Neal Cotts has been able to dominate the Southern League all year long for the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate for the Chicago White Sox. Apparently word has gotten back to the big club, as the White Sox have called up Cotts in the midst of a playoff race to make a start tonight in the major leagues, against the defending World Series champion Anaheim Angels.
Cotts will make the start tonight in Anaheim for the Sox, who are currently 1.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the A.L. Central lead. His counterpart on the mound tonight will be 13-game winner Ramon Ortiz, while in the batters box, Cotts will see the likes of Tim Salmon, David Eckstein, and All-Star Game MVP and Home Run Derby champion, Garret Anderson.
For the year, the 23-year-old Cotts has gone 9-6, with a Southern League leading 2.12 ERA in 20 starts. He gave up just 62 hits in 106 1/3 innings, while striking out 131 batters. Cotts was also the starter for the United States team in the Futures Game during All-Star Weekend.
As a Redbird, Cotts went 18-9 in his three seasons, with an overall ERA of 3.58. During that time, he also notched 263 strikeouts, which ranks him fifth all-time in school history.
Cotts was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of 2001 with the 69th pick, becoming the highest drafted Redbird in history. In December of 2002, Cotts was dealt to Chicago in a deal that sent current Sox closer Billy Koch to Chicago.
The game will air tonight on Fox Sports Chicago, with the pregame show beginning at 8:30 p.m., and the first pitch at 9:05 p.m.
