September callups to get immediate opportunities
CHICAGO -- Manager Robin Ventura said Sunday that the White Sox won't have a great deal of callups when rosters expand on Sept. 1. But they will have some important ones.
"They're going to have to get in there and [we're going to have to] give them opportunities to play," Ventura said. "How much? We'll see how that goes."
Right-handed starter Erik Johnson, right-handed reliever Daniel Webb and infielder Marcus Semien fit that callup description provided by Ventura.
Between stops at Triple-A Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham, Johnson, 23, has posted an 11-3 record with a 2.07 ERA over 23 starts and 135 innings. The No. 2 White Sox prospect per MLB.com fanned 123, walked 38 and has yielded 95 hits. He figures to go into the White Sox rotation for the final month, with the possibility of a six-man rotation that would ease the workload for Jose Quintana and/or Hector Santiago.
Webb, who just turned 24, has a 1.99 ERA over 39 games with 2013 stops at Charlotte, Birmingham and Class A Winston-Salem. He has 75 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings, to go with eight saves and just one home run allowed.
Semien, 22, has a .282 average with 104 runs scored combined for Charlotte and Birmingham. He has 21 stolen bases, 92 walks and 19 homers, with a strong chance to split time with Conor Gillaspie at third base during September.
All three of these potential callups stand in the White Sox '14 big league plan at this point.