The White Sox' Offense is a Borderline Disaster, Duncan Davitt's Debut, More Notes
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The start of this season has left a lot to be desired for the Chicago White Sox, who were among the more exciting offseason teams to discuss. The growing pains for this young group remain all too real, however, especially at the plate. More on that, along with a few other important White Sox notes, below!
Duncan Davitt's Debut
Grant Taylor may be the only one comfortable in the Chicago White Sox' bullpen. GM Chris Getz has shown he isn't afraid to make changes over the first couple of weeks, even calling up lefty Tyler Schweitzer just to send him down one day later. To be sure, changes were always on the horizon for this pitching staff, but there is no doubt this has been even more movement than expected early on.
Duncan Davitt was the latest in the Sox' system to get a big league tryout. Despite a relatively shaky start in Charlotte, Davitt looked right at home in the majors. After a very long outing from starter Davis Martin, Davitt came in to start the bottom of the eighth inning. While he walked his first-ever batter, Davitt proceeded to get Maikel Garcia to ground out into a double play in a seven-pitch at-bat. Then, he sent an 82.4 mph sweeper toward Bobby Witt Jr., who immediately flew out to end the inning.
A jaw-dropping debut? Not in the slightest, but it was the kind of quick and efficient inning that most of the Sox' bullpen arms have failed to provide this season. Let's see if he gets some more action on Saturday afternoon.
What's the Offensive Identity?
While the Chicago White Sox may have started the season 1-5, it felt like there were shades of an offensive identity. The team was near the top of the league in home runs, leaning on the pop of Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami. Being a boom or bust team may not be the best recipe for success, but it at least felt like something the Sox' lineup could hang its hat on as they figured the rest out.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the power has disappeared while the steady contact has remained nonexistent. The team's offense has genuinely looked like one of the worst in baseball, and the numbers back it up. They are currently 29th in hits and 30th in RBIs. As a team, they are batting a mere .196 with a slugging percentage of .301.
Even in the team's most recent victory, all they could muster was a pair of runs on five hits. They did at least shrink their strikeout count to five in that meeting with the Royals, but they followed that up with another day of double-digit Ks one game later.
Will Venable has not been shy about shuffling his lineup thus far, and I can't imagine these results will change his approach. The good news is that the team will eventually welcome back Austin Hays and Everson Pereira, who were off to decent starts. But are those two really going to fix the problem? What the Sox need is for guys like Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero, and Chase Meidroth to display far more discipline at the plate. Otherwise, it's going to be time to start looking at some more potential call-ups for a spark.
Anthony Kay Goes At Royals
In case you missed it, Anthony Kay wasn't too pleased after his first outing with the Royals. And it wasn't because of his own performance. In fact, Kay had his best outing of the season against Kansas City in Game 1 of this current series, throwing a scoreless 5.2 innings pitched. He threw six strikeouts and only walked two batters, as the lefty continued to show some increased velocity and good command.
Nonetheless, Kay walked out of that performance with a chip on his shoulder. After accidentally hitting Jac Caglianone in the sixth inning, the Royals outfielder stared Kay down and made some comments.
"Those guys like to chirp a little bit it seems like," Kay told Scott Merkin after the game. "I don’t think we are going to take that anymore. We are going to go right at them."
You've got to love one of the team's newest members immediately embracing a division rivalry! Not many fans were aware of what kind of personality Kay brought to the table, but I think it's safe to say they know the pitcher has an edge now.
An Awesome Derek Hill Catch
The White Sox may have added another scoreless dud to the board on Friday, but Derek Hill still gave us a highlight play!
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Vinnie Pasquantino sent what appeared to be a single into shallow right field. Hill was able to fly in at the last second and make the diving grab for the final out of the inning. It helped keep Davis Martin at just 68 pitches on the day.
we've got a man there! pic.twitter.com/sg9VGtqfzO
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 11, 2026
All things considered, Derek Hill may warrant more playing time in the coming days and weeks. Not only is this a banged-up group in the outfield, but his defense and speed on the bases have come through clutch a couple of times this season. Especially for a team that looks so young and inexperienced, having someone like him consistently in the lineup can't hurt.
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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