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While this season is a lost cause for both the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, both teams will throw what they hope are top-of-the-rotation starting pitchers in 2024 and beyond on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals (-118, 9.5)
Brady Singer gets the start on the mound for the Royals, who has been a different pitcher when playing at home this season, posting a 3.98 ERA and allowing 0.8 home runs per nine innings and a .236 opponents batting average. While on the road, opposing batters have hit .329 off of him with nearly 1.3 home runs per nine innings allowed and a 6.91 ERA.
Overall, Singer has one of the biggest differences between ERA and fielding independent in the league, posting a 5.15 ERA and a 4.05 fielding independent — showing that he’s pitched better than the raw ERA would indicate with an opponents batting average of .323 on balls in play while Singer has ratios of 7.8 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings this season.
White Sox starter Dylan Cease also has a better fielding independent (3.82) than ERA (4.91) and is getting 10.7 strikeouts and surrendering just 0.9 home runs per nine innings.
The biggest issue for Cease, both this season and throughout his career, has been walks — allowing 4.3 walks per nine innings, which often leads to him being pulled from games early and then needing to rely on what has been a bullpen full of issues.
Both the White Sox and Royals rank in the league’s bottom five in bullpen ERA, but the way both offenses fail to draw walks should prevent either unit from making an appearance until late in the game.
The Royals enter Tuesday ranked last in the league in percentage of plate appearances that result in a walk while the White Sox rank 29th in this category. Both teams entered the series as the only two teams in the league with an on-base percentage below .300.
With neither team providing much power this season and both the White Sox and Royals ranking 11th and 14th among the 15 American League teams, respectively, in home runs per at-bat, Cease and Singer will shine in a pitchers duel that will hopefully be duplicated in a game with more on the line in the future.
The Play: White Sox vs. Royals Under 9.5