Optimism On The South Side

Yes, Chicago has another baseball team besides the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs!

Outlook: White Sox 2017

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Spring Training begins at the end of the week! Which for baseball fans means a start of a new season and optimism for the teams that they root for. The South Side of Chicago is home to the Chicago White Sox. A team that has not made the postseason since 2008 and who are entering a season of full rebuild. The past few seasons the White Sox entered Spring Training with a team good enough to compete for a championship. That is not the case this year. During the offseason the Chicago White Sox decided to trade away their All-Star player and one of the leagues best starting pitchers, Chris Sale, to Boston for prospects. They also decided to trade away a fan favorite Adam Eaton to Washington for a couple more prospects. These moves made it clear to the fans that the White Sox were indeed in rebuild mode. The next few seasons will be at times rough to watch, but will also be a time to sit back relax and watch some of the newly acquired prospects grow and mature. The three faces in the picture below are to be touted as the top three players in the White Sox organization, all whom which were acquired by the Sox in the offseason trades. The player on the far left of the picture is Yoan Moncada, the middle Lucas Giolito and the right Michael Kopech. These three players are listed in the Top 20 for MLB Prospects.

Getting to know the prospects…

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Yoan Moncada

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Letting go of Chris Sale was something the White Sox had been contemplating since the middle of last season where the Sox hit a rough patch in the season after getting off to a hot start, where they could never recover. Sale, a player the White Sox drafted in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft, played six outstanding seasons on the South Side. Making many All-Star games and even got to be the starter of the All-Star game this past season. Getting rid of him meant the Sox new they did not have enough talent to compete for a World Series. Therefore, they ultimately decided to trade him for prospects to Boston. Out of all of the prospects the White Sox acquired from the offseason trades Yoan Moncada is known to be the “grand prize.” Sitting as the number one prospect in baseball for the 2016 season, he had to be the centerpiece in the Chris Sale trade. Moncada has been tearing up the Minor Leagues the past few seasons and even got a taste of the Major Leagues this past season. Although his major league stint was not a success, it was too small of a sample size to predict how well he can be in the future. Also, the ballparks where he played are known as some of the hardest ballparks to hit for a player. Moncada will have the privilege now to play half of his games at one of the best hitting environments for hitters. In the near future he will fill the void that Adam Eaton, former White sox front of the batting order hitter left. He brings speed to the White Sox lineup, which they desperately needed. The White Sox were one of the worst base stealing teams in the league last season. Moncada has drawn comparisons to multiple MVP winner Mike Trout. If Moncada is able to fulfill his potential, he is a player who can win multiple Most Valuable Players awards.

Lucas Giolito

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The next prospect, which is also known as the second best prospect the White Sox received, is Lucas Giolito. Giolito was the centerpiece in the Adam Eaton trade that sent Eaton to the Washington Nationals. Giolito comes to the White Sox with a little Major League experience. After, being known as the third best prospect in Major Leagues in 2016, he dropped to twelfth after a struggling 2016 campaign. The main reason for his struggles was the Nationals where trying to change Giolito’s delivery. This change was quiet difficult for Giolito to adjust to throughout the season which lead to his season long struggle. Being traded to the Chicago White Sox was the best thing that could have happened to Giolito. The Nationals have one of the best starting rotations in baseball and there was not a great opportunity for Giolito to start for them. Coming to the White Sox where they have to fill the void of Chris Sale going to Boston gives Giolito the opportunity to turn his career around and grow as a Major League pitcher. The White Sox who are not setting their standards high this season will give Giolito ample opportunities to gain experience as a starting big league pitcher. Giolito will also be in the hands of one of the best pitching coaches in the league Don Cooper who has had an excellent career in turning young pitching prospects into great baseball players. The kind of pitching arsenal Giolito possesses brings great optimism to the White Sox starting rotation. At first he may struggle, but he has all the ability to turn out to become and All-Star caliber player.

Michael Kopech

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Michael “Ken Doll” Kopech, at least what I consider him as, is known as the third best prospect the White Sox received during the offseason trades. Kopech is also the youngest of the three at age 20. Off the field Kopech is already know as a star because of this relationship with Brielle Biermann, a TV show celebrity. The sky is the limit for this prospect but character issues have been a problem so far. Considering he is only 20 years old, it is expected for him to not be fully grown up. One of the issues he had in the past was an altercation with a teammate, which he ended up breaking his hand and slowing down his development. This past year Kopech threw a 105 mph pitch in a game twice, which alone proves the kind of ability this kid possesses. Also, this past July he threw what is known as an “immaculate inning” striking out three batters in on nine pitchers. Kopech will probably not join the big league club for a couple of years, but is a prospect to definitely keep an eye on as he is projected to be an Ace in the White Sox starting rotation in the near future.

2018 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox…

Ok maybe that is stretching it a little bit! The White Sox have made moves this offseason that is preparing them for success in the future. It is great that the front office understands that it has been way too long since the White Sox have played in the Post Season. To all of the White Sox fans that are still crying over the fact that the White Sox traded their best players, there is no reason to continue to dwell, because the return the Sox got for the players was outstanding! Now I know only time will tell, but the prospects the White Sox got are projected so high according to all the experts in the baseball world. The Chicago White Sox front office moves should bring only optimism to any South Sider fan.