Chicago White Sox: Team preview, prediction for 2020 season
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What’s going to help the Chicago White Sox in 2020 is their offense with one of the better mixes of veterans and rooks in all of baseball. The Sox spent some big money this offseason on the offensive side bringing in Edwin Encarnacion for 1 year/$12 million and Yasmani Grandal for 4 years/$73 million, as well as Jose Abreu for 3 years/$50 million and Yoan Moncada for 5 years/$70 million via extensions, so the White Sox have clearly invested a lot into their lineup this offseason.
Will it pay off? I believe it will at least for this season because this White Sox lineup is littered with bona fide home run hitters in eight of their projected nine batting slots outside of Nick Madrigal who is a contact hitting machine, even as somebody who hasn’t broken into the big leagues yet.
With the potential of this White Sox lineup, and with the capability of the pitching staff to backup Lucas Giolito, I have to at least think the Sox will finish above .500, which would make it the first time since 2012. Pre-Coronavirus, I had the Sox at 83-79 to finish the year, but now who knows what the win total will be.
I have the White Sox finishing in third place in the AL Central, but I could very well be severely underrating them, especially if their pitching does indeed step up. I don’t have them making the playoffs this year, but who knows, we’re always entitled to a surprise or two in the standings.