In the interim, the Sox will likely continue with Vince Velasquez, who has been shaky (5.79 ERA, 5.49 FIP) - seriously, when has he not been shaky? - in the fifth starter spot, or once again recall Davis Martin from Charlotte for a spot start or two. Lynn began his rehab assignment with three scoreless innings for Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday, throwing 39 pitches, and figures to make two more starts before rejoining the White Sox. Meanwhile, Michael Kopech (1.29 ERA, 2.71 FIP), Dylan Cease (3.69 ERA, 2.86 FIP), and Lucas Giolito (2.63 ERA, 3.69 FIP) have all pitched quite well. We’ll see the extent to which that holds up, but it’s a promising rebound after injuries limited him to just one appearance last September. He’s done that while throwing predominantly sinkers (31.8%) and sliders (24.8%) and mustering a higher average velocity on his sinker (92.0 mph) and four-seamer (92.4, thrown 15.2% of the time) than in any full season since 2015, though this is actually the fourth straight season he’s gained a bit of steam. The 36-year-old Cueto, who joined the rotation just in time to help the team navigate through a pair of doubleheaders in a six-day span, has pitched to a 2.41 ERA and 2.76 FIP in 18.2 innings over three starts so far. Keuchel’s departure from the organization, which put him on release waivers on Tuesday, owes something to the initial success that Johnny Cueto has had since joining the rotation in mid-month after signing a minor league deal in early April. Obviously, the trend from the last couple, especially the other night, was enough for us to say it was time to try something else in that spot.” “In fact, though we had been talking about this internally for a period of time, his starts against New York at our place and Boston at Fenway were impressive enough to continue to give him the ball. Hahn cited the reversals of fortune against the Yankees and Red Sox as weighing in the decision: He appeared to be righting the ship with a pair of solid starts against Red Sox and Yankees earlier this month, allowing two runs in 11 innings against the pair on May 8 and May 14, respectively, but both teams pummeled him upon getting a second look, with damage totaling 12 runs in six innings on May 21 (Yankees) and May 26 (Red Sox). He’s averaged just four innings per start, walked hitters at the same rate as which he struck them out (12.2%), and served up a career-high 1.69 homers per nine despite being one of the game’s top groundballers. The 34-year-old Keuchel had pitched poorly this season, with a 7.88 ERA and 6.20 FIP. With Lance Lynn likely to return from a knee injury within the next couple of weeks, the rotation should remain a source of strength for the defending AL Central winners, but Anderson’s absence looms large in a lineup that’s missing several other key players and struggling to score runs. Over the long holiday weekend, they offered reminders of both issues, first designating struggling starter Dallas Keuchel for assignment and then losing Tim Anderson to a groin strain. 500 due to injuries and underperformance. The White Sox have spent the first two months of the season meandering around.
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