Chicago White Sox Call Up Former Cardinal, Big Piece of Crochet Deal

The Chicago White Sox are reportedly set to call up former Stanford Cardinal Jake Palisch from Double-A Birmingham ahead of Friday's matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays. The left-hander went undrafted in 2022, but signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox in July of that season.

He started his college career with Stanford as a member of the 2018 squad that now boasts nine players that have reached the big leagues, including Nico Hoerner, Kyle Stowers, and Jack Little, who was the pitcher that hit Fernando Tatís Jr. last night in his MLB debut that led to the Dodgers and Padres benches clearing.

After three seasons with the Cardinal, Palisch transferred to Texas A&M for his senior campaign where he took a step forward, posting a 2.39 ERA across 60 1/3 innings of work.

In both 2023 and 2024 in the Sox system, Palisch had some trouble with the long ball, with home run:fly ball rates of 15.6% and 16.7%. This season he's allowed just one homer in 53 innings of work (1.7%), and his ERA has dropped considerably, sitting at 1.19. His command is similar to where it has been with a seven percent walk rate, but his BABIP is a low .225.

One caveat for the sterling metrics is that he's pitching to contact more this season. It's certainly working, but his strikeout rate is sitting at just 17.4%, which could be an issue in the big leagues where players are more patient and can hit balls a bit further than in the minors.

This roster move came among a slew of them for the White Sox on Friday, with the club optioning Owen White to Charlotte, designating Caleb Freeman for assignment, and placing Davis Martin and Cam Booser on the 15-day IL. In addition to the arrival of Palisch, the club will also be seeing Winkelman González, who will also be making his MLB debut.

González was part of the monster return for Garrett Crochet in the trade with the Boston Red Sox over the offseason. Catcher Kyle Teel and utility-man Chase Meidroth, also part of the trade, are already with the White Sox, while outfielder Braden Montgomery is making a push towards the big leagues of his own.

While the White Sox were baseball's worst team last season by a wide margin, the team is playing better this year, thanks in part to the trades the club has made. They enter this series with the Blue Jays with a 23-52 record and on an eight-game losing streak, but that's still a 50-win pace with some upside.