White Sox right-hander Nick Nastrini will be making his MLB debut on Monday against the Royals. | AP Photo/Ashley Landis
Ashley Landis/AP Photos
Sox pitching prospect Nick Nastrini is being called up and will make his White Sox debut on Monday against the Kansas City Royals.
Nastrini was acquired from the Dodgers in the Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly trade. The right-hander had a strong spring training for the Sox, posting a 3.77 ERA, 11 strikeouts and 10 hits allowed in three starts.
Nastrini has struggled with command throughout his career. He walked 37 batters in 17 games at Double-A Tulsa when he was with the Dodgers.
“I like his stuff; he’s got talent,” manager Pedro Grifol said of Nastrini. “He’s got great presence. He’s not afraid.There’s guys that come up here and this is the level for them. And there’s guys that come up here and they’ve got to make adjustments after their first or second start. But debuts are debuts.”
Lee’s approach
White Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames noticed that catcher Korey Lee’s swing had a lot going on when he watched a video of him in the offseason.
“Just talking with him and watching his video from last year, he had a lot of different moves going on,” Thames told the Sun-Times of Lee’s plate approach. “I was like, ‘Hey, hitting is already hard enough. Let’s get something and simplify it. I want you to own it and make it Korey Lee; make it authentic. Make it you.’”
Simplifying the approach worked for Lee through the spring and the first 15 regular-season games. He’s slashing .318/.348/.500 entering Sunday’s series finale against the Reds.
Lee has plus power, but he still had to harness his swing and reduce the amount of swing-and-miss in his game. In the winter, Lee worked with Thames on changing aspects of his swing to accentuate his strengths.
Granted, it’s still early in the MLB calendar, but it was important for him to see the success early. Lee’s development will matter greatly in the short and long term.
“Last year, he tried to pull everything,” Thames said. “We’re trying to keep him in the big part of the field. Sometimes, he’ll catch himself trying to get too big, and then it’s like, ‘Hey, go back home.’ Going back home means staying low in the middle of the big part of the field.”
The Sox need Lee’s approach to last. They’re last in the majors in home runs (8), 27th in slugging percentage (.314) and 25th in ISO percentage (.116). The onus will be on the offense to produce to help the team end its rough slide.
Benintendi’s struggles
White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi has struggled immensely to start the season. He’s slashing .140/.204/.160. Benintendi — who signed a franchise-record five-year, $75 million contract in 2023 — has one multi-hit game this season. Grifol moved him down in the lineup on Friday before returning to the two-hole for Sunday’s game.
“I believe in Benny,” Grifol said. “I trust Benny. He hasn’t gotten off to the start that he wanted and we needed but Benny’s got a track record. He sees pitches and he’s got capabilities of doing some things that I like in the two-hole. We’ll continue to move this thing around and we’ll see where we find something that we like and produce for us.”