SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Micker Adolfo has been hitting for a month, throwing for about three weeks and taking live batting practice for the past five days in an ongoing recovery from Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in the outfielder's right elbow last July.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound right-handed hitter explained timing is the biggest issue right now as he found out during his return to live BP.

“That first day of live BP, oh my god, it was like I couldn’t touch anything,” said Adolfo with a laugh. “The next day, it was better. Everything just picked up where I left off last year. But I was like ‘Oh, man, these fastballs are coming in pretty hot.’ Everything was looking like 100 mph that day.”

Adolfo hoped to get medically cleared Friday to take some swings as DH during the White Sox's 8-5 win over the Rangers, but he did not see live action. Prior to the Tommy John surgery, the No. 8 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline turned in a strong season with a .282/.369/.464 slash line to go with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs all as the DH for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem.

“All I basically need is to stay healthy, and then I’m going to go out and do my thing,” Adolfo said. “If I stay healthy, I’m going to take care of everything I have to take care of. I don’t take anything for granted.

“In the past years, I’ve definitely worked a lot on my hitting and that’s definitely improved a lot. I’ve been able to get more consistent at-bats. Before, I would strike out and I wouldn’t know how I struck out. Now, I strike out and I know what I can do to do better the next at-bat.”

Robert connects

Down to his final strike as the potential final out in the ninth inning of Friday’s White Sox Cactus League contest in Surprise, Luis Robert connected for a three-run home run off of Texas reliever Tim Dillard to give the White Sox an eventual 8-5 victory. Robert, who entered in the sixth and tripled home a run in the seventh, had the same sort of heroics last March, hitting a two-out, eighth-inning grand slam in a 14-12 victory over the Reds.

“Of course, it feels great,” said Robert through interpreter Billy Russo. “When you hit a homer to help the team win, it is good. It was a special feeling. I enjoy it.

“I was prepared for the slider and he threw it and I was able to put the bat on the ball. It was inside. When I hit the pitch, I wasn’t sure if it would stay fair or be foul. I hit it in front.”

The No. 40 overall prospect has been working on trying to stay inside against the breaking pitches, trusting his arms and hands, especially with two strikes.

“I’ve made those adjustments,” Robert said. “That’s why I was able to hit the home run.”

Nova happy with debut

Ivan Nova has been working on a new changeup grip since arriving at Spring Training. He used it a couple of times during his start lasting 2 2/3 innings in Friday’s 8-5 win over the Rangers and was happy with the results.

“I felt like last year when I was throwing it, sometimes it was good, sometimes it was too hard,” Nova said. “As a sinker-ball pitcher, the difference on the mound wasn’t too much. I felt like I needed to go down a little bit on my changeup, and today was a good example.”

Nova recorded six outs via the ground ball.

“Good. Unbelievable,” Nova said. “You want to work down in the zone.”

Zavala dealing with left quad issue

Since knocking out two hits in one of the White Sox split-squad Cactus League openers against Oakland, catcher Seby Zavala has been out of action with a left quad strain.

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“It’s getting better every day,” Zavala, the club's No. 22 prospect, said. “Hopefully start running in a couple of days and be good to go. I had a little tightness going into that game and went to run and felt it pull a little bit.

“I had a couple of injuries last year, and I don’t want to be on the shelf too long. I’ve never had a quad injury. From what I’m hearing from other players, it can linger on for quite a while. Take care of it now and be good for the year.”

Santana moving toward game action

Ervin Santana won’t guess when he’ll return to the mound for his first Cactus League start with the White Sox, let alone where he fits for the regular season. But the veteran right-hander feels good about his direction after Thursday’s 30-pitch simulated game.

“The finger is coming better, and everything is getting on the right track,” Santana said. “One more simulated game, and then we go from there.”

Santana, 36, struggled through five starts for the Twins in 2018 after having surgery on his middle finger and then battling through ongoing after-effects. There’s no pain in that area currently, he said.

“It’s different because I got surgery, but other than that, I’m just trying to keep my mind positive and just work,” Santana said. “I just adjust to the schedule and all that and go one day at a time.”

Up Next

After pitching on the back fields at Camelback Ranch in simulated games, Carlos Rodon will make his Cactus League debut Saturday against the Rockies at 1:05 p.m. MT on MLB.TV. Rodon is one of the hurlers in consideration to start on Opening Day, with Dylan Covey and Carson Fulmer scheduled to pitch behind him Saturday.

They said it

“I was flying.” -- Daniel Palka, when asked about testing his tight left hamstring by running on the treadmill. He is moving closer to a return.