(670 The Score) While the returns of center field Luis Robert and slugger Eloy Jimenez have energized the White Sox and grabbed the headlines lately, it was the steady contributions of many others amid a spate of injuries that helped Chicago take full control of the AL Central in the first half of the season.
One such key player has been 23-year-old rookie Andrew Vaughn, who's a first baseman by trade but quickly assumed the starting left field job after Jimenez suffered a pectoral tear in late March. Now with Jimenez back and splitting time between left field and designated hitter, Vaughn is also being asked to play right field.
"He just goes out there and plays well wherever we put him," manager Tony La Russa said. "His mindset is of total confidence. The other thing which is impressive is his athleticism. We knew he could play first and third base, but the way he has covered ground in the outfield has opened some eyes. He has certainly got other people's attention the way he has played those positions."
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In the eyes of the White Sox, Vaughn quickly learned many of the fundamentals of playing the outfield.
"He is very impressive in the way he embraces outfielder work," first-base coach/outfield instructor Daryl Boston said. "It was not an easy task moving to the outfield after being an infielder coming up. To his credit, he comes out every day trying to get better and working hard. Being a great athlete helps him a lot."
Vaughn is hitting .260 with 14 homers, 38 RBIs and a .783 OPS in 102 games entering play Tuesday. He's also having a strong August, hitting three homers and posting a .923 OPS in 11 games this month.
Vaughn's performance has him drawing American League Rookie of the Year consideration along the likes of Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, Astros right-hander Luis Garcia and Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.
"I don't think about that at all," Vaughn said of being in the Rookie of the Year race. "It's not something that has anything to do with my pitch-to-pitch concentration every day. Today is present. Tomorrow is not here and yesterday is gone. You go out and take that day to play hard and take your best shot. Whatever happens at the end of the year happens. You take your best shot and see what happens when it's over with."
Fitting in with the White Sox has been easy for Vaughn.
"The vision here is you want to be a big leaguer and play for these great fans and win championships," Vaughn said. "That is why we play this game at the highest level and try to achieve that goal. For me, I was able to come to Chicago and have these great fans behind us. They have been unbelievable this year – 30 thousand-plus over the weekend really had things rocking here.
"The biggest thing for me is never being satisfied. You need to think about getting so much better regardless of your success or failure. As a team if we continue to work and think that way, we will play for a long time this year."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
