigne, who had his contract purchased from Triple-A Charlotte. Despaigne is taking the starting rotation spot of Dylan Covey, who also is on the injured list with the dreaded shoulder soreness.

In the tradition of Mike Pelfrey and Chris Volstad, Despaigne stands to take a beating every fifth day, because the Sox are too timid to call up a legitimate prospect such as Dylan Cease. (Yes, I'm aware that Cease had a bad outing Sunday at Charlotte, but you will never convince me that Despaigne is a better option than Cease.)

Despaigne, 32, is a veteran of 106 major league games, including 47 starts. He has previously pitched for the Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Angels, going 13-24 with a 4.94 ERA. He's not good, and I will assume the Sox will lose every time he takes the mound.

Of course, Despaigne also had to be added to the 40-man roster. To make room, Nicky Delmonico was granted his release. The outfielder is out for the season after having surgery on his left shoulder for a torn labrum.

Delmonico, 26, is a career .227 hitter and may not see the major leagues again. 

A 'good weekend' for the White Sox rebuild in series win vs. Royals

Yoan Moncada

The Kansas City Royals have won only two series all season. They swept a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians from April 12-14, but they haven't won one since.

So, it would have been disappointing for the White Sox to not take at least two out of three over the weekend in Kansas City. The Sox did, in fact, take two out of three games, rallying to win the series after losing Friday night.

You might say it was a "good weekend" for the rebuild, as Yoan Moncada recorded seven hits in the series, Eloy Jimenez homered twice, and Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez both captured wins on the mound. The victories were accomplished with key contributions from players who project to be a part of the long-term picture.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, June 7
Royals 6, White Sox 4: This loss was characterized by sloppy play and questionable managing by Rick Renteria. The Sox scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the score at 4, capped by a two-out RBI double by Moncada, and you would have thought momentum was with the South Siders.

Nah. Renteria brought in the struggling Jace Fry (1-2) to pitch in the high-leverage bottom of the seventh, and Fry walked Billy Hamilton on four pitches. This is the same Hamilton with a .282 slugging percentage -- he is not a particularly dangerous hitter in the No. 9 spot in the Kansas City batting order.

Of course, that walk started the wheels in motion for a two-run inning for the Royals. Fry threw 13 pitches, only five for strikes, was charged with two runs and took the loss. At one point in time this season, Fry and Kelvin Herrera were the top choices for high-leverage relief in the seventh and eighth innings. But now, Sox fans would prefer to see those guys only in mop-up duty.

Moncada went 2 for 5 in the loss. James McCann had two hits, including a two-run double.

Saturday, June 8
White Sox 2, Royals 0: Giolito (9-1) served as the stopper, ending the Sox's three-game losing streak with 7.2 innings of three-hit, shutout ball. He set a career high with 11 strikeouts and walked only two batters.

In his previous start against the Royals on May 29, Giolito prominently featured his changeup. Kansas City batters might have been looking for it this time, so Giolito didn't throw a single change the first time through the batting order. He was strictly fastball/slider early, and the Royals couldn't touch him.

In his past seven starts, Giolito is 7-0 with a 0.88 ERA. I don't have to think to hard to wonder which Sox player is the top candidate to be chosen for the All-Star Game this season.

The two runs? Jimenez hit his seventh home run of the season after Jose Rondon had singled in the second. That was about the only mistake Kansas City starter Brad Keller (3-8) made, but against Giolito, it cost him the game.

Alex Colome converted his 13th save in as many tries with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Sunday, June 9
White Sox 5, Royals 2: Jimenez added his eighth home run of the season in the finale, again in the second inning, and this time a solo shot off Glenn Sparkman (1-2). This blast will be on all the highlight reels, as the Sox's left fielder hit a hanging breaking ball 471 feet to dead center field. Jimenez later doubled and scored to complete a productive day.

Finally, Reynaldo Lopez (4-6) looked like a big-league pitcher. He threw all three of his pitches for strikes, and he worked six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts and only one walk. He allowed four hits, including a home run by Jorge Soler, but we can live with one solo homer during a six-inning outing. It was a step forward for Lopez, albeit against one of the worst clubs in the league.

Moncada went 4 for 5 with a two-out RBI single, and Tim Anderson had a two-out RBI double that scored Jimenez as part of his two-hit day. Again, a good weekend for the younger members of the Sox roster.

The Sox (31-33) are about to hit a much rougher patch of schedule. They come home for a six-game homestand -- two against the Washington Nationals and four against the New York Yankees. After that, they embark on a eight-game road trip -- two against the Cubs, three against the Texas Rangers and three against the Boston Red Sox. When they come off that road trip, the last weekend of the month will feature a home series against the first-place Minnesota Twins.

Indeed, tougher tests than the Royals await during the second half of June.

Of course, the White Sox got swept by the Nationals

Reynaldo Lopez

We should have known the White Sox weren't actually going to get back to .500, right? After a 6-1 homestand, the South Siders briefly sustained the momentum by jumping out to a 5-0 lead against Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night.

Alas, they had the wrong guy pitching. Reynaldo Lopez blew the whole thing, the Sox lost, and the Nationals went on to sweep the two-game series.

In Lopez's past three starts, he has been handed 4-1, 7-1 and 5-0 leads. He has won none of those games, and the Sox (29-32) as a team are only 1-2 in those three contests. That's not how it's supposed to work as a starting pitcher.

Lopez is 3-6 with a 6.62 ERA after he posted a respectable 3.91 ERA in 32 starts in 2018. He's the opposite of Lucas Giolito, who stunk last season and is pitching well in 2019. If the Sox had any rotation depth whatsoever, Lopez would be a candidate for demotion to Triple-A Charlotte.

Here's a look back at this brief, disastrous series in Washington:

Tuesday, June 4
Nationals 9, White Sox 5: Lopez walked two men to start the third inning and both of them scored. He gave up a solo home run to Howie Kendrick in the fourth and a three-run homer to Anthony Rendon in the fifth. The homer by Rendon was Lopez's last pitch of the night, a hanging, get-me-over slider, and he left the mound trailing, 6-5.

Josh Osich provided little relief, giving up three more runs before the fifth inning was over. Lopez's final line: 4+ innings, 6 runs, all earned, five hits, four strikeouts, four walks and two home runs allowed. Fifty-four of his 92 pitches were strikes, but it felt much worse than that. His fastball command was terrible, and he could not throw an offspeed pitch for a strike -- except for that hanger to Rendon.

It's too bad, too, because the Sox cuffed Strasburg around for four runs in the first inning, capped by a two-out, two-run single by Yolmer Sanchez. Yoan Moncada added a long solo home run in the second inning to make it 5-0, and the Sox were in position to get back to .500.

Alas, it was not to be.

Wednesday, June 5
Nationals 6, White Sox 4: This was a more conventional Sox loss, characterized by three errors, leadoff walks that came back to bite them in the ass, and of course, a failed bunt in the ninth inning that killed a potential winning rally.

The Sox never lead, and they played poorly, so we can't really say they should have won. However, they had their chances. Alex Colome (2-1) had his worst outing of the season, his first failure in a high-leverage spot. He entered with the score tied at 4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked Brian Dozier on four pitches and gave up a game-ending homer to Trea Turner on a 3-2 fastball.

The Sox had battled back from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the eighth. Jose Abreu's two-run homer made it 4-3, and Welington Castillo's solo shot tied it.

Alas, it was not to be.

Hey, at least Dylan Covey wasn't terrible. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs. And Moncada homered for the second straight game, which is nice.

The winning on the last homestand was exciting, but I'll go back to my usual combination of apathy and cynicism now.

Lucas Giolito named AL Player of the Week, AL Pitcher of the Month

White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito has earned league-wide honors for his recent dominant stretch.

Giolito was named American League Player of the Week after winning both his starts on the Sox's most recent homestand. The right-hander defeated both the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians, allowing only three earned runs over 15.1 innings. He struck out 19 and walked one in those two outings.

Giolito also was named AL Pitcher of the Month for May. He went 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA over six starts in the month, including a four-hit shutout against the AL West-leading Houston Astros.

For the season, Giolito is 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA. He has struck out 78, walked 20 and allowed only 44 hits in 67.1 innings pitched.

It's been quite a turnaround for Giolito, who had a league-worst 6.13 ERA in 2018. The Sox have needed it, too, as no other starting pitcher on the 25-man roster has an ERA lower than 4.73 this season. Three of the Sox's five starters have ERAs over 6 entering Tuesday's play.

White Sox first-round draft pick: California 1B Andrew Vaughn

I've never seen Andrew Vaughn play a baseball game in my life, so I won't pretend to have a great scouting report on the guy the White Sox picked Monday with the No. 3 overall pick in the MLB draft.

I will say this pick represents a continuation of the Sox's philosophy to take polished collegiate hitters -- past first-round picks Zack Collins, Jake Burger and Nick Madrigal also fit that mode. As we're all aware, the Sox have had mixed results with those three players, and none of them has made the major leagues yet.

Will Vaughn be the guy? We can hope, and there's plenty to like with his college statistics. He won the Golden Spikes Award last season as a sophomore, when he hit 23 homers, and he's a candidate to win the award again this year as a junior. His slash line is .381/.544/.716 with 14 doubles and 15 home runs in 52 games. Teams are obviously pitching around him -- he has 59 walks and only 33 strikeouts this season.

His on-base percentage has never dipped below .530 in either of the past two seasons at Cal, so he's basically turned the odds of the game on their ear. Usually, it's the pitcher who has a much better chance of success in any pitcher-batter confrontation. Vaughn? He reaches base more than 50 percent of the time consistently.

In case you were wondering if his power will transfer to wood bats, he had five home runs in 14 games in the Cape Cod League last summer, so, yeah, there are reasons to believe this guy is going to hit.

What's not to like? Well, he's a right-handed hitting first baseman. He's not that big -- 6 feet tall and 214 pounds. He'll provide no defensive utility and little baserunning prowess, so he has to hit and hit a lot to be a successful player.

The other thing is, the Sox system already is loaded with guys who might need to move to first base, including incumbent left fielder Eloy Jimenez. Some believe Collins needs to move from catcher to first base, and some believe the oft-injured Burger needs to move from third base to first base. And, the Sox invested a second-round pick a couple years back in Gavin Sheets, who is playing first base at Double-A Birmingham.

How many first base candidates do you need? The Sox have plenty, but the hope has to be that Vaughn will be on a fast track to emerge as the cream of the crop at that position.

White Sox finish 6-1 on homestand vs. Royals, Indians

Jose Abreu

The White Sox finished 6-1 on their just-completed seven-game homestand against the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. They haven't had a homestand this successful since 2010.

After sweeping Kansas City, the Sox (29-30) took three out of four games from the Indians (29-30) to move into a second-place tie. In doing so, they overcame a couple of pitching matchups that didn't look too promising coming into the series.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Thursday, May 30
White Sox 10, Indians 4: Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco had made two previous starts against the Sox this season, and he won them both. In fact, he was unscored upon in 12 innings. So, it didn't look too good for the Sox with Carrasco starting against left-hander Manny Banuelos.

Surprise! The Sox cuffed Carrasco around for six runs on 10 hits over 6.1 innings, then blew the game open with four more runs off reliever Dan Otero.

Jose Abreu and Yonder Alonso both homered, and Leury Garcia and Eloy Jimenez each had three-hit games. Jimenez's two-run double in the second inning started the Sox's scoring. Alonso's two-run homer in the third put them ahead to stay.

Banuelos (3-4) was good enough. He allowed three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings. For a guy with a 7.36 ERA, you take that.

Friday, May 31
White Sox 6, Indians 1: Once again, the starting pitching matchup didn't look favorable. The Indians were throwing their best healthy pitcher in Trevor Bauer, while the Sox were countering with the winless Dylan Covey.

Surprise! Covey (1-4) isn't winless anymore. He gave up a leadoff homer to Francisco Lindor in the first inning, but no other runs over six innings pitched. He allowed eight hits, but managed to pitch around them.

Meanwhile, Cleveland committed four errors, causing Bauer to give up four unearned runs (and two additional earned runs) over seven innings.

Charlie Tilson paced the Sox offense with two hits, including a two-run double in the bottom of the third that put the South Siders ahead to stay.

Saturday, June 1
Indians 5, White Sox 2: There has to be a rotten apple in every bunch, right? Sox starter Ivan Nova (3-5) wasn't terrible, but a couple home runs by left-handed hitters hurt him. Carlos Santana broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a solo home run, and Leonys Martin added a two-run shot in the seventh for a 4-1 Indians lead.

The Sox could not overcome that deficit as they managed only four hits against a hodgepodge of six Cleveland pitchers. Reliever Oliver Perez (1-0) retired all five batters he faced in the fifth inning and at the start of the sixth inning to get the win for the Tribe. Brad Hand worked an easy ninth for his 16th save.

Jimenez had two hits for the Sox, including a double, but not much else was going on.

Sunday, June 2
White Sox 2, Indians 0: Lucas Giolito (8-1) did it again, improving to 6-0 with a 1.03 ERA over his past six starts. He went 7.1 innings, allowing only five hits and no walks. He struck out nine. Aaron Bummer got a double play ball to end the eighth inning, and Alex Colome worked around a leadoff double by Lindor in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season.

It wasn't easy for Giolito, as he pitched with no margin for error thanks to a strong start by Cleveland rookie Zach Plesac (0-1), who tossed seven innings of one-run ball.

That one run was a 429-foot homer by Tim Anderson, his ninth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Anderson's two-out RBI double, which scored Yolmer Sanchez.

The satisfying win should make for a pleasant off day Monday for the Sox, who just completed a busy stretch of 36 games in 37 days. They have a brief two-game series in Washington against the Nationals on Tuesday and Wednesday, before another off day on Thursday.

Weird schedule this season, huh?