The Chicago White Sox were a team that finished 35-25 in 2020 with one of the most loaded lineups in baseball. There is a combination of super studs in their prime like MVP Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson along super-prospects who like Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal. The Sox hit more home runs than any one else in the American League and this season, will have an even stronger pitching staff after the acquisition of Lance Lynn from Texas and one of the best closers in baseball, Liam Hendriks. The White Sox are in a strong position to go for the trophy in 2021 and have hired Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa to help get it done. Will he be able to connect with the young players and get the best out of them? It remains to be seen, but I absolutely love this roster and their chances in 2021.

Arrivals

OF Yoelqui Cespedes (FA/Cuba)
OF Adam Eaton (FA/Nationals)
SP Lance Lynn (Trade/Rangers)
RP Liam Hendriks (FA/Athletics)

The White Sox didn’t make a ton of major moves this offseason – because the didn’t need to. This team was already strong and ready to compete. Just to strengthen their chances even more, the White Sox went out and filled any possible holes they had. Lance Lynn is a workhorse with a hard high-spin fastball that misses bats often. He will join Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Giolito. To understand that starting pitching is not a weakness for this team, just know that all three of these guys were in the Top 7 in last year’s Cy Young voting. And they’ll all be starting games for a team that is known for a strong offense more than a strong rotation.

Liam Hendriks is absolutely filthy and borderline unhittable at times. He actually topped his 2019 ERA of 1.8 with a 1.78 ERA in 2020. He also had an insane 13.1 strikeout ratio in both seasons. In 25 innings last season, he had 14 saves, 37 strikeouts and gave up just one home run. Adam Eaton was signed to return to the White Sox as a much needed left-handed option. He brings a strong on-base ability with good speed and a career .282 average. In his three seasons with the White Sox, he hit an amazing 29 triples. They also signed 23-year old Yoelqui Cespedes, who defected from Cuba in 2019. He is a five-tool talent and will probably start the year in the Minors. If he handles professional pitching well in the minors, will get an opportunity to be an impact player as well for the Sox.

Lineup

1. Tim Anderson SS

2. Adam Eaton RF

3. Yasmani Grandal C

4. Jose Abreu 1B

5. Eloy Jimenez DH

6. Yoan Moncada 3B

7. Luis Robert CF

8. Adam Engel LF

9. Nick Madrigal 2B

Here is one potential starting lineup for the White Sox and, as I said, it is absolutely stacked. Tim Anderson had a 1,509 OPS against lefties last season and can simply rake. The 2019 batting champion seemingly hits everything hard and when one gets in the air with the right angle, it’s probably going over the fence. He finished 7th in the MVP voting in 2020. He’s got all the tools and will continue to be a force in that lineup. Adam Eaton returns after a down-year in 2020, which was probably due to the small sample size, because his hard contact rate and other advanced stats look normal or even improved. If does struggle or get injured, there’s a decent chance Cespedes will be ready to jump in at some point.

Yasmani Grandal has more home runs than any other MLB catcher since 2015. Defensively, he is elite at throwing out baserunners and framing pitches. He’s got patience, power, defense and is simply one of the best catchers in baseball. Jose Abreu was only the MVP in 2020, which is all I need to say about him. I’ll say a little more anyway – in 2020 he was on a pace for 162 RBI over a regular length season. He is an absolute beast with a rookie of the year, MVP, 3 Silver Sluggers and 3 All Star Selections in his 7-year big league career. Eloy Jimenez showed big improvements in 2020 after hitting 31 bombs in 2019. He bumped his average up to .296 and hit the ball harder more often. He has 40-home run potential in 2021.

Yoan Moncada had a tough 2020 after recovering from Covid-19. He hit .315 in 2019 with 25 home runs and will likely get close to those numbers in 2021 after hitting just .225 last year. Luis Robert bring super speed, amazing defensive abilities and power to centerfield. He has some work to do as a hitter, chasing and striking out too much, but he’s only 23 and should show improvement there. He has 30+ home run power and finished second the Rookie of the Year voting while winning a Gold Glove. Adam Engel is another great athlete who has gold-glove caliber defense, can run like the wind and showed big improvements at the plate over his career. He doesn’t hit a lot of home runs but the rest of the lineup should be able to handle that quite well.

Finally, Nick Madrigal hit .340 in a small sample last season showing a Tony Gwynn-like ability to put the bat on the ball. He struck out 7 times in 103 at bats. Unfortunately, he had shoulder surgery in October so might not be ready for Opening Day but Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick are both fine to fill in until he’s ready. Overall, this lineup is pretty ridiculous and I haven’t even mentioned other potential prospects who could help like Andrew Vaughn. There is insane power, MVP-type talents, great on-base skills, solid veterans, super-prospects and everything you’d want in a lineup. It gets an A+.

Rotation

1. Lucas Giolito

2. Dallas Keuchel

3. Lance Lynn

4. Dylan Cease

5. Carlos Rodon

Reynaldo Lopez

Michael Kopech

Looking at the rotation, the top 3 can be interchanged – as I said, they were all in the Top 7 for the 2020 Cy Young voting. Lucas Giolito had a career high 12.1 strikeout rate in 2020, throwing a no-hitter and continuing to be consistently good for the Sox. In over 72 innings, he gave up just 47 hits. Then there’s 2020 signing Dallas Keuchel, who consistently jammed hitters and created garbage contact. In 11 starts and 63 innings, he gave up just 2 home runs. He’s a former Cy Young Award winner and one of the best pitchers at fielding his position as well. Then the newcomer, Lance Lynn, who has a sick fastball/slider combo. His fastball has actually been getting faster into his 30’s and his fastball and changeup are an elite 13 mph apart in velocity.

After all that is Dylan Cease and Carlos Rodon. So after the three top-7 Cy Young candidates, you’re looking at high 90’s heat, which they both possess. Cease also has an elite slider and if he can improve his control, which is possible as he is only 25 and hasn’t pitched a full big league season, he can also win a lot of games. Rodon was re-signed by the White Sox, who obviously still believe in him although he has been hampered by injuries most of his young career. He can hit triple digits and will hopefully get some help from new pitching coach Ethan Katz, who was with the Giants last year and was credited by Giolito for helping turn his career around. If he struggles, there’s still Reynaldo Lopez and former first round pick Michael Kopech, who is slated to start the season in the bullpen.

With the first 3 starters, all they need are some one halfway serviceable and the offense will take care of the rest. I believe Dylan Cease will show big improvements in 2021 and the only question mark is the fifth spot in the rotation, for which they have options including not only Kopech but possibly Garrett Crochet as well. Barring injury, this rotation should be absolutely dominant in 2021 to go along with an A+ lineup. Look out for the White Sox in 2021. I’m going to give this rotation an A only because I’m not sure what the 5th spot will look like.

Bullpen

Liam Hendriks
Aaron Bummer
Evan Marshall
Codi Heuer
Matt Foster
Garrett Crochet
Jace Fry
Jimmy Cordero
Jose Ruiz
Michael Kopech
Reynaldo Lopez

The bullpen kicks off with Liam Hendriks, who is simply one of if not the most desired closer in baseball. The White Sox proved they were all in to win it with this signing, making this team undeniably complete. If they hadn’t signed him, Aaron Bummer would have likely been the closer. He has a good hard sinker that induces a ton of ground balls. He is a lefty along with strikeout machine Jace Fry and super prospect Garrett Crochet. Right-handers other than Hendriks include Evan Marshall, who has a sick moving changeup and plus curve, along with Codi Heuer, who can touch 98 with the fastball. Both were lights out in 2020. Jimmy Cordero is another flamethrower who struggled in 2020 but had a 2.75 ERA in 2019. Matt Foster is another youngster with great stuff who was phenomenal in his rookie year in 2020. This pen will also start the season with Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet, who throws 100+ MPH heat with regularity. This is a bullpen that didn’t need the best closer in baseball. Now that they have him, it’s one of the best bullpens in baseball. This pen gets an A+.

So there you have it for the White Sox, a team that has to be considered heavy favorites to win the Central in my opinion and, although the playoffs in baseball are unpredictable, especially in March, if this team stays healthy, they should be major players well into October. As on overall team, I give the White Sox an A+.