Anthony Kay's strong spring performance should fire up White Sox fans

Anthony Kay's career across Major League Baseball has been tough. After being drafted by the New York Mets in the 2016 MLB Draft, he didn't really stick. 

He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019 and was then claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2023 season. And toward the end of the 2023 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Mets. 

Kay would then make the decision to go overseas and play in the NPB. He signed a deal with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, where he would reinvent himself. 

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Anthony Kay's strong spring performance should fire up White Sox fans

Kay pitched in 155 innings last season, leading the NPB in ground ball rate and setting a single-season ERA record of 1.74. That was enough for him to make the jump back to MLB and sign a deal with the Chicago White Sox. 

There is no denying that the White Sox need him to come out firing from the start. Pitching is one of their weakest areas, and they need some arms to step up in a big way. 

Kay has pitched well this spring, appearing in five games, striking out 15, walking six, while compiling a 2.20 ERA. Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer is buying in on the hype here. 

"This is basically a continuation of what Kay did in Japan, where he had a 1.74 ERA over 24 appearances for Yokohama. And while his spring performance is light on strikeouts, that isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. He only fanned 130 batters in 155 innings in 2025, so there was clearly good contact management going on. And so it goes this spring. Batted balls off him have averaged just 87.0 mph, albeit with ground balls on only 16 of 44 balls in play."

Kay is not going to be a guy who strikes out tons of batters. His game is producing weak ground balls, which could help keep him in games longer than those chasing strikeouts. 

Don't sleep on the crafty lefty this season.

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