Pregame notes: Tristan Peters chasing White Sox history; Walker Jenkins making MLB debut for Twins

The White Sox and Twins open a three-game series at Target Field tonight, with Luis Castillo taking the mound against Dean Kremer in a pitching matchup that puts my judgment to the test. I put forth the idea of the White Sox trading for Kremer before the Minnesota swooped in, and I questioned the risk-reward ratio of taking on Castillo's contract after the White Sox acquired him from Seattle.

Kremer, who handcuffed the White Sox for six innings of one-run ball back as a member of the Orioles back on July 1, has been steady in four starts with the Twins, posting a 3.18 ERA over 22⅔ innings and completing at least five innings every time out. Castillo has a 5.89 ERA over four starts with the White Sox, which includes seven shutout innings against Cincinnati back on Aug. 12. The combined line in his other three starts: 11.1 IP, 22 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 5 HR, 3 BB, 9 K.

Both are under control through the 2027 season; Kremer in his last year of arbitration eligibility, Castillo for $24.15 million. Both players cost a legitimate prospect, as the Twins sent 18-year-old A-ball outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes to Baltimore. Boston Smith, who went to Seattle along with Seranthony Domínguez, is five years older.

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Tristan Peters is once again starting and batting eighth as he seeks to extend his home run streak to six games. Since Munetaka Murakami already reached five games earlier this year, I can just C&P the paragraphs some paragraphs from April about Murakami to review the feats Peters is chasing.

A reminder of TONIGHT's stakes: TRISTAN PETERS has homered in five straight games. He owns a share of the MLB rookie record with MUNETAKA MURAKAMI AND Ron Kittle, and they all own shares of the White Sox record with five other players (A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas and Greg Luzinski).

With a homer today, PETERS would hold both records outright, and then it'd be all about his place in the standard MLB context from that point forward. He'd become the 42nd player in MLB history to homer in at least six consecutive games. Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly and Dale Long are tied for the record with eight.

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Walker Jenkins, Baseball America's No. 10 prospect on its top 100 list, is indeed making his MLB debut for the Twins tonight, but he's not taking Byron Buxton's roster spot. Instead, Minnesota optioned Alan Roden to Triple-A to open the spot in the outfield.

It's a calculated risk, at least with who they removed. Roden has been outhitting Buxton this month, as Buxton is once again dealing with a hip issue that sent him to the injured list twice already this season. The timing makes it understandable. The Twins are four games out of the wild card spot and rosters expand in four days, so playing short might be better than putting Buxton on the IL and hoping they'll still be in it after 10 days.

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First Pitch: White Sox at Twins

TV: CHSN

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