What It Means:

The White Sox are 3.5 games back of a wild card spot, but our algorithm still only gives them a 4.8 percent chance of making the playoffs right now. Samardzija has a 2.19 nERD, representing the number of runs he is preventing above a league-average pitcher per game, which ranks 12th among all pitchers. For the remainder of the season our projections have him producing a 3.75 ERA along with 6.56 strikeouts and 1.75 walks per nine.