South Side Sox 2021 Player of the Week (ending July 11): Jake Burger

White Sox fans love a player with a good story, and Jake Burger’s is written like a Hollywood screenplay.

After twice tearing his Achilles tendon back in 2018, the major leagues must’ve seemed light years away for the third baseman, who was ranked one of the top Sox prospects at the time. Burger stewed on the bench for four years, not sure if he’d ever get his chance. But perseverance, practice, and the love of family and fans paid off when Burger received the call-up two weeks ago, in a swap from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights for slumping slugger Yermín Mercedes.

The long-awaited promotion didn’t disappoint.

Two weeks later, after 23 plate appearances, Jake Burger is hitting .381 with a .435 OBP. He’s wowed crowds with some powerful hitting velocities, notably on a double that brought Leury García home to cement a 6-1 White Sox win over the Minnesota Twins. The Missouri native also slugged 10 homers in Charlotte before his promotion, so his first big league bomb is inevitable.

The upside of this injury-prone White Sox season is that we get to see a dugout full of fresh faces and talent. Burger has already earned himself a dedicated following, and fellow 2017 draftee Gavin Sheets also had his moment to shine last week in Baltimore.

The All-Star break offers a moment of pause and reflection. Some of these new faces will come and go, but for Burger, this summer is looking like a job ... well-done.

OK, really, no more puns. I mean it this time.

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2021 MVP Top 10

Carlos Rodón (81.7)
Lance Lynn (53.7)
Yasmani Grandal (22.4)
Dallas Keuchel (21.4)
Brian Goodwin (20.6)
Michael Kopech (19.3)
Dylan Cease (14.9)
Andrew Vaughn (14.7)
Lucas Giolito (14.0)
Billy Hamilton (13.1)

2021 Cold Cat Bottom 10

Evan Marshall (-43.1)
Codi Heuer (-26.3)
Leury García (-25.3)
Yoán Moncada (-23.3)
Garrett Crochet (-21.9)
Matt Foster (-20.9)
Yermín Mercedes (-18.9)
José Abreu (-17.1)
Liam Hendriks (-16.7)
Aaron Bummer (-14.6)

South Side Sox Writer Standings