Not much went right for the White Sox during their three-game visit to Wrigley Field, where they were swept by their crosstown rivals and outscored 26–8. However, Miguel Vargas emerged as a clear bright spot, earning American League Player of the Week honors after a home run barrage at the Friendly Confines.
Between May 13 and May 18, Miguel Vargas hit .417 with a .423 on-base percentage, four home runs, and nine RBIs across six games against the Reds and Cubs. His standout week included a clutch three-run homer in extra innings against the Reds, two home runs in the series opener at Wrigley Field, and a 375-foot blast in the series finale against the Cubs. He also fell just a triple short of the cycle on Friday while providing some stellar defense at the hot corner.
Vargas now has six homers since April 24th, shortly after adjusting his stance. While Vargas is hitting just .245 on the season with a respectable.749 OPS, he has been hitting .296 with a 1.019 OPS and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games.
White Sox manager Will Venable told MLB.com on Friday that he’s never seen such a dramatic improvement come so quickly from a slight adjustment in approach.
“Really was kind of a switch that he flipped on and just one day he started turning balls forward and just really hasn’t stopped,” Venable said. “Sometimes that’s how baseball works,” Vargas said. “You try to figure it out and then one day you find out and it works. I’m very happy to get the results right away. I can be consistent with it.”
Vargas’ week didn’t come without a little drama. On Sunday, he was struck in the shoulder with a 95 mph fastball by former White Sox pitcher Brad Keller, just two at-bats after hitting a home run. Vargas proceeded to stare down the right-hander as he walked to first base, which resulted in words being exchanged by the two at the end of the inning.
Vargas later joked that he was just asking Keller “what his favorite restaurant” is while Keller told reporters he did not try to hit him intentionally. “You’d have to ask Vargas. No one likes to get hit by 98 miles an hour or whatever,” Venable said. “Whatever happened, happened; it was just some miscommunication.”
