Pregame notes: Tristan Peters is an All-Star

Tristan Peters has had a wild last 18 hours, a wild last five months, but there's pretty much no point in his past that doesn't seem like a distant memory compared to his new present: an American League All-Star. Remember what they had him doing in April?

"We're not seeing as much of the bunting anymore from him," said Will Venable.

Mike Vasil once more served as the master of ceremonies for Saturday's clubhouse announcement that Peters, after hitting for the cycle Friday night, has been added as an injury replacement.

"It's surreal," said a gobsmacked Peters. "It doesn't feel real at the moment. I mean, I can't believe this is all happening. It feels like all at once. I'm just so grateful. It's been some of the most fun I've had playing baseball with this team."

Despite the last-minute nature of Peters' addition, his statistical case is pretty unambiguous. He's slashing .303/.357/.484 through 89 games, with defense that has him already hovering around 3 WAR according to both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. The Sox anticipated a useful contact hitter and up the middle defender, but the offensive ability has continued to reveal itself over time.

"He clicked a ball in spring training pretty good and that was impressive, and was the first time we saw him tap into some of that power, and we knew that was a part of it," Venable said. "Just a few weeks into the season, you kind of look up and realize he's having really good at-bats and hitting the ball hard, and really solving for different types of pitches he's seeing from both lefties and righties. It just all together progressed into obviously a very impressive player."

Peters and his wife Erin welcomed the birth of their first child, a baby girl named Elaine, in spring training and were uncertain about whether he would break camp with the team up until the final days of spring training.

"Shout out to my wife, she's incredible," Peters said. "She's almost a single mom half the time, I'm gone so often. She's a super mom, really. She lets me sleep at night, she takes care of the baby. She's the real hero in this situation. I'm so proud of her. She's such an amazing mom."

Now, they will both be traveling with Peters to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game. Hopefully Peters is prepared for a lot more questions about playing for the Savannah Bananas.

"I only player for them for like a month," Peters said. "I will clarify that it was college summer ball. It wasn't Banana Ball like it is now. But we were still doing dances and stuff. I think that adds to it. If that's my reputation, I love it."

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Hey maybe you might have heard this around the way already, but the White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick. We have a draft thread rolling all day as the draft chugs along, and the Sox have hoarded enough pool money to make the whole day pretty relevant for their long-term future.

The Rate Field stadium public address system had "Rock and Roll All Nite" and a scoreboard graphic ready once the pick was announced. And they didn't put it up early this time.

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Tyler Schweitzer was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to fill the Brandon Eisert-shaped hole in the White Sox complement of four left-handers. When you last saw him, he was completing a four-inning save in Baltimore on June 30.

Venable mentioned Sam Antonacci rotating in from the outfield, and Rikuu Nishida as potential infield depth in the wake of Jacob Gonzalez's departure in the trade with Pittsburgh. Right-hander Jaden Woods is reporting to Triple-A Charlotte.

For those who look at Junior Pérez's presence in the lineup and only grow further anxious about the team's positional depth, Everson Pereira is taking batting practice and running the bases again, so the Sox are hopeful that he also could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break. Austin Hays is also expected to have a post-break rehab assignment.

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Bryan Hudson is opening for Erick Fedde.

First pitch: White Sox vs. Athletics

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM, 107.9 FM La Ley (Spanish)

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