It’s been a long season for us all, and that includes White Sox catcher Korey Lee.

Lee’s story this season has been a sweet one. His Cactus League work earned him a backup backstop stop breaking camp, and he ended up getting it — but only after being optioned to Charlotte and only brought back in time for Opening Day due to the chronic injury woes of Max Stassi.

Then, the concern was whether Lee would see enough playing time, what with being a young player and stuck behind — somehow, for some reason — Martín Maldonado and his wizened ways + spaghetti bat. So Lee surprised again, working his way into a rough platoon-leaning-starting role at the time of Maldonado’s DFA out of baseball.

The catch? Well, in spite of hot streaks that have seen Lee win POTW awards from our voters in both April and now July, it’s a looooooong season. And the young backstop is showing some of the wear, entering August around .210/.250/.360 and waning. Lee’s arm is a plus, but at this rate the ascendance of Edgar Quero could come before the summer is out.

2024 South Side Sox Players of the Week
Eloy Jiménez (February 23-March 2)
Eloy Jiménez (March 3-11)
Chuckie Robinson (March 12-19)
Michael Soroka (March 20-27)
Garrett Crochet (March 28-April 3)
Gavin Sheets (April 4-11)
The Fans (April 12-18)
Korey Lee (April 19-24)
Tommy Pham (April 25-May 2)
Garrett Crochet (May 3-8)
Garrett Crochet (May 9-16)
Corey Julks (May 17-22)
Garrett Crochet (May 23-30)
Paul DeJong (May 31—June 6)
Garrett Crochet (June 7-13)
Erick Fedde (June 14-21)
Drew Thorpe (June 22-26)
Luis Robert Jr. (June 27-July 4)
Drew Thorpe (July 5-11)
Korey Lee (July 12-25)

Top 10 MVP Standings
Garrett Crochet (128.6)
Erick Fedde (86.9)
Drew Thorpe (45.7)
Korey Lee (44.7)
The Fans (39.8)
Tommy Pham (33.3)
Jonathan Cannon (33.0)
Chris Flexen (29.2)
Gavin Sheets (20.0)
Nicky Lopez (18.3)

Top 10 Cold Cat Standings
Pedro Grifol (-124.7)
Andrew Benintendi (-44.3)
Martín Maldonaldo (-35.6)
The Offense (-31.5)
Andrew Vaughn (-30.0)
John Brebbia (-26.9)
The Entire Roster (-24.7)
Dominic Fletcher (-19.9)
Luis Robert Jr. (-19.5)
Steven Wilson (-17.3, 185 votes)

Drew Thorpe continued his march northward up the MVP listing, leapfrogging several full-season teammates and into the No. 3 slot overall. Meanwhile, Luis Robert Jr. re-entered the Cold Cats list.

Writer Standings

Yes, you’re reading this right: A recapper has a better-than-.500 record! Congrats, Super Joe.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Mitch’s work, or if you’d like to purchase original drawings or prints, contact him via Twitter (@soxsketcher), Instagram (@southsidesharpie), or by e-mail at southsidesharpie@gmail.com. Thanks for supporting local artists!

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Korey Lee art: Mitch Ransdell/Sox Populi