White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz is respected throughout the organization for his knowledge and communication skills.
But the deeper into the season the Sox get, the more complex his job is going to be as the team tries to manage the workloads of its young starters. The Sox will use bullpen games to compensate for right-hander Jonathan Cannon’s injury absence but still must ensure their other starters keep developing.
‘‘He’s one of the better pitching coaches in the league,’’ Cannon told the Sun-Times. ‘‘He’s able to tackle complicated issues and complicated problems in a very simple way.
‘‘Katz is not trying to force things. It’s about being able to adapt to what I have on the mound that day and being able to find success with whatever’s working that day.’’
Though the Sox didn’t spend significant money during the offseason on a free-agent starter — their lone addition was left-hander Martin Perez (one-year, $5 million), who has been on the 60-day injured list since April 21 with tightness in his left forearm — or acquire one in a trade, the rotation has surprised. Entering play Monday, Sox starters ranked 17th in the majors in ERA.
A large part of that success is because of Katz and director of pitching Brian Bannister. The Sox have exceeded expectations by signing players on the margins and maximizing their ability. Still, the staff’s execution has been inconsistent because of inexperienced starters and two of the youngest catchers in the majors in Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.
The starters, however, have shown an ability to adapt. That starts with Katz, who now really has his work cut out for him.
Most of the Sox’ starters are approaching their career high in innings before the All-Star break. Sean Burke (70⅔), Shane Smith (68⅓) and Davis Martin (80⅔) will need to have their workloads managed in the second half of the season, and that responsibility lies with Katz.
Katz said the Sox will try not to push the starters deep into games as the season progresses. General manager Chris Getz floated the idea of a six-man rotation to give starters longer breaks between outings.
‘‘When there’s a situation like Burke’s game, we pulled him out early,’’ Katz said of Burke’s start last week against the Astros, in which he allowed seven runs in 3⅔ innings. ‘‘[The starters] have been going out there and giving us six quality innings over and over, which is great. But when you’re looking at getting through a season, they’re gonna be at 180 or 190 innings, which is not an intended target.’’
Being proactive with starters’ health is paramount for the Sox. Any sustained success they hope to have in the future is grounded in the development of their young pitchers. There’s value in having mid-rotation starters with cost-controllable contracts.
Veteran starters such as Adrian Houser and Aaron Civale will be key as innings-eaters. Mike Vasil has been stretched out to give the Sox multiple innings as an opener.
‘‘We’re trying to be as creative as possible with all the young arms we have,’’ Katz said. ‘‘[We’re] being very mindful of their workloads in the past; you’re trying to get them through the season. We’re still trying to talk through that process because the last couple of weeks we’ve been trying to plug-and-play guys to fill the innings while being mindful of their workload.’’
ON DECK
CARDINALS AT SOX
Tuesday: Matthew Liberatore (3-6, 4.17 ERA) vs. Shane Smith (3-3, 2.37), 6:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Wednesday: Sonny Gray (7-2, 3.84) vs. Sean Burke (3-7, 4.71), 6:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Thursday: Erick Fedde (3-6, 3.65) vs. Adrian Houser (2-2, 2.15), 1:10 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.