Berroa likely avoids Tommy John; No. 8 prospect tops 100 mph

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- White Sox reliever Prelander Berroa was diagnosed with a Grade 1 elbow strain after leaving his fourth-inning relief appearance Friday against the Cubs at Sloan Park. The course of action is to be determined, according to the White Sox, although it looks as if the right-hander avoided the worst-case scenario of Tommy John surgery in the short term.

“In the sense that we'll have this period where we'll give him an opportunity to recover, yes, but obviously very serious and just hopeful that he'll be all right,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “We'll continue to evaluate and hope we come out of it on the good side of the possibilities.

“But I certainly hate to see it, especially knowing how good of a guy he is and how hard he works. It's upsetting and this is these guys' livelihood and this is where they're most comfortable being. Obviously being able to be healthy and play the game means a lot. To see him go through that is tough."

Berroa, 24, is in consideration for high-leverage work out of the bullpen. He finished last season with a 1.80 ERA over 12 games in September.

TAYLOR TOPS 100

When Grant Taylor, Chicago's No. 8 prospect, came off the mound following his scoreless fifth inning during a 4-3 loss to the Royals on Sunday at Surprise Stadium, he was questioned by one of the White Sox pitching coaches if he was taking it easy. Taylor thought that pitching coach was being serious, but it was actually said as a joke after Taylor hit 101.2 mph with his four-seam fastball.

“It was pretty cool. That’s my first fastball above 100 [mph]. Pretty cool to just skip the 100 and go straight to 101,” Taylor said. “Obviously it brings confidence the stuff is going to play. But it’s getting the stuff to be in the zone and getting ahead to guys.”

Taylor, 22, is a non-roster invite to Spring Training but is one of the young White Sox pitchers to watch as he’s fully healthy entering this year. Taylor averaged 99.4 mph across his five four-seam fastballs at Surprise Stadium.

“I didn’t know. It felt like a normal day,” Taylor said. “You see a lot of guys in the game nowadays throwing 100. I feel like the more options I have, the more I can gain my confidence throwing pitches, it’s only going to be to my benefit. The 100, if I throw it 60 percent of the time, it starts to not look like 100 quite so much.”

ELKO’S SLOAN SMASHES

For the second straight season, Tim Elko homered for the White Sox in Game 1 of Cactus League action. Both homers were to the opposite field, with last year’s blast going out to right-center and this year’s hitting the top of the fence in right and bouncing over. Both came against the Cubs and both came at Sloan Park.

“Pretty cool feeling being able to do it two years in a row, first at-bat,” Elko said. “No need to sacrifice, try to hit for less power or anything. It’s part of my game. Doing what I can just to make sure the pitch selection is good, trusting myself, trusting my eyes and putting good swings on pitches.”

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Noah Schultz (No. 16) and Hagen Smith (No. 34), the top left-handed pitching prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, will both be working in relief on Wednesday against the Padres at Camelback Ranch.