CHICAGO -- When Tyler Danish made seven Spring Training appearances out of the White Sox bullpen this past March, he had a feeling it was more than a scheduling quirk.
"I knew that was kind of like a tryout, I guess you can say. I put it as a tryout," Danish said. "There's a reason why they did that.
"Now it makes a lot more sense that I'm here. Just get back to that same comfort level that I was in spring and get it rolling again."
Danish made his Major League debut Saturday against Kansas City at 21 years, 273 days old, leaving him as the youngest White Sox to debut since Chris Sale in Baltimore on Aug. 6, 2010 (21 years, 129 days). The right-hander also pitched Sunday after starting in 64 of his previous 78 professional appearances, and he worked a third straight game on Monday, before being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte following the White Sox 10-9 comeback win over the Tigers in 12 innings.
There's a natural adjustment in going from the Minors to the Majors, which Danish smiled and said that the nerves were better in his second outing. But there's a more important adjustment to be made with Danish working more frequently in relief when he's accustomed to pitching every five days with side sessions in between.
"It's just throwing strikes," Danish said. "You get in for one inning, and you show your best stuff. It's a lot of preparation going into starting, but bullpen-wise, you never know when that call is going to come down to the bullpen. You have to be ready at all times. I have to get back into a routine of understanding when to throw off the mound and work on stuff when I play catch, and it's just very easy to do.
"So, my work now is when I'm warming up for the game. It's the only time I get off the mound before I'm in the game. It's just every pitch now, it's a meaningful pitch. When you start, you have your bullpen [session], so you work on little things here and there. But now it's like every pitch means something."
The team's second-round pick in the 2013 Draft is three years removed from pitching high school baseball in Florida. He also played with Zack Collins, the team's top selection and 10th overall pick in last week's Draft, during in-state showcase competitions, and he had some words of praise for the player who could be the White Sox catcher of the future.
"A lot of power," said Danish of Collins, who will be playing with the University of Miami in the College World Series. "You will see some balls hit that you will say 'wow' too. He can swing it."