White Sox short on reasons to bench Jake Burger

The 2023 Chicago White Sox have had no shortage of disappointments. Young players like Lenyn Sosa and Óscar Colás have failed to establish themselves when given the opportunity. The bottom seems to have fallen out completely on Lance Lynn. The bullpen all but buried the team in April while Pedro Grifol grasped at straws to find a reliever who wouldn't blow leads. Andrew Benintendi and Tim Anderson still have not hit a home run. Andrew Vaughn hasn't hit well enough to overcome his other shortcomings as a player. The list goes on and on, and has led to a team-wide performance to this point that has shocked all but the most extreme of pessimists.

The only position player on the team that seems to be significantly exceeding expectations is Jake Burger. Burger's been the best per-plate-appearance hitter on the White Sox in just about every metric, as he leads the team in wRC+ (148), OPS (.923), and xwOBA (.395). The 25-year-old hits the ball virtually as hard as any other player in baseball and has thrown in plus baserunning for good measure. His defense at third base, which was horrendous in past years, has actually rated as passable thus far this season.

Yet, if you were looking only at how his manager used him, you probably wouldn't guess there was much magic happening in Burger's season. Grifol has batted Burger sixth or lower in the vast majority of his starts, but perhaps more glaringly, has reduced Burger's role to a platoon bat since Eloy Jimenez‘ return. Burger has drawn the start in only three of the last eight games, all against left-handed starters.

When asked about why Burger was held out of the lineup in the opener in Yankee Stadium, Grifol offered a rather unsatisfying explanation:

Grifol on Burger: "Just know that if he's not playing, that if it's Sheets or somebody else playing, that's a better matchup that particular day."

Let's talk about that.

The White Sox were short on experience against opposing starter Clarke Schmidt. Burger hadn't faced him, but neither had Gavin Sheets or Jimenez. Yoan Moncada was 1-for-1 with a single, while Vaughn was 0-for-1 with a strikeout. Granted, allocating playing time based on such a trivial sample would be insane, but it's safe to say there's nothing in the Sox’ history against Schmidt that would crowd Burger out of the lineup.

More likely, Grifol is alluding to pitcher handedness here, and Jake Burger has had his struggles with righties prior to 2023. However, this season he's hitting .258/.297/.570 against right handers. He's actually been the best hitter on the roster against them:

I can understand a little hesitance to abandon preconcieved notions of a player based on just 101 plate appearances, but when a guy who had struggled badly against righties homers in three straight games off of them, as Burger did this April, the situation calls for some open-mindedness.

The last possible matchup-based explanation for sitting Burger is simply that he's struggled on the road, but after he sat in four of six games in the most recent homestand, that doesn't seem to be factoring into Grifol's calculus anyway.

Grifol's follow-up commentary was even more puzzling:

"Who doesn't want Burger in the lineup? I want him, too. However, we only have nine spots. And it's really not nine spots because he can't catch, play shortstop or center field."

Setting aside the absurdity of the team with the 25th-best cast of position players being unable to find one of nine lineup spots for its best hitter, Pedro's right. There aren't nine spots. After the three he's ruled out, there's six remaining. That still means there's a lot of guys who could take a seat to get Burger into the lineup against a right-handed pitcher. I’m going to rank these possibilities based on how much sense they make, but it's my contention that all six of these are preferable to putting Burger on the bench. Starting with the least preferable:

Why it could make sense: Benintendi's lack of power cripples his offensive value at a position low on the defensive spectrum, especially when he's not playing it particularly well.

Why it might not make sense: This would involve Gavin Sheets playing left field and Eloy Jimenez playing right. I’m a fan of Luis Robert's defense in center, but this might be asking too much of him. Sheets has hit better than Benintendi this season, but there's an argument to be made that this tradeoff isn't worth it. Plus, Benintendi somehow leads the team in on-base percentage, so his walks and contact hitting are at least adding a different dimension to the offense.

Why it could make sense: Jimenez has struggled to a middling batting line this season and doesn't offer much else. He's yet to put it all together for more than a half-season in his career, which gives the Sox less incentive to stick with him when things aren't going well.

Why it might not make sense: Jimenez has a bat that can carry a team when he gets hot, and taking him out of regular play foregoes that upside. This option would also involve Gavin Sheets playing right field. He hasn't hit any better than Jimenez, and he was responsible for, well, this play.

Why it could make sense: Romy González and Elvis Andrus have not provided a lot of justification for playing time. Even González's recent hot stretch is overshadowed by 29 strikeouts against one walk on the season, a ratio that will be simply untenable in the long run.

Why it might not make sense: While Burger has demonstrated improved defense and athleticism this season, asking him to learn a new position when he's just (seemingly) getting more comfortable at his natural one could be a mistake. Plus, this organization didn't hesitate at all to shift Andrew Vaughn to the outfield, and it kept him there long after it was clear he was more than giving back all his offensive value with poor defense. What does it say about Burger's glove at second base that this hasn't happened already?

Why it could make sense: Vaughn is a subpar first baseman and a horrid baserunner, which is how you wind up with just 0.2 fWAR despite a respectable 110 wRC+ in early June. Vaughn has been clutch and has driven in lots of runs, but no player can be expected to sustainably mash with runners in scoring position (.383/.456/.872) while hitting like 2011 Adam Dunn with the bases empty (.197/.274/.303). Burger is giving the team significantly more than Vaughn right now.

Why it might not make sense: It's just Vaughn's third full season, and while there's a lot of reason to be concerned about his long-term outlook, it could be too early to pull the plug on everyday playing time.

Why it could make sense: If Sheets’ lone contribution to the team is hitting right-handed pitching, it doesn't make sense to bench the guy who's hit right-handed pitching better than anyone for his sake.

Why it might not make sense: The Sox need more power, and Sheets is one of the few guys giving it to them. The Sox also have the league's worst walk rate, and Sheets has the team's best walk rate. Despite the entire package being underwhelming, Sheets is helping the team in areas where they need it. Besides, there's a better idea…

Why it could make sense: Earlier this season, Moncada went to the IL with disc issues in his lower back. Since returning on May 12, he has lacked explosiveness and has limped to a .213/.289/.280 batting line with zero home runs. His sprint speed is at the 19th percentile for MLB players, which is a stunning result given his natural athleticism. His defense at third base has not suffered much, but that's about all the positives we can take from his play. Moncada simply doesn't look healthy, and given a more-than-viable alternative in Burger, there's not much reason for him to play through it.

Why it might not make sense: The White Sox’ infield depth is horrid, and removing someone from the roster who can prop up their value with their glove might contribute to the bottom falling out if another player were to go down. Putting Moncada on the bench feels like an alternative, but probably one that won't be seriously considered.

For all we know, Jake Burger could be exposed in extended playing time; there's enough concerning about his strike zone command that this is a perfectly valid viewpoint. However, he's not being blocked by anyone producing all that much, so if Grifol was even halfway serious about emphasizing accountability, now's the time to put his money where his mouth is. The Sox stuck with Burger through devastating minor league injuries. Now that the persistence is starting to bear fruit, they owe it to both Burger and themselves to find out what he can do.