White Sox: James Shields pitches well in first game back

In his first start in just about two months, White Sox pitcher James Shields put on a good performance. He is someone to target off the waiver wire.

The Chicago White Sox are no doubt going to be sellers at the trade deadline. With a starting pitcher, closer and possibly third baseman to spare, the team is going to be rebuilding soon. Though, that doesn’t mean they give up.

The White Sox just got back a pitcher they’ve been missing for two months. James Shields was activated off the DL and started the game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 18. With a good start under his belt, I would add him to your pitching staff.

Shields made just three starts before finding himself on the DL with a shoulder injury. He was scheduled to be out for four weeks, but he suffered a setback in the beginning of May. Shields made three rehab starts before joining his teammates over the weekend.

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Shields pitched poorly in the second half when he was traded to the White Sox, posting a 6.77 ERA, 1.697 WHIP and 6.93 FIP in 22 starts. In his first three starts this season, Shields went 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 16 strikeouts. While the 10 walks in that span are not good, the lack of hits (nine) is a good sign.

In his start against the Blue Jays, Shields pitched 5.2 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits one walk while striking out three. Throughout the first five innings, spreading out a few hits. It wasn’t until the sixth where Shields got roughed up.

After getting two quick outs, Shields gave up a hit and a two-run home run to Russell Martin before he was pulled. He left without a decision or a quality start but was still a good outing for Shields.

Fangraphs has Shields’ stats for his first three starts. He was giving up a lot of fly balls, 58.1 fly ball rate. If he wants to be successful this season, that number needs to be cut in half. His swinging strike rate is good at 9.9 percent but Shields also needs improvement to his first pitch strike and

Because of his poor end to 2016, Shields was left off most rosters on draft day. Just as quickly Shields was added in April, he was dropped just as fast. He had an ownership percentage of 9.8 last week. Since it was announced he was returning, that went up 7.1 percent.

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Shields’ next start will likely be June 23 home against the Oakland Athletics. I think Shields will find his stride and be a serviceable pitcher for the rest of the season. With the number of pitching injuries, fantasy owners will need him to be.