CHICAGO (AP) 鈥 The Chicago White Sox are sticking with Andrew Vaughn 鈥 for now.
Vaughn was batting .161 this month going into Tuesday night’s game against Milwaukee. The struggling first baseman had just two extra-base hits in his last 11 games.
While Vaughn is looking for a turnaround in the majors, Tim Elko is off to a strong start with Triple-A Charlotte. The 26-year-old first baseman is batting .354 with nine homers and 20 RBIs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e more focused on supporting Andrew right now,鈥 general manager Chris Getz said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been one of the more unlucky hitters in baseball. I know he wants greater results for the White Sox and for himself. And we expect more out of him.鈥
The 27-year-old Vaughn was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 amateur draft. He hit .246 with 19 homers and 70 RBIs in 149 games last year.
Going into the series opener against the Brewers, Vaughn had a .243 expected batting average and an average exit velocity of 91.6 mph 鈥 indicating he had been hurt by some tough luck.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some areas in which mechanically, that adjustments that need to be made,鈥 Getz said. 鈥淏ut the results that he鈥檚 gotten at the surface level, we know that it鈥檚 a little deceptive.鈥
Vaughn’s slow start comes with the White Sox dealing with a handful of injuries, especially with their position players.
Josh Rojas was slated to begin a rehab assignment with Charlotte on Tuesday night, and could return to the lineup by the end of Chicago’s six-game homestand. Rojas was sidelined by a right toe injury, and Meidroth is coming back from right thumb inflammation.
Catcher (left ankle) and outfielders Mike Tauchman (right hamstring) and Austin Slater (right knee) are another two to three weeks away, according to Getz.
鈥淜orey has stacked up some quality days, feels pretty good,鈥 Getz said. “He鈥檚 still in a running progression, but the swelling鈥檚 down. He鈥檚 getting more confident, which is an important step in recovering from an ankle sprain. He鈥檒l be going on a rehab assignment in the near future as well.鈥
The White Sox carried a 7-21 record into their third homestand of the year. They went in 2024 to break the post-1900 major league record for losses in a season.
Getz is counting on a rich farm system to help the team emerge from its rebuild, but 鈥 one of Chicago’s top prospects 鈥 is off to a troubling start.
The 23-year-old Montgomery, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, is batting .149 (14 for 94) with Charlotte. Getz said Montgomery is going to go to Arizona to work with Ryan Fuller, who was hired in November as the organization’s director of hitting.
鈥淲e are going to get some one-on-one work with him outside of kind of the Charlotte day to day and work on his swing,鈥 Getz said. 鈥淲e anticipate that to be a fairly short period of time but felt like it was appropriate. He鈥檚 on board.鈥
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