Chicago White Sox
The White Sox, with their cast of vaunted 2017-era prospects coming to maturity, have been the darlings of preseason prognosticators for three years now. Part of this is explainable by the perception that the AL Central is a weak division, and part by the fact that the reputations of guys such as Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, and Dylan Cease have to date generally exceeded their performance.
The collective result has been measurable yet underwhelming. During the shortened 2020 season, the Southsiders tied for second in the five-team division and earned a spot in the expanded playoffs, losing to Oakland. One year later, they won the Central but lost to Houston in four games.
Last year, the Sox finished a distant second to the Guardians with an inglorious .500 record. Injuries to shortstop Tim Anderson, Robert, Jimenez and Moncada provided a convenient excuse. However, after several years of underwhelming results, it’s time to ask whether that vaunted young core is close to what it’s been cracked up to be.
In the 104 games he did play, Moncada batted .212 with a desultory 76 OPS+; his 107 career OPS+ is above average but hardly star-level.
The pitching staff is equally culpable. Cease and Lucas Giolito have performed but, beyond that, the Sox propose to lean on Lance Lynn, Michael Kopech, and Mike Clevinger. Clevinger’s relationship problems have been sufficiently documented that they need not be addressed here beyond the observation that if he pitches this year, it will surprise a lot of folks.
As for Lynn and Kopech, there are other issues. Lynn is entering his age-36 season and coming off his worst performance since 2018. He was 8-7 with a 3.99 ERA in just 21 starts and 122 innings.
Kopech, one of the hot prospects from five years ago, has never really blossomed. He’s still only 27, but managed just a 5-9 record in 25 starts covering just 119 innings.