So let's just ignore the fact that the White Sox got pummeled by Cleveland today because they put up Dallas Keuchel without remembering that Dallas Keuchel is pretty cooked.
...or, Keuched, if you will. But be careful how you say that, especially if you're Meyers Leonard.
But yeah, we're just choosing not to think about what the Guardians did to this team today. Because the White Sox are still very much contenders. They have one of the sharpest lineups in baseball, a strong rotation, and some of the best free agency luck around. What they have yet to do, however, is win a playoff series with this roster. In 2020, they had the team for it, but lost to Oakland. Last year they had a stronghold on the AL Central but still couldn't get past the Astros.
And now, even if they're 6-4 and leading the AL Central pretty handsomely, they still have a lot to prove. Like...proving that what happened to them today in Cleveland won't happen to them every few games.
Two things have been keeping this team in motion. One is the successful flow of prospects into the mix. This team has players who have garnered at least votes for Rookie of the Year in 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, and...okay, somehow Andrew Vaughn didn't get any last year, but he should have. To have a steady enough farm system rollout so that Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech and Tim Anderson can all play on the same team is pretty cool. Even in the moments where Robert and Jimenez aren't hitting the best, or Moncada's hurt, you can still have Jake Burger and Andrew Vaughn spring into action.
And that factors into the other great thing about this team, which is the roster depth. Right now, the White Sox have a ton of big people injured. Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Yoan Moncada, A.J. Pollock, Joe Kelly and Yermin Mercedes. That's...a lot. Having an open outfield position is why they wanted to trade for Pollock in the first place. Thankfully, Adam Engel's been hitting well, and his defensive skills are always a good perk. Meanwhile, people like Michael Kopech, Vince Velasquez and Jimmy Lambert, which weren't top choices to start games, have been doing well. Kopech is a natural, which we knew, but Vinny is actually keeping runs down, which is rare for him. And with all of this, Cease is turning out to be a pretty sharp ace in Giolito's absence. I'm not saying I'd be fine with Giolito and Lynn being gone all year [motions to Keuchel's performance today], but Cease can fill that void handily.
The rest of the team's kind of business as usual. Abreu's racking up RBIs, Anderson's doing contact work, Hendriks has 4 saves. This team is shockingly consistent, which is another mark in its favor. They just need to avoid being blown up by other competitors, and they need some more injury luck to fall their way.
Coming Tomorrow- A second baseman that may be part of the single best lineup in baseball.
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