There’s a lot of talk in White Sox circles about the bright future of Josh Fields, and with good reason. After tonight’s game, #28 has 22 home runs and 65 RBI – not too shabby for 91 games and 347 at-bats. Could he be garnering some attention for Rookie of the Year honors? Maybe, but it’s doubtful that he’s going to get more votes than any of the Red Sox’ three standouts, if not because they’re each contributing to a playoff berth then because sportswriters in America have this tendency to just looove east coast glamour teams.

But before we start commissioning designs for the Fields statue to adorn the outfield concourse alongside Carlton Fisk, Charles Comiskey and Billy Pierce, it’s probably good to keep in mind that he’s also already struck out 117 times – second-highest on the team, 15th in the AL, highest among players with fewer than 100 games played and at the fastest clip (1 K per 2.94 at-bats) in the league – holding an average steady in the .240-.250 range while only drawing 28 walks.
Still, it’s nice to think there could be something positive emerging from the mess of this season.

For what it’s worth, the new guy became part of a pretty exclusive club tonight against the Twins. With a solo shot launched in the 7th inning, Fields became just the third player to ever hit two home runs off the mighty Johan Santana in the same game, following in the footsteps of Frank Thomas (June 23, 2007 in Toronto) and then-Royal Juan Gonzalez (April 16, 2004 in Minneapolis). Not bad company to be in.

No small feat for a mere rookie to be pulling off, either. Just think what’ll happen when he stops whiffing so often.