First baseman Andrew Vaughn connected on a slider slightly out of the zone for his 10th homer of the season in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Rockies.
Vaughn has been among the best hitters for the White Sox in June.
Entering Sunday’s series game, Vaughn was slashing .330/.364/.532 with five homers. His production is needed for the Sox as they score the fewest runs per game in the majors.
It’s been a drastic turnaround after the first baseman struggled severely through the season’s first two months. From March 28-June 1, Vaughn slashed .199/.264/.313 with four home runs.
Vaughn had two hits and three RBIs, including the game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to keep the Sox in the game. Confidence has helped elevate Vaughn’s performance.
“Just dedicated to my work,” Vaughn said. “Getting my work in the cage and just trusting it.”
The Sox have sorely needed Vaughn to get going at the plate because they need impact bats in their lineup — the Sox have the lowest weighted runs created plus in the majors (72).
Dejong’s hitting
Shortstop Paul DeJong has been surprising at the plate. The veteran has already tied last season’s home run total and has his highest OPS (.730) and slugging percentage (.447) since 2019.
He’s seeing the ball well at the plate and hitting the ball hard and to the opposite field.
“On the baseball side of it, he’s been steady,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “You make a mistake; he’ll hit it out of the ballpark. And he’s got some big hits for us, too. There’s some things he’s realizing about his ability that can keep in the game for a while.
“That’s trying to hit the ball the other way, even if the outcome is not the other way, focusing that way.”
Though he’s not a standout defender like he was in St. Louis, DeJong has been solid in the field lately. He makes the routine plays and limits the mistakes. He has a 1.7 defensive WAR, according to Fangraphs.
Working with third base/infield coach Eddie Rodriguez has helped DeJong sharpen his defensive skills. Grifol appreciates DeJong’s consistency and reliability.
“He’s playing a faster game; he’s a hell of a lot more confident using one hand,” Grifol said. “He’s made some really good plays here of late. Makeup-wise, character-wise, consistent.”
Flashing the leather
Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. showed his standout defensive skills Sunday as he tracked a fly ball by center fielder Brenton Doyle to the warning track and snatched the ball in the fifth inning. The hit had an expected batting average of .400 and would have been a homer in four major league ballparks, according to Baseball Savant.
This weekend was a reminder of the two-way abilities that Robert possesses. When he’s right physically — he’s only played 100-plus games once — he can patrol center field with the best of them.
Last season, Robert was in the 98th percentile in outs above average, 97th percentile in fielding run value — which combines Statcast’s individual defensive metric — and 84th percentile in sprint speed (86.8 mph).
In the 14th inning, Robert threw a bullet toward home plate that would have resulted in an out, but catcher Korey Lee couldn’t make the tag.