Six days.
That's all that separates us from watching meaningful White Sox baseball again. In a 60 game sprint of a season, anything can happen, and every game will matter. The coaching staff can't afford to give meaningful innings to Ross Detwiler, or meaningful at-bats to Adam Engel anymore. What can we expect the White Sox lineup and rotation to look like for the majority of 2020?
Lineup
Tim Anderson SS
Yoan Moncada 3B
Jose Abreu 1B
Yasmani Grandal C
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Eloy Jimenez LF
Luis Robert CF
Nomar Mazara RF
Nick Madrigal 2B
Tim has had a great summer camp and is always a threat to steal once he gets on. While he doesn't have the OBP you'd like to see from a typical leadoff man, he's probably going to get the nod to get the order rolling at least to begin the year.
Yoan Moncada is back from COVID, and it sounds like he should be ready for Opening Day. Putting your best player in the 2 hole is a no brainer.
Jose Abreu is batting 3rd on this team until proven otherwise.
I love Yasmani cleaning up for the Sox. If the top of the order goes down 1-2-3, Grandal would serve as a 2nd leadoff man the following inning who gets on base exceptionally well.
Getting men on base for Edwin Encarnacion will be crucial, and Yasmani can do just that. Plug EE in at 5 and let him mash.
When it's all said and done, Eloy might be the best bat on this team. He won't be batting this late in the lineup for long, but having him at 6 is a testament to how deep the lineup truly is.
Finally we have superstar in the making Luis Robert. Like Eloy, we won't see Robert this deep in the lineup for long (I think he can eventually be the leadoff man for this team). For now, let him get comfortable and move him up as he acclimates to professional ball.
You could do much worse than Nomar Mazara batting 8th for this team. The once top prospect is hoping a change of scenery can turn things around for him. His raw power will play great from this spot in the lineup.
Nick Madrigal will round things up beautifully as the 9 hole hitter. A change of pace from the rest of the lineup, Madrigal will frustrate the hell out of opposing pitchers with his knack for extending at bats. Once he's on, he has great speed and his baseball IQ will speak for itself on the base paths.
Rotation
- Lucas Giolito
- Dallas Keuchel
- Dylan Cease
- Carlos Rodon
- Reynaldo Lopez/Gio Gonzalez/Dane Dunning
Even with Michael Kopech opting out of the season, the White Sox still have a ton of pitching depth.
There should be no question that Lucas Giolito will be getting the ball on Opening Day this Friday against Jose Berrios and the Minnesota Twins. He's one of the best pitchers in the American League, and if he continues to improve from last year, he can be one of the best in baseball.
One of the biggest free agent signings from this past winter was Dallas Keuchel, and he'll most likely get the ball in game 2. The veteran lefty has loads of experience and will act as a mentor to the younger pitchers while also inducing weak contact and keeping the ball on the ground whenever he's on the mound.
This is where it gets interesting. Many will have Carlos Rodon as their no. 3 starter, but from what we've seen from Dylan Cease so far, I think it has to be him. His last start looked like he was throwing a whiffle ball.
He looks and sounds more confident than he's ever been. Plus it allows the team to go righty-lefty-righty to start. I think Cease has shown enough to get the ball in game 3.
Carlos Rodon as your 4 starter? Not bad. The lefty still has ace potential due to his wicked slider/fastball combo and a solid changeup. He's coming back from Tommy John surgery so there shouldn't be any desire to push him back too quickly. Like Nomar Mazara batting 8th, you could do much worse than Rodon as your no. 4 starter.
Finally we get to the no. 5 starter. I think they can go in a handful of directions here, but I'll say they give the ball to Reynaldo Lopez to start. I see them using Gio Gonzalez as more of a swing man type of pitcher. Maybe they'll piggy back and throw Lopez for 4, Gonzalez for 4, and then bring in Aaron Bummer in the 9th.
HOWEVER
I think Dane Dunning has looked very good so far in summer camp. The 3rd piece of the Adam Eaton trade is not one to be forgotten about. He can command all of his pitches, sits in the mid-90's with his fastball, and has a good if not great slider. I think we'll see him for sure this season, but who knows what type of role it will be. They could use him anywhere from a spot starter, to a swing man, to a regular bullpen arm. He'll be a very solid option however they use him.
On paper, this team looks like it can contend for the playoffs. We'll have to see how it translates to the field.
