A great season Beck-ons?
The White Sox first and only intrasquad game of the spring took place yesterday, and multiple players thrived. However, the non-roster invitee who stood out was 2013 Dash All-Star Chris Beck, who logged a pair of scoreless innings including a perfect first.
According to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com, Beck faced the minimum while squaring off with a lineup that could be very similar to the White Sox starting nine on Opening Day.
Padilla mentioned that Beck has the attention of longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper:
After his solid 2013 season, Beck moved into Baseball America’s top-10 list of White Sox prospects, and pitching coach Don Cooper has often included him when talking about long shot candidates for the Opening Day rotation.
Beck is one of the smartest pitchers I have been around. The question mark around the right-hander prior to the 2012 MLB Draft was his conditioning. He worked as hard as any Dash hurler a year ago, and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago wrote about Beck’s conditioning tweaks over the last year.
In essence, the White Sox urged Beck to work harder in the gym, and he did after he was drafted in the second round. However, he emphasized the wrong muscles and body parts. Over the last 12 months, a different program has resulted in a great deal of success for the former Georgia Southern product.
If the intelligent Beck is also feeling better about his physical condition than he ever has, then the White Sox stole him in the 2012 Draft. He has already raised some eyebrows in White Sox camp, and fans in Chicago should keep an eye on the righty.
Here are a few other notes from Glendale and beyond:
- Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com highlighted Rick Hahn’s efforts as the White Sox General Manager. It remains to be seen if all of his moves will result in success at the big league level, but most around the game feel that Hahn has done a tremendous job thus far in Chicago.
- Happy belated birthday to Jerry Reinsdorf, the White Sox chairman, who turned 78 on Tuesday.
- The Sox announced their 2014 promotional schedule, and a Chris Sale bobblehead is the main attraction. Check it out here.
- Elsewhere, there is a unique study taking place at Mercyhurst University. The short version is that experts are analyzing the effectiveness of a pitch count on a pitcher’s arm. The full story is worth the read, and the results will be fascinating when they are released at some point in the next few years.
Some teams are kicking off their Spring Training schedule today. The White Sox begin on Friday! Thanks for reading.
- Brian
