The White Sox vs. Standards

 

It's June, and the White Sox are still in third. The White Sox, the team that everyone expected to go all the way this year. 

And it's not like a 'everyone else is better' type of year, it's not like they were woefully unprepared. The White Sox did everything in their power to refine the team and make themselves a worthy alpha in the AL Central. The only problem is that half of their players aren't performing as well as they should, and the other half are injured. The White Sox are currently without Lance Lynn, Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Vince Velasquez, all relatively important pieces. Because Lynn and Velasquez are gone, the Sox have to start people like Davis Martin, who's fine but not to the caliber of the rest of the rotation. Meanwhile, Andrew Vaughn only just got off the IL, and the Sox had to start A.J. Pollock and Adam Engel, the latter of which still has some defensive upsides and the former of which doesn't have much to offer this year. 

And then there's just some inefficiency issues. The White Sox traded a perfectly good 2nd baseman last year for a reliever they traded to LA for Pollock and not much else, and said 2nd baseman is doing decently in Chicago while neither Leury Garcia and Josh Harrison are hitting for average. It's clear that both of them can play defense, even with Harrison at 34, but the shadow of Nick Madrigal looms over this infield. Danny Mendick is somewhat of an improvement but not the name yet. Meanwhile, Yasmani Grandal has almost completely collapsed, and can't be relied upon for his offense or his defense. Reese McGuire has to start at catcher, and we've established his defense isn't great, meaning they traded Zack Collins for no reason as well. And while some young pieces like Jake Burger, Gavin Sheets and Matt Foster are filling some great roles for the Sox, some larger pieces, like Lucas Giolito and, honestly, Jose Abreu, are underperforming.

The one piece of this team that's exceeded expectations is Michael Kopech, who, given a full starting spot, has been one of the few consistent spots in this rotation, with a 1.94 ERA and 51 Ks in 10 starts. He's not as flashy as Cease or Giolito, but he's controlling himself more to prevent against injury, and that's leading to a more efficient, reined-in year for him. If they can keep him, Cease and Giolito strong for a bit, and keep Johnny Cueto's second wind going, they might be alright in the long run.

But right now, it's just not looking good at all. And on top of all of this, they have to play the Dodgers this week. The White Sox need to turn things around, and I'm not sure if they can do so without parting with their manager.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the single most consistent players of the last 10 years.