Dominic Fletcher is BACK and an observation…

Wednesday morning workday opened up for me with seeing a happy tweet from one James Fegan.

Dominic Fletcher is back in Chicago pic.twitter.com/cHnVOxkepk

— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 15, 2024

I was most definitely a fan of seeing lots of Dominic Fletcher in Right Field this year. However, the combination of Luis Robert Jr. going down early with injury and “Fletch” as I affectionately call him starting off the season with a dismal .203 / .277 / .271 batting line in his 66 Plate Appearance debut, lead to his early demotion to AAA Charlotte. He coupled that terrible batting line with a brutal 30.3% K-Rate and only a 6.1% Walk Rate to offset it. After being below 20% (K-Rate) and above 10% (Walk Rate) in the high minors very recently. I assumed the White Sox intentions were less about seasoning and more about getting his approach back correct….below is where he sat in Charlotte.

Okay, the rest of the profile in Charlotte was booty, but he seemed to recover his plate control. The BB% and K% seem more like him. Yes, I know AAA pitching is easier, but getting straightened out might matter here. This got me wondering, how are the rest of our close to the majors 40 man occupants fairing in this department? Is Getz 2.0 (the GM Regime) actually focusing on this shit? Seemed to be a discussion point in the off-season and a focal point of his position player dumpster diving early into the season….hmm.

Zach DeLoach

Honestly, I don’t think I could pick this dude out of a lineup and realistically, I still can’t. Not even sure this is him. Anyways, he came over in the Gregory Santos trade and we all thought he might get some burn in the corner by where the #108ing happens. So far Getzy has collected common card RFers by the dozens to block this dude. Well, let’s see what he’s up to.

Zach’s overall results look mid as these two. The kid has always drawn walks, however I am noticing something encouraging in this simplistic analysis, the K-Rate is substantially down over last year’s full season in AAA. If I remember correctly the “swing and miss” was a concern with DeLoach and that is being tempered, even if the other results aren’t following through. Are the White Sox actually prioritizing swing decisions? Can’t be..can it?

Oscar Colas

Oscar…oh Oscar. Forever in Pedro’s doghouse. How’s you doin in lockdown aka Charlotte?

Again, pretty mediocre overall stats, but both Walk % and Strikeout % moving a decent amount in the right directions. It’s possible this is just AAA pitching in 2024. Or an outsized effect of Charlotte being the launching pad it is and more caution from veteran hurlers trying to make their way back to the show. Whatever. Let’s look at one final guy, the biggest fucking hacker on the 40 man since Jose Rodriguez made his way to Philadelphia in return for this guy.

LENYN. SOSA.

Lenyn Sosa

Lenyn Sosa has had 47,000 chances with the White Sox, but none of yous reading this are ready to give up on him (truthfully, I still hold out hope he can make it). His forays in Chicago have ended with large strikeout rates and miniscule walk rates. Are they giving him the same treatment that I think I am seeing (but I am mostly just guessing) with the others of close to the majors promise? Let’s see…

Sosa’s regular stats in Charlotte have actually been fire, unlike the others in this sample. Albeit a smaller sample size since he spent more time in the majors and is currently on the AAA IL. Anywho, that 10.3% Walk Rate is something he’s not really come close to accomplishing before and his sub 20% K-Rate harkens back to when he was on a heater in the 2022 season. One more chance with Lenyn at the keystone?

I’m not really sure the White Sox are working swing decisions hard in AAA, these upticks I am seeing could be mirages. My viewpoint is literally 10,000 feet and I have not talked to anyone about this. But it is fun to wonder if actual work is getting done with these four guys in their residencies in the great american south because their positive contributions in the windy city would be welcomed down the road.

-BeefLoaf