Borderline Good [for the AL Central]

 

You've probably heard by now how messy the AL Central is in general this year. There are decent teams, but they're so flawed that they can't really ascend to actual good records. The Tigers and Guardians are good but held back by not being great yet. The Royals have decent bones but just aren't playing well at all right now. The Twins got off to a better start than expected but still have little to no depth.

So that means this is the kind of division where the White Sox, while still very much in rebuild mode, can be a third place team. Yes, the very same White Sox.

I dunno, it's weird. Cause technically this is still a bad White Sox team. We're honestly a step back from 2025 because Shane Smith stopped pitching well, Kyle Teel got hurt, the Anthony Kay gaijin plan didn't work as well as year three of the Erick Fedde gaijin plan, and the bulk of the saves has been handled by Seranthony Dominguez, who...like, the Ryan Murphy 911 show wouldn't put him in position to save anybody. And that show has killer bees every few weeks I think.

But like...I can point to several formative, crucial performers on this team that can also be discussed in baseball in general. Davis Martin's off to a sneakily good start, he's 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 33 Ks through his first six starts. Sean Burke and Erick Fedde also have ERAs under 3.50, and Noah Schultz has looked very good in his initial starts in the bigs. That they're essentially using an opener to fill that fifth spot due to the fear of letting Anthony Kay getting lit up from the jump is another factor entirely, but that's a decent rotation. Colson Montgomery already has 8 homers and 21 RBIs, and his power perks were not exaggerated by his 2025 come-up. Miguel Vargas also has 6 homers and 15 RBIs. I'm really not sure what to make of Vargas still, whether he's a formative piece or just a placeholder, but he seems to be helping. And then, now that you mention it, there's also that Murakami guy who's already hit 12 home runs and would be doing so even if he was forced to play in the decaying Oakland Coliseum. 

The odd thing about this team is how many of these crucial pieces, or even fun replacement level pieces, originated in other farm systems. Meidroth and Teel obviously came from the Crochet deal, Vargas from the Edman/Fedde deal [funny how that worked out for the ChiSox], but Edgar Quero was traded for Lucas Giolito, Luisangel Acuna was traded for Luis Robert, Shane Smith was a Rule 5 pick, and Bryan Hudson, Derek Hill, Jarred Kelenic, Drew Romo and Jordan Hicks all came over in cheap deals for next to nothing. So while on one hand it does feel like an island of misfit toys for people desperate for playing time...some of these guys have become helpful MLB options again. Hudson went from being absolutely cooked last year to becoming, once again, a viable relief option. Romo hit his first two MLB homers the other day. Even Sean Newcomb has been helpful in long relief. Somehow it's just getting done.

I don't know if this means the White Sox have legs this season, as there's still far too many people not hitting, but they may have a more dignified season than they've had in a while, and I'm all for that. 

Coming Tonight: Oh, just the best pitcher in baseball, no big deal.

Somebody's Got to Keep the Lights On

 

Okay, so, it's August, teams already pretty much know if they're competing or not, so you're seeing a lot of rookies taking over, getting shots. Some of them are up to continue the natural progression of the rebuild. Some are up because there's basically no other options.

Happier one first. The White Sox, while still well under .500, are definitely a better team than they were last year. You can see the next steps very distinctly, and you can see the guys who are gonna carry the team forward. Now, there's pieces like Brooks Baldwin and Miguel Vargas who THINK they're foundational pieces but are actually building blocks, and then there's guys like Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery, who are very much the future.

Montgomery, since coming up, has been exactly what Sox prospectors have been hearing for years. This guy can hit, and he's doing it immediately. In 32 games in the majors, Montgomery has hit 10 home runs 26 hits and 26 RBIs. He's only hitting .241, but he's got a .565 slugging percentage and a .876 OPS. That is...striking. He's a one man artillery and he's only 23. They have him at SS primarily to fill in for Meidroth but 3rd is his primary position. I'm not quite sure how Meidroth, Montgomery and Vargas will all play in the same infield. Maybe they won't. But I do see Montgomery as the centerpiece of this Sox team going forward. The rebuild in 2016 began with a shortstop callup, and so here we are again.

It's also important to note that Edgar Quero, since joining the team as a catching option, has propelled himself into the team's Top 5 WAR earners, and is hitting .268 with 26 RBIs. Quero is just an efficient, trustworthy catcher, and honestly they need a guy like that. While the team has formed a surprisingly nice bullpen, I'm anxious to see who becomes the ninth inning man for these teams. Maybe we've yet to meet him. 

Comparatively, the Nationals are a lot less confident in their future, because they're mostly just bringing people up to fill innings. People like Brady House, Daylen Lile, Jose Tena and Shinnosuke Ogasawara are in mostly because the Nats don't have much of a choice. House would ideally be spending the rest of the year in the minors, but because Paul deJong and Jose Tena weren't getting it done at the hot corner, he's thrust in and gets to hit .239 for a last place team. Daylen Lile, in the absence of Dylan Crews, has been the primary choice in right field, and he is a serious liability on defense. As is Luis Garcia, who seemed to be just turning the corner last year. 

So where does that leave Robert Hassell II? On an earlier callup he struggled to get the taste for major league pitching, but since being brought back in the wake of Alex Call's trade, he's been a ton better. He's now hitting .250 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games, plus has been so much better upon the August callup, with a .389 average in that stretch. It's about time one of these other rookies figured the majors out, as I was worried it'd just be James Wood. 

It remains to be seen how long it'll be til the Hassell-Wood-Crews outfield is not only a reality, but successful. Crews was primed for a great 2025, struggled, then just as he was getting the hang of things, got hurt. Wood had a stellar first half, and has been quieter since the ASG break. Hopefully next year all three are healthy and hit the ground running, but the Nats need to figure out how to be good within the period where they'll all be in their peak. It still looks like a few years away, and who knows if any of them will have flamed out or have been traded by then.

As of now, the White Sox look like they're a bit more confident in their future than the Nationals. But anything can happen.

Coming Tonight: One of my all-time favorites, rounding out what could be the last season of his career.