White Sox can live with Abreu's low walk total

Heading into Tuesday's play, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu ranked near the top of major-league leaders with 100 RBI.

It's a good place to be for a middle-of-the-order hitter paid to knock in runs.

Abreu was in a bad place when it comes to walks. He had just 26 in 557 plate appearances, and only eight players in baseball (including teammate Leury Garcia) had a lower walk ratio than Abreu's 4.7%

Abreu did draw a walk in his first at-bat Tuesday night against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.

As the Sox's No. 3 hitter, Abreu is trying to do the best he can without a proven cleanup man behind him. Abreu rarely gets a good pitch to hit, but he's not making any excuses for the low walk total.

"It doesn't matter who you have behind you," Abreu said through a translator. "You need to recognize what they are trying to do with you. That's something I've been working on throughout the whole season, to be aware of the situation and what the pitcher's plan is and just to stick with it."

White Sox manager Rick Renteria would like to see Abreu swing at better pitches, draw more walks and boost his on-base percentage, but he also needs a run producer.

"The walks are a byproduct of, probably, not chasing certain pitches in certain situations," Renteria said. "But he probably wouldn't have driven in the runs that he's driven in as much, either. I know that's not necessarily a valued stat, so to speak.

"But when you drive those guys in, I think everybody's happy when you have somebody that goes out there that you can count on putting the bat on the ball in certain situations. He's done that pretty consistently for us and he's doing it again this season."

On the defense:

Eloy Jimenez missed two games last week with a sore hip, and the power-hitting rookie has also been sidelined with an ankle and elbow injury that were sustained playing left field.

Rejoining the White Sox Saturday, Jimenez was the designated hitter for two games before moving back to left Tuesday night against Minnesota.

There has been some speculation that Jimenez eventually winds up as a full-time DH, but the Sox have no doubt he can become a better, safer outfielder with experience.

"I need him to play games out there so he can improve," manager Rick Renteria said. "The only way you're going to get that is experience out there. He's been working really, really hard. He continues to do his work and improve."

Banuelos shelled:

Sidelined since mid-June with shoulder inflammation, Manny Banuelos started for Class AAA Charlotte Tuesday night after pitching in 4 games with the AZL Sox and high Class A Winston-Salem.

The outing did not go well for Banuelos. In 4 innings against Durham, the left-hander allowed 7 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk.

In 13 games (8 starts) for the White Sox this season, Banuelos is 3-4 with a 6.90 ERA.