TORONTO — White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn isn’t having the season he envisioned, but he’s not alone. Around baseball, there are bigger-name players with bigger expectations who have had a rough first 1œ months, too.
Entering play Tuesday, the Rangers’ Corey Seager (.247/.338/.371) had a .708 OPS after posting a 1.013 and finishing second in American League MVP voting last season. The Astros’ Alex Bregman (.220/.290/.347) was carrying a .637 OPS. The Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette (.230/.289/.333) had two home runs and a .622 OPS. The Rays’ Randy Arozarena was batting .158 with an AL-leading 59 strikeouts. The Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez had two homers. And the Braves’ Ronald Acuna, the reigning National League MVP, had three homers and a .717 OPS after posting a 1.012 last season.
On Vaughn’s own team, left fielder Andrew Benintendi was batting .190/.218/.276 with a miserable .494 OPS. Benintendi signed the richest contract in Sox history before last season, a five-year, $75 million deal.
‘‘We’re all humans, first and foremost,’’ said Vaughn, who is batting .193/.251/.295. ‘‘Everybody in this game will say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do. Pitchers are getting a lot better, throwing it a lot firmer, different stuff on the offspeed. It’s a game of adjustments. For all of us, we’re trying to do our best once we get in the box.’’
Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, entered play Tuesday as a career .250/.308/.408 hitter and had hit 15, 17 and 21 homers his first three big-league seasons. Manning a defensive position that demands offensive production, he had three long balls in a team-high 186 plate appearances.
‘‘Things come with time sometimes,’’ Vaughn said. ‘‘Definitely every time I go in the box, I want to do damage, put runs on the board. That’s how we win games.’’
But the struggle is real.
‘‘You have to go on to the next pitch,’’ Vaughn said. ‘‘Do your work in the cage, be headstrong, take the little wins when you can. Hit a rocket [for an out], take that as a positive. I’m hitting the ball hard. You have to keep going, keep the same approach and mindset.’’
Since hitting two homers in a 4-0 victory May 14 against the Nationals, Vaughn is 2-for-24 after going 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in the Sox’ 5-0 victory Tuesday against the Blue Jays that ended a four-game losing streak. That ran his hitless streak to 16 at-bats.
Before the series, however, he said he was feeling ‘‘a little bit’’ better at the plate.
‘‘I’m working on some things, kind of in a better spot with my swing, stance, approach,’’ Vaughn said.
Last in the majors with 141 runs scored and off to the worst 49-game start in their history at 15-34, the Sox need to see Vaughn get rolling.
Manager Pedro Grifol said Vaughn looks more comfortable of late, so there’s that.
‘‘It became somewhat of a mental block,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘It happens, especially when it happens early in the year. It got to that point where he said: ‘To heck with it. I’m not going to worry about yesterday, I’m just going to do what I do and have fun out there.’ And you know what? He’ll hit. I tell him: ‘You close your eyes and wake up in September, and your numbers are going to be there. Keep doing what you do.’ ’’
Until he comes out of it, however, the occasional questions will come Vaughn’s way about his struggles. That can grow old.
‘‘Yeah,’’ Vaughn said. “You just have to keep going. That’s the biggest thing.’’
