Tommy Pham and Corey Julks Are Bringing Energetic Bats and Winning Life To Chicago White Sox

LOS ANGELES – The Chicago White Sox are in desperate need of some wins, and they believe these two bros can help with that issue.

Over the span of a month, the Sox have added outfielders Tommy Pham and Corey Julks to the team, trying to get a spark and save the season.

Julks wasted no time as he banged his first White Sox homer on Sunday to get them an early lead.

After helping lead the wild card Diamondbacks to the NL Pennant and three games short of the World Series, Pham had been a free agent all winter long, until he signed a minor league contract with the White Sox on April 15th. He had to be added to the roster by April 25th, or he could request his release from the team.

 

Chicago White Sox Winning With Tommy Pham 

 

 

He played four games with their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, batting .294, with one RBI and two stolen bases. By April 25th, the South Siders liked what they saw, and brought Pham up to the major league roster.

So far, so good. Pham has made the most of his time in Chicago. Entering Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Yankees, Pham was batting .346, to go with two home runs and 10 RBI, as well as an .886 OPS in 27 games played. He’s also only struck out 11 times.

 

Corey Julks Trying To Get Back To Consistent MLB At-Bats 

 

Julks on the other hand, had spent all of the 2024 season with the Triple-A of the Astros before being designated for assignment on May 10th. On May 15th, he was traded to Chicago for minor-league right-handed pitcher Luis Rodriguez.

 

Julks was later recalled to the major league roster, making his one and only appearance in the majors on May 17th, in the Bronx versus the Yankees. He was 1-for-4 in that game with two strikeouts.

 

This is only the second season in the bigs for the 28-year-old Texas native. He played 93 games for the Astros, his hometown team, in 2023. He had a respectable .245/.297/.352 slashline, with six home runs, 33 RBI, and managed to steal 15 bags. However, it didn’t move the needle for the Astros enough, as Julks was left off the team’s postseason rosters for both the ALDS and ALCS.

 

 

It obviously was not the ending to his Astros tenure that Julks wanted, but the good news is that it’s a fresh start for Julks, and he now has a much stronger chance of getting more playing time in the majors, as there are many spots up for grabs on this rebuilding roster.

 

Chicago White Sox Entering An Extreme Rebuild 

 

The White Sox are currently 14-33, the worst record in all of the MLB. They let former All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson leave for Miami, and outfielder Luis Robert has been on the IL for almost all of the season with a Grade 2 right hip flexor strain, so wins have been tough to come by.

Nevertheless, since April 26th, which was Pham’s first game for the team, they are 11-11. This shows that the team really needed a veteran leader and a player who knows how to win. With the continued leadership and strong play of Pham, and the new addition in Julks, who knows if these two can be catalysts for long term change throughout the organization and make winning much more common for the White Sox.