Thompson, White Sox rally to edge Red Sox
Before Monday night's loss to the Red Sox, executive vice president Kenny Williams talked about how challenging it is to gauge these up-and-down White Sox, both now and in the future.
"This club is a little more difficult to evaluate," Williams said. "We're going to get together and continue to discuss it, but this is a perplexing situation."
Assuming Williams is still around when the season ends instead of off to a team like the Blue Jays or Mariners that are looking for team presidents, he is going to have to weigh in on Trayce Thompson.
The rookie has been playing on a sporadic basis since coming up from Class AAA Charlotte on Aug. 3, but Thompson continued to make the most of his opportunities in Tuesday night's 5-4 victory over Boston at U.S. Cellular Field.
"You like what you're seeing out of him, and I think he's made great strides from spring training until now," manager Robin Ventura said.
Getting the start in right field, Thompson was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. His 2-run double in the seventh inning put the White Sox on top for good. Thompson, a right-handed hitter, has been starting against left-handed starting pitchers.
It has been a good strategy, as Thompson is 10-for-17 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI against lefties. But the 24-year-old rookie has held his own (2-for-6) against right-handers so far and is pushing hard for a longer look.
"Eventually, I'm sure he'll get some starts in there against some righties, and we'll see how that goes," Ventura said. "He's on a nice run. I think he's had great at-bats the whole time he's been here. I think he belongs here. He knows that."
Thompson comes from a famous basketball family, and that has helped ease his transition from the minor leagues to the majors.
"Once you dig in the box, it's the exact same," Thompson said. "It's been very comfortable for me. It's just baseball for me, just having fun. These guys make it very easy for me."
Not only did Thompson's big night help the White Sox snap a two-game losing streak, it helped them overcome a sloppy game on defense and running the bases.
"We kicked it around tonight," Ventura said. "The offense did enough to overcome it."
Thompson is looking forward to getting as much playing time as possible the rest of the season.
"I'm confident in myself and my abilities," he said. "You have to be to have success here. But, yeah, I'm not playing every day so with my routine I try to keep it the same routine. I'm pretty diligent and I try to keep it up every day so I think that has helped me a lot.
"I think the biggest thing is confidence. My first day, D-Bo (first-base Daryl Boston) told me it's all about confidence and knowing you can play here. I took that to heart and I think that has helped me a lot."