Fulmer's Future With The White Sox Hangs In The Balance

White Sox beleaguered starter Carson Fulmer endured one of his signature struggles on Friday night against the Texas Rangers. Self-inflicted wounds led to another early exit and a demotion to Triple-A following the game.

Fulmer was demonstrably upset with himself in a first-inning riddled with walks and control issues. He threw one strike in his first 10 pitches and yet he still had an opportunity to escape without getting skewered. With runners at second and third and one out, Fulmer walked Nomar Mazara and gave himself an opportunity to end the inning with a double play. He jumped out to an 0-2 count on Jurickson Profar and induced a tailor-made double-play ball to Yoan Moncada...who was shifted to the hole...and the ball squirted through the infield plating two runs. Fulmer should have escaped the inning, and leaving Moncada's positioning aside, he still had a chance to make a play -- a play Moncada has to make.

The is indicative of a lot of things, but most of all it is clear Fulmer needs work. This is no small move by the White Sox. Fulmer has been unraveling for the past few starts and his demotion could be the kiss of death for his career with the Southsiders. Look, there's no question he is a good guy, well liked in the clubhouse and a fierce competitor, but no amount of coaching is going to fix Fulmer. He needs to figure it out for himself and it's not going to happen in The Show. Fulmer had a special opportunity in front of him -- one that he may never see again -- and he couldn't deliver. He posted a 2-4 record with 8.07 earned run average over 32 1/3 innings pitched in nine games. In his last three outings, Fulmer has survived a combined 7 1/3 innings allowing 17 runs.

Sadly, White Sox brass may need some time to get over the shellshock they've endured in sticking with Fulmer. He will continue working as a starter in Triple-A, but it will be a long time before he gets another shot at the big leagues. There are too many strong, young arms in the pipeline and we've seen this story before with Fulmer where he is sent down to the minors, deals for a few months and then jumps back into the deep end and starts to drown. Fans should root for Fulmer's success, not call for his head. A foray into the bullpen could be an option, something many have speculated about in recent weeks, but he has to throw strikes -- that's what major-league pitchers do.