Chicago White Sox at Texas Rangers

2026-07-21, 8:05 PM ET, Globe Life Field. Noah Schultz (L) against Kumar Rocker (R). Every number derives from the public Statcast store and the engine's published boards. Charts are code-drawn. Probabilities, not picks.

Kumar Rocker (RHP)

1526 pitches, K% 22% vs LHB / 19% vs RHB

League percentiles, starter pool

K%3521%
BB%439%
CSW%1825%
Whiff%5624%
Chase%5831%
xwOBA vs31.334
Hard-hit%1843%
GB%6445%
recent starts, K (n=5) last start 07/11, 10 days ago
306/11
KC
406/16
MIN
506/28
TOR
407/05
DET
607/11
HOU

Arsenal, shape and results

PitchvL%vR% MPHIVBHB RPMWhiffCSW ChasexwOBA RV/100
slider37%38%83.2-4+1218239%32%40%.212-1.2
sinker22%42%94.3+8-1621388%19%25%.405+1.1
cutter16%13%90.3+7+1217519%22%27%.418+0.2
4-seam15%6%94.4+12-10216019%24%17%.345+0.6
changeup10%0%88.7+6-14164226%21%25%.502-0.2

RV/100 is run value per 100 pitches from the pitcher's side, so negative is good (a curveball at −1.3 costs the pitcher runs even if it misses bats — a real tension worth reading, not a contradiction). Whiff, chase and xwOBA are computed on this pitcher's own pitches this season; low-usage pitches carry small samples.

Locations, catcher view

slider
sinker
cutter

Movement

slider: -4 IVB, +1 HBsinker: +8 IVB, -16 HBcutter: +7 IVB, +1 HB4-seam: +12 IVB, -10 HBchangeup: +6 IVB, -14 HBhorizontal break (in), catcher viewinduced vertical break (in)

How to attack

  • Hunt the sinker early: 31% usage, only 8% whiffs, 54% in-zone.
  • Lay off the slider below the zone: 39% whiffs, only 37% of them are strikes.
  • Two strikes: expect the slider (57% of 2-strike pitches vs 38% overall).

Noah Schultz (LHP)

905 pitches, K% 22% vs LHB / 20% vs RHB

League percentiles, starter pool

K%3420%
BB%1112%
CSW%4027%
Whiff%2720%
Chase%1627%
xwOBA vs5.376
Hard-hit%4140%
GB%2838%
recent starts, K (n=5) last start 07/12, 9 days ago
605/18
SEA
105/24
SF
707/01
BAL
307/07
BOS
407/12
ATH

Arsenal, shape and results

PitchvL%vR% MPHIVBHB RPMWhiffCSW ChasexwOBA RV/100
sinker37%22%95.1+7+1824597%26%15%.426+0.5
4-seam13%26%95.3+12+11248220%26%29%.318-0.2
sweeper28%20%82.6+1-14281330%30%30%.424+2.6
cutter22%19%89.6+9-3265420%29%25%.414+0.0
changeup0%13%89.1+3+16199428%16%35%.291+4.1

RV/100 is run value per 100 pitches from the pitcher's side, so negative is good (a curveball at −1.3 costs the pitcher runs even if it misses bats — a real tension worth reading, not a contradiction). Whiff, chase and xwOBA are computed on this pitcher's own pitches this season; low-usage pitches carry small samples.

Locations, catcher view

sinker
4-seam
sweeper

Movement

sinker: +7 IVB, +18 HB4-seam: +12 IVB, +11 HBsweeper: +1 IVB, -14 HBcutter: +9 IVB, -3 HBchangeup: +3 IVB, +16 HBhorizontal break (in), catcher viewinduced vertical break (in)

Attack plan vs Texas Rangers

  • Sweeper: top breaking whiffs are Burger (43%), Nimmo (30%).
  • Changeup: top offspeed whiffs are Langford (41%), Burger (40%).
  • Careful with Osuna: 85% contact, 17% K rate vs LHP; pitch to contact at the edges.

White Sox bats vs Kumar Rocker

Season quality vs tonight's starter hand, percentile-colored vs league: red elite, paper average, blue poor. P columns are the engine's published board numbers for this game. Lineup projected from recent starts; the posted order replaces it once teams announce.

BatterxwOBAK%Chase%Contact%HH%P(1+ hit)P(1+ HR)14-day
Sam Antonacci (L).38614%22%87%39%··▲ +5%
Miguel Vargas (R).37818%22%81%41%··▲ +1%
Munetaka Murakami (L).39531%22%60%59%··▼ -15%
Randal Grichuk (R).31318%29%71%42%··▼ -2%
Andrew Benintendi (L).33421%30%76%49%··▲ +7%
Colson Montgomery (L).32432%32%65%47%··▼ -1%
Braden Montgomery (S).33416%28%80%44%··≈ +0%
Junior Perez (R)·······▼ -12%
Chase Meidroth (R).29125%26%81%33%··▲ +3%

Texas Rangers bats, where our staff attacks

Whiff by pitch group vs our starter's hand. Blue cells are the attack zones. P columns are the published board numbers. Batting order as posted.

#BatterFB whiffBRK whiffOFF whiffxwOBAP(1+ hit)P(1+ HR)14-day
1Wyatt Langford (R)16%4%41%.290··▼ -1%
2Justin Foscue (R)19%24%17%.375··▲ +2%
3Josh Jung (R)15%16%23%.382··▼ -2%
4Brandon Nimmo (L)17%30%·.297··▼ -6%
5Jake Burger (R)26%43%40%.298··▼ -6%
6Ezequiel Duran (R)17%21%24%.310··▼ -8%
7Cam Cauley (R)29%··.252··▼ -14%
8Elias Díaz (R)26%16%27%.353··≈ -0%
9Alejandro Osuna (L)10%24%·.331··▼ -11%

Matchups: CWS hitters vs Kumar Rocker

Where this starter's actual usage meets each hitter's measured holes and damage, on the same map. An edge is only reported where the pitcher genuinely goes — a hole against a pitch he does not throw is not a matchup — and only where the rate is measurably worse than league for a typical hitter in that same spot. Every line carries its sample size. Batter-versus-pitcher history is shown as trivia and is not used in any of it: the samples that actually occur are far too small to support a conclusion, and most public matchup content is built on them anyway.

1. Sam Antonacci

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes up-middle — and he puts 7% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.456 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.333 league average in that spot. (27 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

2. Miguel Vargas

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes middle-middle — and he puts 6% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.545 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.397 league average in that spot. (22 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

2. Munetaka Murakami

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes middle-middle — and he puts 6% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.718 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.397 league average in that spot. (15 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

2. Randal Grichuk

Not enough of a track record in the spots this pitcher uses to say anything useful. No verdict rather than a guess.

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

4. Andrew Benintendi

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes up-middle — and he puts 7% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.419 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.333 league average in that spot. (15 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

4. Colson Montgomery

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes down-middle — and he puts 6% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.576 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.359 league average in that spot. (18 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

6. Braden Montgomery

Edge: batterWhen the ball goes middle-middle — and he puts 6% of his pitches there — the batter does real damage: 0.596 expected value per ball in play, against a 0.397 league average in that spot. (12 balls in play.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

6. Junior Perez

Not enough of a track record in the spots this pitcher uses to say anything useful. No verdict rather than a guess.

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

6. Chase Meidroth

Edge: pitcherHe throws the sinker up and in on 4% of his pitches to this side. The batter swings and misses 18% of the time there, against 9% for a typical hitter — +9 points. (18 swings.)

No published probability for this batter tonight, so the notes above are observations, not predictions.

Bullpens

Sorted by 30-day workload. Day cells show pitches on the three most recent league game dates; dark means heavy recent use. Season rates percentile-colored vs all pitchers with 150+ pitches.

White Sox bullpen 8 arms
Reliever07/1807/1907/2030-day K%Whiff%xwOBA Top pitches
Trevor Richards (R)··18237p/10g24%20%.2974-seam 92 (63%) · changeup 80 (29%)
Grant Taylor (R)·9·202p/10g33%27%.2464-seam 98 (41%) · curveball 84 (33%)
Sean Newcomb (L)19·20197p/8g24%22%.3104-seam 95 (51%) · slurve 83 (31%)
Brandon Eisert (L)···153p/8g27%29%.299slider 84 (41%) · 4-seam 90 (41%)
Seranthony Domínguez (R)··17148p/9g29%28%.3474-seam 97 (43%) · sweeper 86 (34%)
Jordan Hicks (R)8·19146p/10g26%24%.282sweeper 87 (38%) · sinker 100 (38%)
Chris Murphy (L)··15133p/9g22%26%.3044-seam 97 (38%) · curveball 78 (30%)
Tyler Schweitzer (L)···127p/3g13%25%.317slider 88 (40%) · 4-seam 95 (39%)
Texas Rangers bullpen 8 arms
Reliever07/1807/1907/2030-day K%Whiff%xwOBA Top pitches
Peyton Gray (R)·921207p/11g24%23%.285changeup 84 (39%) · 4-seam 93 (33%)
Robby Ahlstrom (L)11527188p/14g16%22%.3374-seam 94 (35%) · sinker 94 (25%)
Jacob Latz (L)15··185p/9g28%27%.2504-seam 95 (48%) · changeup 87 (25%)
Cole Winn (R)·19·169p/11g23%26%.337cutter 91 (34%) · 4-seam 95 (28%)
Tyler Alexander (L)145·156p/12g21%21%.2854-seam 92 (28%) · changeup 85 (25%)
Gavin Collyer (R)···133p/5g21%25%.3224-seam 97 (40%) · sweeper 85 (26%)
Jakob Junis (R)14··103p/6g19%17%.304sweeper 83 (50%) · sinker 92 (21%)
Ben Peoples (R)·261599p/6g17%23%.3164-seam 96 (65%) · slider 88 (34%)