Wednesday, April 09

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- When Andrew Vaughn began his sixth big league Spring Training with the White Sox in February, he shared with his wife a message similar to the start of the previous five.

“I always tell my wife when I’m coming for Spring Training it feels like a little kid on the first day of school. It’s that cool feeling where we get to go back and do what we love,” Vaughn said. “I feel great. I’m excited.”

Those “school days” weren’t very kind to the 2024 White Sox, whose 121 losses set a single season-record in the Modern Era (since 1901). But with two weeks remaining on the current Cactus League schedule, this team clearly is not worried about what happened last year.

That same philosophy holds true for Vaughn, who ranks behind only Luis Robert Jr. in terms of current White Sox service time. Vaughn has 72 home runs, 110 doubles, 274 RBIs and a .725 OPS over 2,258 plate appearances and 562 games covering four seasons in Chicago. His numbers consistently put the first baseman near the top of the club’s offense.

Yet, Vaughn frequently seems more maligned than praised for his diligent work as part of the South Siders. Maybe it’s a function of the team underachieving for much of the past three seasons. Maybe it’s tied to Vaughn being the third overall pick in the 2019 Draft carrying inherent ideas of almost instant superstardom, expectations such as those attached to and fulfilled by the Royals Bobby Witt Jr., who was taken one pick before Vaughn.

Whatever the reasons, Vaughn remains unbowed by outside critiques. The present is the focus for him.

“It’s there obviously but I just don’t pay attention to it. I’m a day-by-day guy. One day at a time. The present is what we got. The future is not here. The past is gone,” Vaughn said. “You know we always want to be better. That’s kind of a big thing in baseball because baseball is a game of failure.

“You can always look back at certain moments like, ‘I could have done this,’ or ‘I could have done that.’ But the biggest thing for me is I go out every day and give it 100 percent. I have no regrets when I go home at night. I just try to get better every day. That’s the main goal.”

Giving that 100 percent effort daily is Vaughn’s self-described biggest core value. It’s also a trait that is beneficial for young players working alongside Vaughn within this latest rebuild.

Of course, Vaughn is far from over the hill in athletics terminology. He has a chance to take another major step forward this season following a September ’24 finish in which he slashed .297/.340/.473 with four homers and 11 RBIs.

“He has found a move at the plate that he really likes, so just to continue to put good swings on the ball is important,” said manager Will Venable of Vaughn. “And then, continuing to improve defensively, it’s something we’re asking for from all of our guys, and Vaughn is in that group. Just continuing to do his thing and continuing to develop.”

Venable marks the sixth manager Vaughn has played under, joining Rick Renteria (2020), Tony La Russa (2021-22), Pedro Grifol (2023-24) and interim managers Miguel Cairo (’22) and Grady Sizemore (’24). It’s also a question as to whether Vaughn will continue developing as part of the White Sox with one more year of contractual control and some outside interest in the even-keel middle-of-the-order presence at last year’s Trade Deadline.

This sort of hypothetical doesn’t concern Vaughn, and the same goes for rehashing the storylines from ’24.

“You gotta turn the page. It happened. It did. And learn from it, turn the page, and try to get better,” Vaughn said. “We have a job to do, and our main job is get ready for the season and when Opening Day comes, lights come on, let’s go.

“Time flies. It’s crazy to look back. It feels like just yesterday I got drafted. Just can’t take anything for granted.”

Grant Taylor, the No. 7 White Sox prospect, struck out nine over four scoreless innings during his first big league camp before being reassigned to Minor League camp Sunday. If fans didn’t get enough of his electric stuff, check him out on March 16 in the Spring Breakout game against the Rockies. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. at Camelback Ranch, with a forecast for 71 degrees after last year’s frigid, rain-soaked cancellation at Sloan Park.

Andrew Benintendi will get a new scan this week on the broken bone in his right hand. He won’t know about the real possibility of an Opening Day return until he gets a bat in his hand.

“I haven’t done that yet. Thursday getting a picture of it. Overall, it feels really good,” Benintendi said. “You don’t want to reinjure it and then you are missing a month or whatever. We’ll be smart about it. Hopefully when I start picking up a bat, I’ll feel good.”

• It was 25 years ago when I first went to Top of the Rock in Tempe. It was great food then and just as great when I went with my friend Courtney this past Thursday. On a related note, check out Courtney’s interviews with Davis Martin, Chase Meidroth and Gus Varland on her Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.

• Good luck to all the competitors in the Section 108 Tournament. It’s a big social media stretch for White Sox fans.

• Does anyone else check their hotel door five or six times to make sure it’s locked before leaving? Asking for a friend.

“I’m ready. I’m ready to go. But just waiting for my moment, for my time. I’m still here. I’m ready to go.” -- catcher Edgar Quero, the No. 65 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list

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