Baseball Columnist
Chicago Sports Online
It’s not like he came out of nowhere. Not really.
Still, Chicago Black Sox fans can be forgiven if the first they’d heard of David Bates was this April when the team announced the 22-year-old left hander had made the team out of spring training and would be joining the starting rotation.
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“Bates? Bates? Can’t say I’ve heard of him – he a free agent or something?” asked Marty Beaven, a season ticket holder, at a recent fan forum.
Not exactly.
Bates was acquired by what was then the Huntsville Phantoms in 2037 as part of a trade with Madison that brought also first baseman Emilio Lugo to the franchise. Since then, Bates has been quietly working his way up through the minor league system, first as a reliever and then as a starter. His numbers were promising, but Bates never rose to the top of anyone’s prospect lists.
Then last year, it looked for awhile like the wheels had come off. His season in AAA Carolina could best be described as “ugly” as he split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. He finished with a decidedly undistinguished 5.59 ERA in 143.1 innings of work, but a 4.22 FIP offered hints that part of his performance might have been due to defensive lapses behind him.
The Sox front office decided to send him to the Florida Prospect League to see if a change of scenery and a chance to work on his skills with a new set of coaches might help.
“Man, it was like magic,” said Bates, a native of Puerto Rico. “I let go of all the baggage of the season and just started over.”
Whether it was prestidigitation or not, Bates blossomed with the Sarasota Black Sox, Chicago’s FPL franchise. He went 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 7 walks in 6 starts and 32.0 innings of work.
David Bates
By the time Spring Training rolled around, Bates was considered the No. 28 prospect in the league – the first time he’d ever cracked that list at all.
“It was kind of funny, really,” Bates said. “I mean, I’d been doing pretty good in AA and Single A and all, but I was pitching middle relief and I guess my numbers weren’t quite flashy enough to grab any media attention.”
That changed this spring, when suddenly Bates was under intense scrutiny from the Chicago media as talk began circulating that he’d be in the rotation.
His journey through Spring Training was uneven, as you might expect for a young pitcher, and his first regular season start was undistinguished: 3 runs in 5 innings for a no-decision against Omaha. Start two was a bit better as he went 6.1 innings while allowing 5 hits and 3 runs in a loss to Portland.
It wasn’t like anyone was calling for the Sox to send Bates back to the minors for more work, but whispers were starting about whether the scouts had been right about his talent and whether the coaches were right that he was ready.
The whispers stopped on Friday in Seattle.
Bates looked like a young man on a mission, as he pitched 7.1 dominant innings against the Storm. He allowed just 3 hits and 0 runs, with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts as he notched a Pure Quality Start score of 5 – the team’s first of the season.
“That was what everyone was excited about,” said Chicago pitching coach Art Messer after the game. “I mean, he was cool as could be out there, he had all his pitches working, and he put together the best start of the season on our staff so far.
“I’m happy for David, because I know how hard he works – and I know he was hearing some of the questions about his talent and it bothered him.”
Will it all be smooth sailing for Bates from here on out?
Of course not. He’s a rookie pitcher in the best division of the best baseball league on the planet, so he’s going to have his ups and downs.
But Friday night in Seattle showed two things:
The young man can pitch. And, yes, he belongs here.