Jonathan

Cannon

Cannon followed opener Fraser Ellard and got torched by the Yankees’ dangerous lineup. He allowed seven hard-hit balls on just 13 total balls in play and four extra-base hits. One big positive though, his fastball was up two ticks and topped out over 97 mph. He also forced 12 total swings-and-misses, five of which with his fastball. That’s something for Cannon to hang his hat on after throwing more than 100 innings in each of the last two seasons.

Cannon has presumably been brought back to the big leagues to pitch in mop-up duty over the final handful of games for the White Sox. The 25-year-old was demoted to the minors back in early September after struggling to a bloated 5.67 ERA across 98 1/3 innings over 20 appearances (17 starts) this season.

Cannon was ineffective in his bulk role last night, giving up five runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Twins. If he doesn’t get another opportunity later, he’ll end the season 4-9 with a 5.67 ERA in 98 1/3 innings in the majors.

Cannon rejoined the White Sox on Thursday after posting a 6.20 ERA over four starts at Triple-A Charlotte, so it’s not surprising to see him get knocked around at the big league level as well once again. All of the damage came during a five-run uprising in the fourth inning that featured a pair of walks and then three straight two-out singles before Cannon was mercifully pulled. It’s possible he’ll get shipped back to Triple-A Charlotte after this one. The 25-year-old hurler now holds a cringe-inducing 4-10 record, 5.67 ERA and 1.49 WHIP across 98 1/3 innings with the White Sox this season.

Cannon is slated to serve as the bulk guy behind Fraser Ellard tonight against the Twins. He had a 6.20 ERA and a 15/7 K/BB in 20 1/3 innings over four starts for Charlotte. He’s 4-9 with a 5.34 ERA in 96 innings for the White Sox this year.

Cannon was atrocious Wednesday in his start against the Mariners, and the White Sox will give him a chance to get right at the minor-league level. It was true before this roster move, but fantasy managers can safely drop Cannon in all eligible formats.

Cannon has struggled a lot lately, but this was a different level of struggling for the 25-year-old. He gave up a two-run homer to Josh Naylor in the first, a two-run single to Cal Raleigh in the second, and a three-run bomb to Julio Rodríguez before mercifully exiting. Simply put, Cannon isn’t good enough to even consider using as a fantasy option at this stage. That includes next week when he faces the Tigers, obviously.

The 25-year-old right-hander walked two batters on the evening while striking out three. The Phillies scratched out two runs against him on a pair of sacrifice flies in the second inning, then added on with a pair of two-run homers by Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh in the third inning. Cannon settled in afterwards and kept the Phillies off the board over his final three frames. He got 14 whiffs on 87 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 26 percent. Now 4-8 on the season, he’ll try to improve upon his 4.77 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 75/32 K/BB ratio (94 1/3 innings) when he takes on the Mariners on Tuesday in Seattle.

The Rays jumped all over Cannon for four runs in the first via home runs by Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero. Then, he retired 10 batters in a row up until the fifth inning, where he lost it again and the Rays pulled back ahead. Still, Cannon has flashed some real swing-and-miss stuff lately, especially with his fastball at the top of the zone. That pitch forced 10 of his 18 whiffs, which tied a career high, and there were times when it was dominant. He’s sneakily approaching streaming territory for deeper leagues, but his next start is probably one to avoid with the Phillies coming to town.

After his lineup jumped all over Pirates starter Bailey Falter, Cannon never let them back in the game. He completed seven innings for just the second time this season and got there by mostly just throwing sinkers in the strike zone and letting the hitters put in play. That’s all it takes sometimes. His next start is scheduled to come on the road against the Rays.