Return of the Jake

28-year-old righthander Jake Peavy returned to the mound Saturday night and made his debut with the Chicago White Sox. Peavy got the win in a solid if unspectacular outing. He threw 73 pitches over five innings allowing three runs on three hits and striking out five. One of the hits was a bomb off the bat of Kansas City's Billy Butler. Still, Peavy looked good. He topped out at 91-92, down about 4 mph from his usual self. But his fastball had its signature late life, inducing a fair amount of swings and misses. Most importantly, number forty-four looked confident and pitched aggressively, several times brushing batters away from the plate. Word is the White Sox will give him about 75 pitches a start in his next three outings to close out the season. Peavy is poised to become Chicago's ace in 2010, moving lefty John Danks down to the number two slot in the rotation and Mark Buehrle to the third spot. With Gavin Floyd perhaps the major's best number four starter, the ChiSox have the makings of an excellent rotation next year. They have to be considered one the favorites heading into the season. Look for GM Ken Williams to trade closer Bobby Jenks for a bat, possibly a first baseman. With the Sox' payroll expected to be high next season, the team could use a bat that won't add much to payroll. An potential match might be the Texas Rangers who could send free-swinging slugger Chris Davis to the south side for Jenks.
Either way, seeing Peavy attack hitters as he's done for six years was an encouraging sign for White Sox fans and fantasy owners lucky enough to own "Peav."