Rookie right-handers Heuer, Foster get it done out of Sox's bullpen
They are loaded with veterans, but the White Sox have also been getting some nice production from young players this season.
Everybody around baseball already knows who Luis Robert is, and Nick Madrigal and Dane Dunning are also making names for themselves as rookies.
There are two other first-year players that are contributing, and they both are in the Sox's bullpen.
Heading into Saturday night's game against the Tigers, righty Codi Heuer was 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 1 save in 15 appearances.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2018 out of Wichita State, Heuer has limited right-handed hitters to a .077 (2-for-26) batting average.
"He's got a good arm, obviously," manager Rick Renteria said. "Pounds the strike zone, not afraid. I think part of any reliever coming in to do a job is about getting outs. I think he really likes to get outs. He looks very comfortable and his stuff is playing very well."
Another rookie right-hander, Matt Foster, is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings. Not bad for a 20th-round draft pick, which he was in 2016 after pitching at Alabama in college.
"What Codi Heuer and Matt Foster have done has been, not only very valuable, but very impressive," general manager Rick Hahn said. "Foster and Heuer were guys that there wasn't a lot of talk about outside of the organization and they've stepped into big roles, they've filled important voids that had been left due to injury in that bullpen. Obviously, in this funky season where a lot of teams, including us, are getting shorter starts than we're used to, there have been a lot of innings for that bullpen to pick up and they've been taxed along the way.
"For these young kids, one is only a couple of years out of the draft, the other was a 20th-round pick, it's awesome to see stories like that play out at the big-league level."
September slumber:
After hitting .298/.348/.612 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in late July/August, Luis Robert was named American League Rookie of the Month.
September has not been nearly as kind to the White Sox's 23-year-old center fielder. Through Friday's play, Robert was slashing .121/.237/.212 with 1 homer and 3 RBI for the month. He also struck out 14 times in 38 plate appearances.
"I think at times he might be trying to do a little bit too much, but I think he continues to separate what he does at the plate and plays defense," manager Rick Renteria said. "The other thing is from one moment to the next, you might see him clicking and them you've got a lot of special things going on with him. He continues to learn and grind it out."