The White Sox were having a tough time slowing the Giants in Saturday’s Cactus League game at Scottsdale Stadium. The Giants scored twice each in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
That changed when Codi Heuer entered in the seventh.
Heuer struck out Drew Robinson swinging, got Mauricio Dubon to ground to short and ended the inning by striking out Joey Rickard.
It was the latest example of Heuer’s impressive spring.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander has not allowed an earned run in five relief outings. He has surrendered two hits and has seven strikeouts and one walk in five innings.
“It’s been an awesome experience so far,” Heuer, 23, said Sunday. “I got off to a good start. It’s been cool being around all the guys. (I’ve) just been working on a lot of fastball command stuff. Also getting my off-speed back.
“Sometimes in spring it’s hard coming back after that time off and getting the feel for your changeup and sliders, and I’ve been nailing that and feeling really good.”
A sixth-round selection in the 2018 draft from Wichita State, Heuer spent last season at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. As a non-roster invitee to spring training, he’s making the most of the opportunity.
General manager Rick Hahn said Friday that Heuer and Tyler Johnson are among the young relievers who have impressed in camp. Manager Rick Renteria agrees.
“He shows a lot of calm and (has) nice mound presence,” Renteria said. “Certainly someone we have our eye on, and the whole organization is really happy with how he’s progressed. He’s impressive. He’s got a power arm and he knows how to pitch.”
Heuer throws a four-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup.
“(The) changeup has usually been a better pitch for me,” he said, “but I’ve been working on my slider and now the slider kind of complements my fastball and changeup. The slider has always been a tough pitch for me to nail, but I’ve put in a lot of work in the offseason and it’s been good so far.”
Heuer went a combined 6-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 67? innings in 2019. He had an 0.48 ERA in his final 14 appearances for Birmingham.
“Winston, I got off to a good start, and Birmingham, I ended up finishing up really nice,” he said. “That was my first full season. I had a lot of fun.”
Heuer had 11 saves, nine of them at Birmingham.
“I feed off that, coming out of the gate, out of the bullpen in the ninth with everybody up and you’ve got a game that you can save for the boys,” Heuer said. “I love that feeling, that adrenaline and trying to dap up your catcher after the game.”
The success has carried over this spring.
“It’s been awesome,” Heuer said. “Anytime you get to be around these guys and get exposed to those hitters, it’s pretty sweet. I’ve been taking in all the information I can from everybody and it’s been a really awesome experience.”
Heuer is studying how other Sox pitchers attack hitters.
“Just how they see it because they’ve been through it up at that level,” Heuer said. “I try to pick their brains as much as possible. Me and some of the catchers talk about sequencing and how to attack guys and how to establish myself and how I can be effective. It’s a lot, but I take it day by day.”
He’s hoping to soak up all he can this spring.
“More on how to attack guys and how to take my game to the next level,” Heuer said. “I want to continue to watch guys and learn as much as possible.”