There’s no doubt Tony La Russa’s squad has been turning things in the right direction as of late. They currently have the best record in the AL and top run differential in all of baseball, as well as bragging rights in several other team categories. Here’s a complete overview of where they landed in this week’s power rankings:
MLB.com: 3
Previous Ranking: 4 (+1)
“The White Sox pitching is on a roll, and, unsurprisingly, that’s translating to lots of winning. Before they allowed three runs in a 9-3 win over the Royals on Sunday, the White Sox had given up two runs over their past 38 innings, and one of those runs was unearned. In fact, when Lucas Giolito gave up a first-inning run on Sunday, it was the first time in a week that a Sox starter had given up a run. That ended a span of 25 1/3 innings, with 10 hits allowed to 97 batters.” – Alyson Footer.
Released on Sunday, May 9th.
ESPN: 7
Previous Ranking: 7
Do the White Sox have a center-field version of Yermin Mercedes? Mercedes emerged from the ether during the first month to fill the offensive void opened by Eloy Jimenez’s preseason injury, OPSing over 1.000 for one of baseball’s top early offenses, mostly as a DH. Now Luis Robert has joined Jimenez on the sideline for 12 to 16 weeks, if not longer, because of a hip injury. The White Sox have no obvious two-way replacement in the organization, though Adam Engel should at least be an adequate defensive replacement if he returns from a nagging hamstring injury at full capacity.” – Doolittle
Released on Thursday, May 6th.
CBS Sports: 2
Previous Ranking: 5 (+3)
“The White Sox have won 11 of 15 and it would be great if Tony La Russa would stop messing up. The loss of Luis Robert hurts, of course, but they are playing great baseball and have the best run differential in the sport.” – Matt Snyder
Released on Monday, May 10th.
USA Today: 6
Previous Ranking: 8 (+2)
“La Russa-Pujols reunion? “There is no fit here, unfortunately,” says the manager.” – Steve Gardner
Released on Monday, May 10th.
The Athletic: 3
Previous Ranking: 5 (+2)
Conducted by Tim Britton and Chad Jennings. If you’re a subscriber of The Athletic, click here for further reasoning.
Released on Monday, May 10th.
Bleacher Report: 5
Previous Ranking: 9 (+4)
“Luis Robert will not need surgery to repair the torn hip flexor that is expected to sideline him for three to four months, but the White Sox still have a massive hole to fill in center field. They went 4-1 last week with a sweep of the Royals, and they lead the majors with a plus-53 run differential.” – Joel Reuter
Released on Tuesday, May 11th.
NBC Sports Edge: 9
Previous Ranking: 9 (-5)
“It’s really sort of incredible that the White Sox haven’t skipped a beat at all since losing Luis Robert to a complete tear of his right hip flexor at the beginning of this month. They easily swept a three-game series from the division-rival Royals over the weekend and have now won 13 of their last 18 games while jumping to the very top of the American League Central standings. This club also currently holds the highest run differential of any team in Major League Baseball — by a good length — at +53.” – Drew Silva
Released on Tuesday, May 11th.
Sports Illustrated: 1
Previous Ranking: 5 (+4)
“Another week, another new No. 1 team. This time it’s the White Sox—owners of the league’s highest run differential (plus-53), lowest ERA- (66) and second-highest on-base percentage (.339)—who take the honors. Chicago will be tested with Luis Robert on the injured list for the next couple months, and in-house replacements Billy Hamilton and Leury García don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Still, this is among the deepest and most talented teams. Will the South Siders have staying power at the top, or will the revolving door continue? We’ll find out soon enough.” – Will Laws and Nick Selbe
Released on Monday, May 10th.
The White Sox have a very winnable homestand with two games remaining against Minnesota and three versus Kansas City. Check back here around the same time again next week for another round of rankings!
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Featured Photo: White Sox/Twitter
