Jonathan Cannon has moved past his early-season struggles and is now consistently pitching deep into games — a promising development as he tries to strengthen his case for a long-term spot in the starting rotation.
Cannon fired six scoreless innings against the Reds on Tuesday night, after entering the game in the second inning after a perfect first inning from opener Brandon Eisert.
It was one of Cannon’s best outings of the year, as the 24-year-old continues to show growth after a rough start to the season. The former Georgia Bulldog allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out six batters in a 5-1 extra-inning victory, which gave the team a huge confidence boost.
“We knew we were so close at the beginning of the year, like just one thing here, one thing there, but we were playing clean baseball. And so starting to see some of that clean baseball turn into wins, and then some timely hitting, some good pitching,” Cannon told reporters after the game. “We’ve won three of four.”
While the timely hitting from Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas in extra innings was the story, Cannon quietly lowered his ERA to 3.60 on the season, after posting a 5.33 mark across 27 innings in April. It also marks the second game the White Sox have won in Cannon’s last three outings.
Cannon has pitched at least six innings in each of his last five outings, including three traditional starts. He delivered 7.2 innings of three-run ball following an opener against the Athletics, held the Astros to two runs over six innings, and posted a quality start against the Royals, allowing two earned runs through six.
It’s an encouraging sign for a pitcher who only made it past the sixth inning ten times in his first 22 starts. It has also provided a huge boost for a bullpen that needed some innings eaters. With prospects Hagen Smith, Noah Shultz and Grant Taylor waiting in the wings and Drew Thrope and Ky Bush recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cannon’s future in the starting rotation looked bleak.
However, the White Sox 2022 third-round pick has quietly turned his season his season around.
Cannon struggled with traffic on the basepaths early in the season, but while hitters are still making contact, he’s significantly reduced his walk rate. He’s currently on an 18-inning streak without issuing a free pass, reducing his walk rate from 15 percent down to just 7.8 percent, which is below the major league average.
Cannon has effectively mixed his pitches, relying on a five-pitch arsenal. His cutter leads the way at 24%, followed closely by a sinker and changeup at 23% each. He rounds out his mix with a four-seam fastball (16%) and a sweeper (15%). His current offspeed run value ranks in the MLB’s 82nd percentile.
While Cannon hasn’t been blowing hitters away, he has done a good job of limiting damage and executing pitches in big spots. During Wednesday’s outing, he got Austin Hays to ground into a 5-4-3 double play in the fourth inning that reduced the Reds’ win probability by 10 percent. This comes after he worked around nine hits against the Astros, which included escaping a first-inning bases-loaded jam.
While Cannon’s low whiff rate and opponents’ expected batting average of .255 remain areas of concern, his recent success has been a welcome boost for a starting rotation in need of stability
