On a team woefully lacking offense, the White Sox have been catching from a position of strength — and it could soon have them in a rare roster crunch.
Rookie catcher Edgar Quero has had a solid start in the first 28 games of his career, batting .264 with three doubles and 10 walks, while nabbing seven would-be base stealers.
While veteran Matt Thaiss’ bat hasn’t been as hot, he’s drawn 20 walks and been a consistent presence behind the plate, helping guide the Sox’ impressive starting rotation and flashing a strong arm. He’s picked off three baserunners, the most in a season by a Sox catcher since Dioner Navarro nabbed four in 2016.
That leaves the Sox with decisions to make at a suddenly crowded position as Korey Lee wraps up a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Lee started the season with the Sox, going 5-for-15 with two doubles before landing on the injured list with a sprained ankle. He entered Wednesday hitting .357 at Charlotte.
The catchers have done well with Sox starters, who rank 13th in Major League Baseball with a 3.75 ERA, allowing the sixth fewest earned runs.
Meanwhile, Kyle Teel — the No. 2-ranked prospect in the Sox’ organization and No. 28 overall per MLB Pipeline — is on a 17-game hitting streak at Charlotte and has reached base safely in 28 straight games. He’s hit .271 overall with four home runs and 21 RBI.
Manager Will Venable said he expects Lee back on the active roster soon, but he’s enjoyed having Quero and Thaiss to mix in the lineup against different handed pitchers. He didn’t say if the team would carry three catchers.
“Right now, we’ve got two guys who are playing great here and that’s kind of our focus is just trying to figure out on a daily basis what’s giving us our best chance to win,” Venable said.
Chasing greatness
Shortstop Chase Meidroth extended his hitting streak to nine games when he laced a leadoff double in the Sox’ 6-5 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday. He also ripped a go-ahead RBI single down the right field line in the seventh before the Sox’ latest bullpen implosion.
The rookie leads Sox regulars with a .301 batting average and is a perfect 8-for-8 in steal attempts to start his career, putting him in the top three among American League rookies.
More recently, he’s found a regular spot at the top of the batting order, with a .308 average in 20 games that puts him among the top four AL leadoff men.
“I’m just trying to win each pitch. It doesn’t matter where I hit in the lineup,” Meidroth said.
Bryse to bullpen
Right-handed pitcher Bryse Wilson took his demotion from the starting rotation in stride, returning to the long-relief role he’s filled for most of his career after a rough outing last week in Cincinnati and the Sox’ acquisition of starter Adrian Houser.
“I fell into trying to be a little too perfect in the rotation, not being super aggressive with my pitches and trying to get guys out on soft contact,” Wilson said.
Ignominy watch
With Wednesday’s loss, the Sox (15-35) are at the same winning pace through 50 games as they were in last year’s historically awful season.
But the Colorado Rockies are well on their way to taking the all-time season loss title from Chicago. They entered Wednesday at an abysmal 8-40.