The 2020 Chicago White Sox: Can they make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years ?
I woke up this morning on my day off and I did what I usually do on my days off, and that is I go on baseball-reference.com and i just look through the stats of all kinds of players, ranging from all time greats such as Sandy Koufax (best left handed pitcher of all time, without a doubt in my mind, all arguments can be sent to my lawyer) and Rogers Hornsby to the players we watch play today, and I stumbled upon Yoan Moncada (the man on the right in picture above). As a Red Sox fan I am familiar with Moncada. The Red Sox signed Moncada out of Cuba where he was considered one of the top prospects in the country and was considered a five tool player compared to the likes of Robinson Cano. Moncada was traded along with multiple other prospects to the White Sox in the 2016 offseason in exchange for Chris Sale. The trade worked out for the Sox, they got their ace and they ended up winning a World Series one season later in 2018. I began looking at Moncada’s stats and then I started looking at the White Sox as a team and all the amazing young talent they have such as Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito, the number three prospect in the MLB in Luis Robert, and many more. Looking at their roster right now it looks like 2020 just might (emphasis on might)be the first time they make the playoffs since 2008.
Rick Hahn, the General Manager of the White Sox had arguably the busiest off-season out of anyone in baseball not named Rob Manfred. Chaim Bloom of the Red Sox has probably had the weirdest off-season, having to deal with the sign stealing investigation his new team is now embroiled in, and having (I use this word lightly) to trade Mookie Betts and deal with the backlash from that, but this article isn’t about the Red Sox. Rick Hahn took over as GM of the White Sox in the 2012 off-season and although it is not all his fault, they have not had a winning season since he started, their highest win total in his tenure came in 2016 when they finished 78–84. Hahn wanted to change things this off-season, as the rebuild of his team is finally starting to come to an end. Moncada is becoming the player that scouts saw him becoming, Eloy Jimenez shined in his first big league season, batting .267 with 31 home runs, and Tim Anderson is turning into a star in their lineup. With all the great young players the White Sox had, they were just waiting for them to all develop in the minor leagues. Now that they have developed they are ready to compete, but they were still missing some pieces. Hahn needed to add a good veteran starting pitcher to help teach and mentor the young guys, and Hahn did exactly that. Hahn signed former Houston Astros prospect, Dallas Keuchal, to a three year, $55 million dollar, and also signed veteran starter, Gio Gonzalez to a one year deal. Hahn also added veteran reliever Steve Cishek to a 1 year deal, which will definitely boost their bullpen. I think that if Hahn and the White Sox just stopped with those moves then they could have been a winning team, they might not make the playoffs but they could have won at at-least 81–85 games, but then Hahn had some tricks up his sleeves. The White Sox signed switch hitting catcher, Yasmani Grandal, to a four year, 73 million dollar contract. Grandal is a great bat to have in the lineup, as he is far better hitter than most catchers in the league(catchers are usually the weak spot in a team’s lineup)as he hit .248 with 28 home runs and an OPS of .848. Grandal is also regarded around the league as one of the best pitch framing catchers, which means that he will make his pitchers look even better than they are, as if a pitch is just off the plate he can frame it so the umpire sees it as a strike. Hahn was not done dealing yet, he went out and signed Edwin Encarnacion who is going into his 16th season in the league, and who is still putting up big numbers, he hit 37 home runs last year, and although his strikeout numbers are up the past few seasons he is still a very valuable bat to have in any lineup and especially the White Sox’s.
Now all those signings and accusations are amazing but I think the best move that Hahn and the White Sox did was that they signed the #3 prospect in baseball and the best prospect on their team, Luis Robert (pictured above), to a six year, 50 million dollar contract extension that also includes two team options for a 7th and 8th year. Robert has been a top prospect in baseball for a few years now, he has been compared to Yankees legend and Hall of famer, Derek Jeter. Robert hit .328 with 32 home runs and 36 steals across three levels of the minor leagues in 2019, and former Indians shortstop, Omar Vizquel, had this to say about him, “He can do it all. He can beat you with a home run, with a stolen base, turn it into a different gear to make a play in the field. When you look at Robert, you see a player like that.” It is not set in stone, but i would expect to see Luis Robert as the White Sox starting center fielder come Opening Day.
Rick Hahn and the White Sox are inching towards becoming a competitive team. They finished the 2019 season with a 72–89 record, and with the talent they already had, along with the talent they acquired this off-season, they at least become a .500 team (at least 81 wins). The White Sox still have some problems that they need to fix, they were 6th in the league in strikeouts with 1,549 last season, and not pitcher strikeouts, but batter strikeouts. They need to strikeout a lot less if they want to compete in 2020. It is common for young players to strikeout a lot in their first few seasons in the league, as the difference between minor league and major league pitching is clearly a big gap. Once you are in the Major leagues, you are facing the best pitchers in the league every single night. My point being, that their is a lot of guys on the White Sox who are in the first couple full seasons in the Major’s such as Jimenez who is entering his second big league season, Moncada who is entering his third, and Luis Robert who is going to be entering his first season in the majors. Encarnacion and Grandal are good veteran guys to have on the team, as Encarnacion is entering his 16th season in the league, and Grandal who is entering his 9th. The good mix of veteran’s and young talent is great for a baseball team, as having players who have been in the league for a long time means that you basically have extra coaches, as the young guys have lots to learn, and a lot of the questions they have can easily be answered by players who already have dealt with similar situations.
The White Sox play in the American League Central Division, and their division consists of the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, and the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were the worst team in baseball last year with a 47–114 record and the Royals were the fourth worst with a 59–103 record, and they are going to be just as bad this year, so the White Sox do not need to worry about them, but they do need to worry about the Twins and the Indians. The Twins were one of the best teams in the league last year. they went 101–61, and their offense was almost unstoppable, they ended up hitting the most home runs out of any team with 307, which also broke the all-time single season home run record. The Twins are likely to win the division again this year, as the Indians are still going to be a very good team, but they are very likely trading their best player, Francisco Lindor, either before the season starts or at the trade deadline. The White Sox can easily compete for second place in their division and if all goes right, and their players stay healthy, maybe a shot at a wild card spot.
The White Sox are in for a very interesting season, this team is going to be fun to watch, they have great proven hitters in Jose Abreau, Encarnacion, Grandal, and all the young guys such as Moncada, Anderson, Jimenez, and hopefully Luis Robert.
Then there is Tim Anderson, who is becoming a star in the league, especially after his now iconic bat toss (seen in the gif above) last season against the Royals. They seem to already have a lot of fun playing together as a team, and with all the great acquisitions their front office did this winter, they are going to be winning more ball games, which leads to more and more great celebrations, like the bat flip from Anderson. The White Sox for the first time in over a decade have a chance to make the playoffs, and although I’m not sure they will do it this year, they have the pieces in place, and the talent to bring a good ball team to the field for many years to come.
