00:00So, Noah Schultz will join Grant Taylor on the White Sox pitching staff.
00:05Grant Taylor leads the majors, I believe, with starts with four in his role as an opener.
00:11So, Brian, the thought process there in terms of risk-reward.
00:16As an opener, we have seen just electric stuff, and the reasons behind that are obvious.
00:22And yet, when you put him there, you take him away from the late-inning high-leverage situations,
00:26which obviously creates a little bit of a void.
00:28So, what is the thought process there, and how long or sustainable is Grant Taylor as an opener?
00:37To your point, your goal is to match up your best arms with the highest-leverage situations in the game,
00:43because when you need outs, you want your best arms in the game.
00:47And we saw that in Kansas City. He was able to come in, get through the tough part of the
00:51lineup.
00:52We were able to go with some of our higher-leverage arms deep in the game in a non-opener
00:58situation.
00:58And it really led to a nice win in Kansas City.
01:01And I think if he's in an opener role, you want to start stretching him out a little bit
01:07and not just throw one inning, but throw more innings.
01:10Just with the efficiency he showed with his pitch count so far, the way he's getting comfortable in that role,
01:17he was able to throw three innings in the minor leagues really, really well
01:20and was having a little bit more soreness on the recovery side of things.
01:25So, I do think if he continues to progress, and I've said it over and over again,
01:29I am completely open to him being a starter in the major leagues.
01:32Really just want to do what's best for him, because he had so few pro innings under his belt
01:37by the time he debuted.
01:38And so, definitely open to that scenario, along with just making sure he gets used
01:44in the highest leverage moments in the game, whether that is the eighth or ninth inning
01:48or whether that's another middle inning where he's got to get out Bobby Wood Jr., etc.,
01:53and really preserve the game with a lot of leverage with men on base.
01:57We want to be using him as effectively as possible.
02:00We want to be using him as well.
Comments