CHICAGO -- Those expecting Andrew Vaughn to be an everyday player in the White Sox lineup might have to wait a bit longer to see him as a regular presence.

As an example, MLB Pipeline's No. 13 overall prospect did not start in Thursday’s home opener against the Royals.

“Eventually he’ll get to that point,” said White Sox general manager Rick Hahn of Vaughn during a rain-delay Zoom. “I know [manager] Tony [La Russa] is breaking him in cautiously and using matchups accordingly. I think were we not asking him to also learn a new position, his usage might have been a little bit different.

“You have to keep in mind a couple of things: Him playing the outfield in Anaheim was the first time he had ever played in a triple-deck stadium. That takes a little getting used to. Anaheim and Seattle are also two of the larger outfields in the American League. It’s different than [if] he had been slated to be the everyday DH to start the season. I do suspect over time we are going to see his name in there more and more frequently as his performance merits.”

• What to expect from Vaughn in MLB

Vaughn, 23, has opened his Major League career with two hits in 13 at-bats over five games, adding in three walks and one hit-by-pitch for a .353 on-base percentage. La Russa doesn't consider Vaughn part of Chicago's offensive core at this point -- a foundation that includes Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, José Abreu, Yoán Moncada, Adam Eaton and players of that established ilk.

La Russa, though, added Vaughn has looked more like himself in the last three games and has the idea of starting him Saturday afternoon.

“As long as he's getting at-bats, this is a really good experience for him,” La Russa said. “What I think is great about him, the day he doesn't start he really works.

“So, like I say, the responsibility when you come to the big leagues is to win games. And a lot of times [when] it comes together with a young player, you give him a lot of at-bats, he helps you win. But not all the at-bats.”

Anderson feeling better
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who is on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, said in a Thursday Zoom that he feels he's at 85 percent.

“I feel good so far,” Anderson said. “Running, been feeling great, been able to get up to speed a little bit. Each day feeling better so that’s a positive. Definitely feeling good and just keep working and come back 100 percent.

“I’m definitely going to stay on top of it now, and I know what I need to do to go out there the rest of the season: Continue to keep making that progress and get stronger every day. I’m going to take care of those hammies.”

Hahn said the team is working under the projection Anderson will be back as soon as the 10 days on the IL are up, which would be the last day of next week’s home series against Cleveland.

“There’s still milestones to pass,” Hahn said. “He hasn’t been out on the field taking ground balls just yet. An injury like his, you want to err on the side of caution. We will ramp him up accordingly and if need be adjust the timing, but right now, the expectation would be is he returns on Day 11.”

Hamilton to IL; Nick Williams added
Outfielder Billy Hamilton was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, and the White Sox purchased the contract of outfielder Nick Williams from the team’s Schaumburg, Ill., training facility.

To make room for Williams on the 40-man roster, left-handed reliever Jace Fry was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Fry had an offseason microdiscectomy and is projected to return by early June.

“Putting him on the 60-day IL makes him ineligible to return until June 1, so it actually lines up fairly well,” Hahn said. “Now, there's a chance that perhaps he advances a little bit more quickly and we wound up costing ourselves 3-5 days towards the end of May.

“But there's an equal chance it takes until June 5 or June 10, anyway. So it really doesn't change the timeline for him.”

Third to first
• Abreu was presented his 2020 AL Most Valuable Player trophy by White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf prior to Thursday's game.

• The White Sox went 25-15 (.625) against the AL Central in 2020, the second-best winning percentage in franchise history behind the 2005 club (52-22; .703). They also had a 9-1 record against the Royals last season.

He said it
“Certainly, it’s nice to have small sample sizes to overreact to. That’s certainly better than having no sample size whatsoever. Sort of a rite of passage to read too much into the first series or the first couple of series, or even the first month.” -- Hahn