Thrust into action in the fifth inning Saturday against the heart of the Tigers’ lineup, White Sox rookie reliever Wikelman Gonzalez was in attack mode.
He got slugger Spencer Torkelson to strike out looking and fanned two-time All-Star Riley Greene before getting Andy Ibanez to fly out. In the sixth, he struck out the side — Dillon Dangler, Zach McKinstry and Javy Baez.
Five punchouts and zero walks in two innings.
“That might be the best outing we’ve seen from him,” manager Will Venable said.
Informed later of that assessment, Gonzalez was pleased.
“It means a lot to hear that,” he told the Sun-Times through an interpreter. “I’m feeling pretty good right now. I think I’m doing a good job. And, you know, it’s important to me to go out there and take advantage of every opportunity and perform.”
While catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Bra-den Montgomery also have serious potential among the haul of prospects the Sox got for Garrett Crochet last December, Gonzalez and infielder Chase Meidroth have emerged already as plus contributors. Gonzalez was a starter with high walk rates throughout the Red Sox’ minor-league system but was transitioned to the bullpen earlier this year to help accelerate his path to the majors. In 12 appearances since his big-league debut in June, he has a 1.62 ERA.
Opponents are hitting just .091 against his fastball, which averages 95.3 mph. His pitches are hard to hit, but his velocity means little if he’s not getting hitters to swing in the zone — an issue he has addressed by finding a routine that works and focusing more on his game-planning.
“I know [the Tigers] have a very good lineup,” he said after his outing Saturday, “but I just tried to focus on myself and executing what I know I can do instead of the hitters.”
Meidroth, another promising piece from the Crochet deal, was productive last week on the Sox’ seven-game road trip to Minnesota and Detroit, batting .455/.520/.636 with a 1.156 OPS. Since Aug. 15, he’s batting .324/.400/.408 with a 131 wRC+. His patient approach at the plate has resulted in a low chase rate (21.5%) and an above-average walk rate (9.5%). Combine that with his ability to handle three positions — shortstop, second base and third — and his ceiling is high.
Assistant hitting coach Joel McKeithan has been impressed with Meidroth’s play this season through various injuries — a sprained right ankle, soreness in his right shoulder and a bruised right thumb.
“He’s dealt with a lot of things this year, and he’s played through all of it,” McKeithan said. “He’s honed in on who he is as a hitter and [is] just letting that show up.”
When the Sox and Red Sox finalized the trade at the winter meetings in Dallas, Sox general manager Chris Getz said it was about getting “value and volume.” Time will tell just how much the Sox ended up with. They’re missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season while Crochet is an All-Star for a playoff contender, but Gonzalez and Meidroth could be the start of the change they need.
