Andrew

Vaughn

Vaughn singled in two runs in the fifth to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead and help the club to their first sweep of 2024. It’s been an up-and-down year for the 26-year-old, but he appears to be ending the year on a high note to improve his slash to a middling — but not awful — .248/.300/.408 with three games left.

Vaughn was responsible for the only run scored for the White Sox against Jack Kochanowicz. Even with the White Sox failing in historical — and we’re being honest — hysterical fashion, Vaughn has had some decent moments, and he’s now got a 1.007 OPS with four homers in September.

He also got lazy on defense in the third and was beaten to the bag by Andrés Giménez on what seemed like a harmless grounder to first. Vaughn has been adequate offensively after a brutal first month to begin the year, but adequate is still the best the former first-round pick has ever been. The White Sox will probably pay the $5 million or so it’ll take to retain him in arbitration this winter, but they can hardly be viewing him as a building block at this point.

Vaughn lined an RBI single up the middle off of Tarik Skubal in the third inning that pulled the White Sox to within two runs at 5-3. He also chipped in an RBI single in the seventh. It has been an extremely disappointing season overall at the dish for the 26-year-old slugger, hitting just .243/.296/.395 with 14 homers and 55 RBI.

Vaughn and Gavin Sheets both picked up four hits during Monday’s blowout win. The first baseman didn’t drive in any runs in the contest, but came around to score on two of Sheets’ three doubles on the evening. Vaughn got off to a horrible start and has been inconsistent at best since those scuffles, which helps explain a .243/.296/.406 slash for the 2024 campaign

Vaughn was scratched from the lineup against the Twins on Saturday with illness. The 26-year-old is feeling well enough to hit in the middle of the Chicago lineup and hope to help the White Sox avoid a 20-game losing streak.

Vaughn was in the team’s initial lineup for Saturday, but he was feeling a bit under the weather so manager Pedro Grifol made the call to give him a night off. He should be considered day-to-day. Gavin Sheets will start in his place at first base and will bat sixth against Bailey Ober and the Twins on Saturday evening in Minnesota.

Vaughn’s solo homer in the fourth inning gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead over the Royals and starter Michael Wacha. It was Vaughn’s 12th homer of the season. He has now homered in back-to-back games and carries a modest four-game hitting streak into Wednesday’s series finale.

Vaughn was on a nice roll before this, and he’s hardly the only White Sox hitter struggling even more than usual at the moment; the team has scored a total of eight runs during this six-game losing skid. He remains an option in deeper mixed leagues, but he’ll probably be a weaker one in 10 days, after the White Sox trade off at least Tommy Pham and maybe Luis Robert Jr. from their already impotent lineup.

Vaughn will get an afternoon off and then get a week off due to the All-Star break. Gavin Sheets will get the start at first base while Vaughn takes a seat to begin the contest.