Go, Danny, Go

No doubt, every sport has its Danny Mendicks. For example, every so often a player makes it to the NFL via Canada or to the NBA by way of France, Turkey and China or some other mega travel-points route. But it seems to happen more in baseball, and to greater effect (think Al Weis or Phil Linz). And the success stories tend to come in fan-sized packages, as opposed to, say, 6’9” forwards or 6’5” 330-pound plus linemen. No, Mendick stands all of 5’10” and tips the scales at 195 pounds. He doesn’t look to have an ounce of fat on him, and he swings hard at every pitch, so we’ll see if he falls victim to big-player pec and oblique injuries. But with his stirrups worn high, Mendick looks to be a real hard-ass, too, not the kind of guy you’d want to get on the wrong side of. Picked by the White Sox in the 22nd round of the 2015 draft, Mendick worked his way up the organizational ladder before getting his call-up to the bigs in 2019. What he’s shown in the two-plus seasons since is versatility and gap power. If you can play second, third and short, why not right field? Manager Tony La Russa gave his utility man his first-ever MLB starts in the outfield over the weekend in Kansas City, and, wouldn’t you know it, Mendick caught everything hit his way in two games there. Oh, he also hit a homerun and drove in three batting ninth. If and when Adam Engel comes back (I’m starting to wonder), Danny Mendick deserves to stay. While he probably won’t keep hitting .333 with a .467 OBP, but some Mendick hard-ass could go a long way in a pennant race.