On May 21st of last season, the White Sox were 13-30. Our South Siders currently sit with a 21-25 record, and are just four games out of the last Wild Card spot. While they haven’t been destroyed by injuries like some other teams out there, the Sox can ill afford to lose players given some of the holes they already have in the lineup. All things considered, you have to feel very happy with this ballclub early on. They are fun to watch, which is more than we could ask for just a year ago.
Let’s take a look at where the White Sox are in the power rankings across the national media – yes me included.
Sox On 35th (24)
No movement here for me. While they continue to battle, they haven’t gone up against any real powerhouses as of late. They took on a decimated Indians squad, and then welcomed a reeling Toronto Blue jays team. The real test started last night in Houston, and it will continue throughout this series and then to Minnesota. Tough sledding perhaps.
ESPN (24)
Lucas Giolito has been one of baseball’s most improved players and suddenly looks like the prospect that farm-system mavens once thought he could become: a legit No. 1 starter. Giolito is 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA over four starts this month, but that’s only part of the story. He has added four K/9 to his strikeout rate from last season — from 6.5 to 10.5. According to Statcast, Giolito has dropped his wOBA allowed from .345 to .292. Among 123 pitchers to have thrown at least 500 pitches in both 2018 and 2019, only three have improved their wOBA allowed by more (Martin Perez, Domingo Germanand Luis Castillo). — Bradford Doolittle
CBS Sports (22)
The White Sox playing somewhat competent baseball at times only makes this past offseason more frustrating. They would have been so much more aggressive, even if that didn’t mean Manny Machado (they sure could have used pitching). Also, let me further lament the schedule thing I mentioned in the Red Sox comment. The White Sox have now gone an extended stretch of Tigers, Orioles, Tigers, Orioles, Red Sox, Indians, Blue Jays, Indians, Blue Jays. That’s incredibly annoying and as far as I can tell, it’s happening with nearly every team. — Matt Snyder
Yahoo! Sports (24)
USA Today (23)
Lucas Giolito has a 3.35 ERA with 50 strikeouts in eight starts.
Sports Illustrated (24)
Featured Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
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