Chicago White Sox: Could Rios and Dunn Take a Cue from Juan Pierre?

The Chicago White Sox are still waiting for two players to come out of season-long slumps as they hope to stay in the hunt for the AL Central pennant. 

Alex Rios and Adam Dunn have failed to get on track this summer, but there's still hope that one or both of these players will start to contribute at the plate.

Bolstering that hope is the fact that much-maligned left fielder Juan Pierre has managed to raise his game.

Pierre was a daily target in the first half of this season. 

Much of it was well deserved, as the veteran was struggling both at the dish and on the base paths.  In the latter stages of June, Pierre was batting in the .250 range, had been caught stealing nine times in 19 attempts, and was sporting a .310 on-base percentage.

Manager Ozzie Guillen chose to hang in with Pierre.  Over the last three weeks, his patience has paid off.

In his last 20 games, Pierre is hitting .353, including a stretch of clutch hits in White Sox victories.  He's knocked in 10 runs in that span and is getting on base at a .398 clip.

Monday night in Kansas City, he led off the game with a triple and scored Chicago's first run.  He also drove in a run in the 5-2 White Sox win.

Pierre has found signs of life in the running portion of his game as well, with five steals in his last seven attempts.  He swiped two bases in Chicago's 5-0 win in Detroit Saturday.

Earlier last month, Pierre's wins-above-replacement value was one of the worst in the game, right there with Rios and Dunn. 

As of now, Pierre has gotten that number in the black while his two teammates still languish in dismal offensive campaigns.

Dunn, whose troubles are well documented, is hitting .100 for the month of July.

Over his last 20 games, Rios is hitting .125.  He has no home runs and two RBI in that time.

If Pierre can find his stroke, one or both of these players could follow. 

It appears that Guillen is going to keep trotting out both Rios and Dunn in Chicago's lineup.  A surge in production, even for a few weeks, could make the difference for the White Sox down the stretch.