Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton looked distraught Friday afternoon in Cleveland when he walked off the field in the second inning of his start against the Guardians, suffering from what was described as “forearm discomfort.” Moments earlier, he had indicated to the dugout that things didn’t feel right, physically.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Is it already time to sound the starting pitching alarm?

“I just wanted to be smart about it,” Horton said. “I’ve been in this spot before and I’ve taken the other route where I keep going, and it ends up being worse. So, I just tried to make a mature decision and end it there.”

The 24-year-old was expected to do big things this year after a breakthrough rookie season in 2025 that saw him perform as, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball after the All-Star break.

Manager Craig Counsell told media after the game that Horton to will get imaging to see the extent of the injury and will also be placed on the 15-day IL as he’s being assessed.

Who could take Horton’s spot?

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Now, however, the talk must turn to the future. Specifically, how to fill the young arm’s spot in a Cubs rotation that needs the kind of impact starter Horton was expected to be.

Veteran Colin Rea was brought in to replace Horton on Friday and it’s thought that he’ll likely be the full-time replacement until the team knows what’s in their injured pitcher’s immediate future. Last season, Rea was solid as the team’s full-time rotation fill-in, posting a 10-7 record with a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts.

Chicago also has Ben Brown and Javier Assad as possible rotation fill-ins.

Then, of course, ace Justin Steele is slated to return some time before mid-season.

But if Horton is lost for any extended period of time, the Cubs may have no choice but to reach out and try to pick up somebody outside of the organization.

Some people already have an idea of who that outside pickup should be—Lucas Giolito.

Lucas Giolito to the rescue?

In the Friday night edition of MLB Tonight, the host brought up that exact possibility:

“I keep reminding myself that Lucas Giolito is still sitting out there without a team,” he said, following the segment talking about Horton’s injury.

“He might be a Cub,” replied analyst Harold Reynolds.

Jacob Zanolla of Bleacher Nation also brought up the Giolito possibility:

“The Cubs could look to someone outside of the organization, and there does happen to be one (relatively) legitimate arm still available: Lucas Giolito.

Giolito, 31, made 25 starts for the Red Sox last season, pitching to a 3.41 ERA over 145.0 IP. But while that seems encouraging, a quick peek under the hood reveals the more troubling peripherals that are probably conspiring to keep him a free agent this long: 5.01 xERA, 4.17 FIP. But in terms of emergency fill-in options, you could do a whole lot worse than Giolito.”

Last season with the Red Sox, the 31-year-old Giolito had a good year, stats-wise. But, as Zanolla mentions, maybe the raw numbers don’t tell the full story of what’s under the 9-year veteran’s hood. There has to be a reason, after all, why he’s still unsigned when starting pitching is such an MLB-wide priority.

It remains to be seen whether he’d even be much of an upgrade over the pitchers the Cubs already have lined up as fill-ins.

But he’s somebody definitely worth looking into for a Cubs rotation already showcasing some weakness just days into the season.

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Now that the Zac Gallen free agency saga is over, one can speculate whether the Chicago Cubs still pursue one more starting pitcher. The last of the free agents are going fairly quickly as Spring Training begins. As of Saturday, there is still a small handful of starting pitchers remaining on the market. Unless they make a surprise trade, the pickings are slim.

While adding another starter feels like a bit more of a luxury than a necessity, it’s understandable to want to add another arm. The Cubs rotation is solid for now, but with injury concerns for Edward Cabrera and Cade Horton, questions about how Shōta Imanaga will rebound, whether Matthew Boyd has the stamina to repeat 2025, and Justin Steele coming back from injury, having insurance is not the worst idea.

Who remains on the starting pitching market?

The biggest name remaining is Lucas Giolito. He spent the two years with the Red Sox, missing all of 2024 recovering from UCL surgery. Giolito also missed last year’s postseason due to an elbow injury. Last year he sported a 3.41 ERA, 1.3 WHIP, 4.17 FIP, 7.5 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 in 26 starts. While his season was solid results-wise, some of the peripherals were not as pretty. His strikeout rate dipped 25.7% in 2023 to 19.7% last year, with his whiff rate in the 28th percentile, and an xERA of 5.06. Pretty understandable though, coming back from a major injury.

Giolito’s market value is around $20.4 million per Spotrac. Could he potentially be a solid enough veteran to eat innings and keep the Cubs in a game if healthy? Sure, but the recent injury history is concerning. He’s also more of a flyball pitcher, and the Cubs have plenty of those.

Other names on the market include Max Scherzer, Frankie Montas (injured), Tyler Anderson, Patrick Corbin, Zack Littell, Nestor Cortes (injured), Jon Gray, Germán Márquez, Wade Miley, and Marcus Stroman. One won’t find much here in terms of whiffs, at least not based on recent performances.

Scherzer is obviously a “big name,” but at age 41, durability won’t be there anymore. Littell is coming off a decent 3.81 ERA and 1.1 WHIP season in 32 starts. The peripherals are not amazing (4.88 FIP and 4.36 xERA), but he’s been durable the past few years, and the overall numbers are not awful, five-starter caliber stats. Anderson has also had recent success, being an All Star in 2022 and 2024. Last season he posted a 4.56 ERA, 1.4 WHIP, 5.60 FIP, and 6.9 K/9 in 26 starts at age 35. Nothing really exciting there, but he’s made 110 starts since 2022 and has a solid track record.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Outside of Giolito’s market, most of these names would not cost much. Littell and Cortes are the only ones projected to earn over $10 million per Spotrac. What they’ll actually get, time will tell. Some could get as small as Minor League deals. With that said, the Cubs do not have to overreach if they do not feel necessary.

At this point, the market has moved past providing an abundance of needle-moving options. Maybe Giolito, Anderson, or Littell could provide a solid 4-5 starter/innings eater. Scherzer could bring that experience and “big game” mentality. Or a guy like Márquez could be an intriguing NRI type. Either way, there’s not much here that feels like the Cubs would badly miss out on if they stand pat.

If they do decide to add one of these guys, then it seems like the Cubs organization has done enough for people to entrust their pitching and defensive infrastructure to work with them. Even if things don’t always pan out.

The post Could the Chicago Cubs get another starting pitcher? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, if they’re serious about making a deep playoff run in 2026 and possibly even having a chance at a championship, need to get serious about their pitching.

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Being serious means that they have to stop shopping exclusively in the bargain bin, looking for reclamation projects and fringe arms on a budget, gambling on pleasant surprises. The Cubs were very fortunate last season that the bet on Matthew Boyd paid off and that Cade Horton came up from the minors to have a remarkable run in the starting rotation. Colin Rea also performed above expectations in 2025.

If things had played out according to reasonable expectations from Boyd, Horton, and even Rea, Chicago may have finished lower in the standings and nowhere near a playoff spot.

This coming season, the team can’t count on Boyd and Horton– two players with significant histories of injury– to replicate last season’s success and Rea, by all accounts, may find himself in the bullpen, working long relief and spot starting. Shota Imanaga, meanwhile, may be gone altogether, after the Cubs declined his option.

Pitching as the primary focus

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Sure, Justin Steele is due back from elbow surgery at some point in the season. But the Cubs are going to need much more than half-a-season of a rehabbed Steele and crossed fingers that everyone else holds up. They’ll also, by the way, be tasked with rebuilding almost their entire bullpen. That’s why the team, itself, has declared pitching it’s primary focus this winter.

“We’re gonna have an active offseason,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told reporters at the GM meetings in Las Vegas. “Take that for what it’s worth. I think the largest focus will be on pitching; I think that’s obvious looking at our depth chart. We’re in pretty good position on the position player side; on the pitching side, we’re thinner.”

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report is taking Hoyer at his word and predicting that the Cubs will actually go deep in their free agent spending, specifically when it comes to starting pitchers.

Targeting an ace as well as a veteran?

First, Kelly projects the Cubs to land lefty ace Framber Valdez, formerly of the Astros.

Per Kelly:

“The Cubs probably need to find a way to add multiple impact starters to go with Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton. Framber Valdez would be a good name to start with…

Since the start of the 2022 season, Valdez is second among all starters in innings pitched (767.2) and fifth in WAR (16.5), per FanGraphs…

Valdez is not without faults as a free agent. First of all, he’s entering his age-32 season, so he’s a couple years older than some of the other arms available this winter, such as Suárez, Cease and Gallen. Secondly, while he was an All-Star this past year, he struggled in the second half of the season, posting a 5.20 ERA after the Midsummer Classic.”

Kelly estimates the Valdez contract at $114 million over four years with a $25 million club option for 2030.

The analyst also ties the Cubs to right-hander Lucas Giolito, as the veteran’s fall-back option behind the Yankees. He estimates the free agent contract of the former White Sox mainstay to be two-years at $43 million with a $20 million club option for 2028. The 31-year-old had a bounce back year in 2025, posting a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts after three consecutive seasons full of injury and inconsistency.

A rebuilt Chicago Cubs starting rotation

Adding Valdez and Giolito to the Cubs’s starting five would certainly signify a major shift in club philosophy regarding spending on pitchers. It would also fortify the rotation ahead of 2027 when Boyd and Jameson Taillon could be gone via free agency.

A rotation of Valdez, Boyd, Horton, Taillon, and Steele, with Giolito worked into the mix somewhere, would be elite. It would also free up names such as Javier Assad and Ben Brown to be moved via trade for bullpen talent and/or a quality role player for the bench.

But banking on the Cubs spending $157 million for six years of pitching reads a little like fan fiction, given the team’s historically frugal ways. Maybe one or the other could be signed, with hopes and prayers affixed to them targeting Valdez over Giolito. But, even then, it’s hard to be optimistic.

Maybe the team’s big pitching acquisition will come via trade, as rumored. Maybe they’ll just fall back on working the fringes of free agency, looking to grab the right arm at the right time for the most team-friendly contract. As always, time will tell.

The post Chicago Cubs tied to $157 million possible pitching power grab this winter appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs lost another pitcher to injury this week, as Craig Counsell revealed on Wednesday that the team is placing relief pitcher Porter Hodge on the injured list for a shoulder issue following a contest where he gave up six earned runs to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Hodge is one of several pitchers out with an injury. Starting pitcher Justin Steele is out for the season, and Jameson Taillon is on the 15-day injured list with a calf injury.

Chicago’s front office is aggressively looking for trade help for the rotation before the deadline on July 31.

The Chicago Cubs are interested in Lucas Giolito

Per George Ofman, the Cubs are interested in Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito.

“Told the Cubs have their eyes on Lucas Giolito, but thus far it there is no indication the Red Sox are ready to make any more significant trades. He’s 5-1 with a 3.66 ERA,” Ofman posted on X.

Told the Cubs have their eyes on Lucas Giolito, but thus far it there is no indication the Red Sox are ready to make any more significant trades. He’s 5-1 with a 3.66 ERA

— George Ofman (@georgeofman) July 9, 2025

Giolito, 30, has appeared in 12 games and has pitched 66.1 innings. Giolito is a family face for Chicago fans, as he played with the Chicago White Sox from 2017-2023. He has a career ERA of 4.41.

The Red Sox have a 48-45 record and are six games back from the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Boston is one game back from the Seattle Mariners for the final spot in the AL Wild Card.

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A lot of solid big-league players yesterday, and some of them could be good additions for the Cubs.

In a shocking turn of events yesterday, the Yankees, Tigers, White Sox, Mets, and Angels all dumped some of their pending FAs to save money leaving some very solid players out on the waiver wire to be claimed. Some of them included Lucas Giolito, Mike Clevinger, Matt Moore, Hunter Renfroe, Carlos Carrasco, and Harrison Bader. So before we get into who the Cubs might want to target, let’s talk about whether they can and if they should even want to.

First, let’s talk about the general process of waivers. All these guys who were put on waivers can be claimed by any team. Teams can put out as many claims on as many of the players, and multiple teams can claim a player. From there, the team with the worse record is granted the rights to the player, as it goes in reverse order of the standings. For example, if every team put in a claim for Giolito, the A’s, who own the worst record in the game, would get his services.

So, for the Cubs, they are 20th in the waiver order. That puts them behind the likes of the Reds, Giants, Marlins, D-Backs, and Red Sox. All of these teams are also chasing a playoff berth and may want to try to add someone to bolster their roster as well. They might need some luck or mismanagement to get anyone worth getting with their positioning.

The next factor will be the money that would be involved in such an addition. The team that wins the claim will not have to give up any players to the team that waived him. Instead, they will just have to pay that player’s salary for the rest of the season. For most of the available guys, their salary for basically the last month of the season comes out to just around one million dollars. That might be a problem for the Cubs. Currently, they are skirting the luxury tax line and don’t want to go over and have to basically be “fined” for going over. So that makes two factors going against the Cubs being able to make a big addition.

One factor they do have going for them is roster space. After this most recent DFA of Tucker Barnhart, they have two open spots should they add someone. So let’s say the teams ahead of them aren’t as aggressive in adding these guys and they aren’t as close to the tax line as we thought, who are the guys they should try to add?

Top 3 Targets

Lucas Giolito: After a rough ‘22, Giolito got off to a strong start with the White Sox as he pitched to a 3.79 ERA over 121 innings while punching out 131. His FIP said he was a bit lucky, as it was over a half run higher, but he was much more in line with the guy who finished top 11 in the Cy Young three straight seasons ‘19-’21. However, during his stint with the Angels after being traded, the wheels fell off. He lost five of his six starts with a horrendous 6.89 ERA and his HR per 9 nearly doubled. All these things aren’t good, but the Cubs rotation has been in flux as of late, and adding a guy with experience, like Giolito, would be a big help. A small tweak or fix could be all it takes to unlock the former All-Star form we’ve seen from him.

Matt Moore: The well-traveled lefty reliever has once again been a force in the back end of a bullpen this year. After struggling as a starter for a few years, the Rangers turned him into a reliever and his career has turned around as he’s had a 2.08 ERA over 117 innings in the last year and a half with Texas and the Angels. Had the Angels decided to sell at the deadline, he would’ve been one of the best arms in the market and the Cubs certainty would’ve been involved. He would be the perfect complement to the late-game trio of Merryweather, Leiter Jr., and Alzolay and deepen their ‘pen in a big way.

Mike Clevinger: The last top target, Clevinger, is having his best and most healthy season since all the way back in 2018 when it seemed as if he was going to become one of the best starters in the game. Since then, injuries and off-the-field controversies have dampened what seemed to be a star on the rise. Even with a solid 3.32 ERA in nearly 100 innings, the White Sox decided to cut bait and save some cash.

Just as with Giolito, he could be a big help in the Cubs rotation and even help out in the ‘pen come playoff time as he has some relieving experience in the past. There would have to be some discussion in the clubhouse before acquiring him, but he could be a big help.

In the end, there are a lot of different factors that go into possibly acquiring any of these players for the Cubs, but should they decide to make a move, and get a little bit lucky with the teams ahead of them, there are some guys who could be big-time contributors down the stretch.

The post Could the Cubs Target Any of the Players put on Waivers? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago White Sox have traded Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels

The selling has officially begun for the Chicago White Sox here in 2023.

Just minutes after the team lost to the Chicago Cubs to drop to 41-62 on the season, the White Sox made a move to send pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels. Per Jeff Passan, Chicago will be receiving catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush in the deal.

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Angels are finalizing a deal to acquire right-hander Lucas Giolito and right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox for catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush, two top prospects, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2023

Quero is the No. 2 prospect in the Angels system by MLB.com while Bush is ranked No. 3 in the system per the rankings. This is a nice haul for Chicago who have now become sellers and are looking to reload their farm system for the future.

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Three players that the Chicago White Sox should look into trading this upcoming offseason

The White Sox are headed towards arguably their most important offseason in the past decade, yes even more important than last year. After a disappointing year, the White Sox are now at a crossroad where a few key moves could either make them contenders again or give them a jump start toward mediocracy. Now, whether White Sox fans trust this front office to make the right choices or not, they are in position where they have assets they could trade to acquire quality players to can compliment the roster, key word here is compliment, remember that. Here’s three players the White Sox have that can be used as trade assets this offseason.

LF/1B Andrew Vaughn

The White Sox in the 2022 were not the best defensive team in the league, specifically their outfield play was subpar. Given injuries to various players the team scramble to fill the position with players like Andrew Vaughn. The 25 year old, natural first baseman, played a whopping 84 games in the outfield and posted a -26.7 defensive rating. Taking the defense aspect of Vaughn aside, he’s still a above average hitter in the league. He just happened to play on the same team as Jose Abreu and Gavin Sheets who are also first baseman. Posting a .271/.321/.429 slash line and an wRC+ of 113, the White Sox could use Vaughn to acquire a better defensive player that could fix their issues in the outfield.

Think of the trade where the White Sox dealt Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino. Yes, on paper the Sox lost this deal in terms of talent but them acquiring Podsednik made the Sox a better defensive team and gave them a player that can get on base and create runs by playing “small ball.” This is a similar situation, Vaughn is a good hitter that can be great but you already have Gavin Sheets and Yasmani Grandal that take up that first baseman and DH spot. If the team also decides to bring back Jose Abreu, Vaughn can become flexible to get a player that can fix their defensive woes.

3B Yoan Moncada

When it comes to players taking a step back, Moncada fits the bill here. Coming off arguably his worst season of his career, the 27-year-old third baseman struggled to find his groove all season. Whether it was injuries or trying to get something going, Moncada posted a dismal .212/.273/.353 slash line and below league average wRC+ of 76. The Sox may be selling low here but a young third baseman that has potential that desperately needs a change in scenery could get the team a quality starter or a couple of promising players.

Its a 50/50 shot where there’s no wrong answer yet in whether the Sox should Moncada but should the right offer be presented at the table they should really consider moving him. Especially after a good two week run to end the season.

SP Lucas Giolito

The third option was a hard one, having bloated contracts that no team would want to acquire (Grandal, Lance Lynn) the most intriguing option here is Lucas Giolito. Amid a struggling season, the White Sox could decide to part ways with the 28-year-old former all-star. While the past season showed struggles the Sox could still sell high on Giolito just based on the potential alone. Depending on this option could dictate where the direction of the team goes, you can trade Giolito for pieces on the roster that can help, or acquire prospects that can provide a more balance future.

Thanks to the emergence of Dylan Cease, the Sox can make Giolito expendable for the right price of course but they can benefit from the fact that Giolito is still on a team friendly contract and has a potential comeback season in a new uniform. The other side of the coin is the Sox bet on Giolito to bounce back and have two quality starters in the front end of the rotation.

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The White Sox clearly dropped the ball this year. However, they can turn it around next year with the core they have. Here’s how.

2022 was quite a disappointment for the Sox. After many had high hopes for this team with the high level starting pitching they have, the White Sox have gone 4-9 in their last 12 games, and have fallen out of playoff contention. Here’s what went wrong and how they can fix it to become contenders next year.

First off, it all starts with management. Now that Tony LaRussa is gone, the White Sox need to find a new managerial leader. They can go with someone like Don Mattingly who is now available and had a solid few years managing the Dodgers. They can also go with Joe Espada, bench coach for the Astros, who has a great understanding of how the game has evolved and has already interviewed for head coaching positions for the Rangers and Cubs.

Next up, adding another big bat to the lineup would give this team the spark they need. The White Sox have a lot of young talent in the likes of Tim Anderson, Eloy Jiménez, and Yoan Moncada. They are one big piece away from becoming a contender come playoff time in 2023. I think cutting ties with A.J Pollock is the right move, as he’s vastly underperformed this year. They should make an effort to sign Aaron Judge, or Michael Brantley this offseason. They can even go with another big name on this list if any of these guys opt out of their contracts. A high level bat will push them to the next level.

One portion of the team that needs to be fixed is the bullpen. The Sox relievers have combined for a 4.09 ERA thus far, which is 11th worst in baseball. I know they went out and got Joe Kelly at the deadline, but he hasn’t looked like his old self, pitching to a putrid 6.23 ERA during his tenure so far with the White Sox. Adding another solid arm or two and having that bullpen depth will take this team a long way.

As far as starting pitching is concerned, the White Sox do have a lot to look forward to. Dylan Cease has looked fantastic this year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA which is the second best in baseball among all starters. Michael Kopech has looked solid this year, as well as Johnny Cueto, who was a nice acquisition earlier in the year. Lance Lynn has always been a reliable arm in the rotation. Lucas Giolito is having a down year pitching to a 5.05 ERA, but if he can get back on track and be close to the pitcher he’s been the last couple years, this White Sox rotation can be a force to reckon with heading into next year.

We can all agree the collapse of the White Sox so far this year hasn’t been the prettiest site to watch. With that being said, the team does have a great foundation and with the right additions, this team can come back better than ever next year, and have a shot at competing for a title.

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After an abysmal 2022 campaign for Lucas Giolito, should the White Sox still consider signing him to a long term deal?

The same can be said about various White Sox players on the roster in regards to their performance this season.  However, for a player like Giolito that is supposedly seeking an extremely large amount of money in the near future, his performance this year leaves much in doubt.

With very few games left in the season, Giolito has posted an atrocious 5.05 ERA over 28 starts, with a WHIP of 1.47.  Giolito has struck out 167 on the year over 149.2 innings pitched.  What is truly concerning is that this will be the first time in 3 years that Giolito will finish with an ERA over 3.53.

A reason why could be that he has given up over 24 home runs in 4 of his last 5 seasons.  Perhaps in past seasons, many of those home runs were solo shots whereas this year more runners were on base.

Is the solution to let Lucas Giolito go?

Although Giolito’s 2022 season was largely disappointing, it is certainly still possible the White Sox still extend him to a new contract.  Letting him go to test free agency with other clubs seems a bit too extreme at this point.  If the White Sox offer him a contract it will likely be a much shorter term deal than he would like.

After his performance this past season, Lucas Giolito won’t have much wiggle room in terms of negotiating a higher paid long term deal.  Even if he signs elsewhere, it is probable it will be a short term as well.  Giolito will have to prove he can be an ace again.

In 2022, Giolito signed a one year deal for 7,450,000 dollars.  Before the start of the season, Lucas Giolito and the White Sox avoided arbitration after initially arguing over a mere 50 thousand dollar difference in offers.

With the mistake of not re-signing Carlos Rodon last year and the continued injuries to Michael Kopech, it will be imperative for the front office to sign pitching talent in the off-season regardless if they keep Giolito or not.

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1983 Chicago White Sox went from under .500 in mid-June to divisional winner

The 1983 Chicago White Sox had a rough start after two months of baseball. The team was 25-27 through 52 games, matching this year’s White Sox record as of Tuesday afternoon. The team would rebound in late June, going on several winning streaks of 5 or more wins in a row. By the end of the season, the White Sox managed to win 99-games. The 1983 White Sox manager, Tony La Russa.

The team didn’t always win with ease during that streak. “They’re winning ugly,” Texas manager Doug Rader said of the White Sox. As of early June in 2022, the White Sox season has started ugly like the season 39-years ago. And a lot of the games the club has won have been nailbiters. The White Sox have built some early leads, only to see the bullpen bring the game to disaster.

White Sox have faced adversity this year

The White Sox had high expectations headed into the 2022 campaign. After winning the division in 2021, White Sox fans were hoping the team could take the next step and make a run to the World Series. Since March, the White Sox have been plagued with injuries.

Powerful bats like Eloy Jiménez, Tim Anderson, and Luis Robert, have been rehabbing. Needed arms like Joe Kelly, Lucas Giolito, and Lance Lynn, have been often absent on the mound. These injuries have caused the White Sox to look out of sync this season, and the losses have mounted in the early part of the schedule.

The Team should get healthier

Fortunately, the White Sox should get Lynn, Jiménez, Anderson, and Kelly back within a month a so. If the Sox are going to contend for a playoff spot, they will need these players back. The White Sox need to preserve what they can until the All-Star break, and then make their move. The team is currently 5-games behind the Minnesota Twins.

Hopefully, the White Sox can catch a break, and the Twins can start losing some games this week so the White Sox can stop losing ground. The Twins play fierce competition with series versus the New York Yankees (39-15) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (31-23). The White Sox don’t have it easy with their series beginning Tuesday. They will face the Los Angeles Dodgers (35-19) at home.

How far can this year’s Chicago White Sox go?

Even if the White Sox manage to get swept by the Dodgers—and let’s hope they don’t—the team would still be on pace with the 1983 team. That year, the White Sox would lose four in a row, going 25-31, before the team started to get on their winning ways.

The team then finished strong and made the ALCS before running out of gas against the Baltimore Orioles. It was the White Sox’s first postseason appearance since the 1959 World Series. This year’s team has yet to show it has the fire to get to the playoffs. When the elite arms and bats return, we’ll see if the White Sox have the ability to turn their season around. They have the talent to win enough games.

The White Sox will have to do this with good starting pitching and hot bats. The offense has always had the potential to put runs on the board, there’s no reason for the team’s run differential to be this bad. A long baseball season evens most things out, and I’d assume runs will come in bunches for the White Sox.

If they can create a little magic, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the 2022 White Sox go further into October than the 1983 club.

The post 2022 Chicago White Sox record through 52 games matches 1983 divisional winner appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago White Sox are wrapping up a five-game series with the Kansas City Royals, splitting the first four meetings. The White Sox notably are seeing their rotation not only return to form but start to see more than enough arms in the rotation.

The White Sox bounced back from a rough weekend against the New York Yankees with back-to-back wins. Moreover, the team received a start from Johnny Cueto, who made his first start of the season and might become a regular on the pitching staff now.

Cueto’s strong start

Johnny Cueto finally made it to the MLB roster and didn’t disappoint. On Monday, Cueto pitched six scoreless innings in a game the White Sox eventually won 5-3 in 10 innings.

What makes Cueto’s outing stand out is how he stepped up on the mound and his approach. At 36-years-old, Cueto isn’t going to overwhelm hitters with his stuff. Instead, the right-handed pitcher has to methodically attack batters, which he did constantly to the Royals lineup.

Cueto heavily relied on his slider and sinker in the game, two pitches that Dallas Keuchel, another veteran in the rotation often uses. However, unlike Keuchel, who has struggled at times this season, Cueto keeps hitters on their heels with his multiple windups, something he’s mastered in his 15 years on the mound. The quick pitch, the shimmy, and everything in-between mess with the batters’ timing.

Johnny Cueto's Mechanics Isolated (3 consecutive pitches) pic.twitter.com/EVwHuNVq8f

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2022

As a result, it’s likely the White Sox will continue to rely on Cueto, especially as the fifth or even sixth pitcher in the starting rotation.

Martin’s debut

Davis Martin was called up to make his debut in the MLB for Tuesday’s second game of a doubleheader. Martin looked nervous and understandably relied on his fastball in his first career start as a result. 44 of the 91 pitches thrown against the Royals were fastballs and they were all over the place, displaying his raw but high caliber talent.

Davis Martin, 97mph pic.twitter.com/qoxNhtypkU

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2022

Despite the struggles that many pitchers have in their first start, Martin still put together a strong game for the White Sox. The 25-year-old pitched five innings and allowed only one run while tossing seven strikeouts. It was the type of start that fans wanted to see from their young pitcher.

The offense didn’t help, scoring only one run in the 2-1 loss but the start gave fans a lot to look forward to, especially with the season progressing. Moreover, Martin proved that he has the pitches to become a viable starter in the rotation if he can start locating the strike zone and finding an ideal quadrant for the fastball.

White Sox get Giolito back

Lucas Giolito has had a rough start to the season, to say the least. His performance on the mound has been great but only two months into the season the top of the rotation starter has already gone to the injury list and the COVID-19 list this season. Giolito returned and pitched on Wednesday, leaving a chaotic shuffling of the roster.

Prior to tonight’s game at Kansas City, the #WhiteSox reinstated right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from the COVID-19 related injured list, optioned right-hander Davis Martin to Class AAA Charlotte and transferred right-hander Lance Lynn to the 60-day injured list.

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 18, 2022

While the Royals tacked on two runs, Giolito looked like hadn’t missed a step. In five innings, Giolito had seven strikeouts with his fastball changeup combination leaving the Royals batters guessing throughout the night. The White Sox bullpen, which has been a strength this season, unraveled, allowing four runs in three innings. However, the game again showed the ceiling of the starting rotation, a rotation that helped the team win the division last year.

Giolito might not be the ace of the rotation this year, with Dylan Cease having a breakout season in the rotation. However, Giolito still has ace-caliber stuff and continues to make his mark on the pitching staff. The White Sox didn’t win the series, at least not the way fans hoped against a lowly Royals team, but it’s been that kind of start for this team, one they just have to power through before the wins start to pile in.

Do the White Sox have too many arms in the rotation?

Eventually, Lance Lynn will return to the rotation. Whether it’s late June or even early July, the White Sox will get Lynn back in the rotation, who was their best pitcher last season.

With Lynn back, the White Sox could potentially have a six or even seven-arm rotation, which in today’s game, is a good problem to have. However, the pitching staff at the moment could suffice with six pitchers and help keep every start well-rested.

In addition, the White Sox could use more pitchers on the roster altogether. Martin could by midseason become a starter that carries the backend of the rotation while Cueto could provide solid games once a week. The White Sox pitching staff is fine at the moment and one could argue is only looking more promising each week.

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The Chicago White Sox were swept by the Minnesota Twins over the weekend. Following a sweep to the Cleveland Guardians, the team has now lost seven games in a row. Falling to 6-9 on the season is bad enough, after all the White Sox expected to run away with the American League Central Division. However, being swept by a divisional rival for the second series in a row is all the more crushing, even in April.

Moreover, the White Sox lost more than just the games, which inevitably force them to make up ground in the division. The White Sox continued to display issues within the roster and experience tough breaks. The notable tough break over the weekend can set the team back as they try to find their footing in the upcoming games.

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On Opening Day, with the Chicago White Sox boasting a 3-0 lead, starting pitcher Lucas Giolito prematurely left the game after four innings pitched. Over the weekend, it was discovered that Giolito suffered an abdominal strain and will miss at least the next two starts as he heads to the Injured List.

Giolito joins a growing list of White Sox pitchers, particularly starters, on the Injured List.

Lance Lynn was the crushing blow to the rotation as the ace will miss multiple weeks, needing knee surgery while Garrett Crochet, will miss the 2022 season with Tommy John surgery. Already, the White Sox are missing their top two of their top three starters from last season, and considering Carlos Rodon departed in the offseason, the team is without their top three pitchers from last season.

The pile-up of injuries puts the White Sox at a disadvantage to start the season and could ultimately be the team’s Achilles heel in April and beyond. However, the injuries shouldn’t be shocking. The loss of starting pitchers should have been anticipated by White Sox fans and baseball fans alike.

Shortened Spring Training

This is the most direct and explainable reason for injuries across baseball to starting pitchers. The MLB lockout ending in early March forced the abbreviated spring training with only four weeks to prepare for the season rather than six or more.

For the second time in three years, the MLB shifted to a shortened spring training. The last time, it was in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic preempting the shortened training window and a 60-game season. This time, however, the lockout is the culprit, and the consequences are eerily similar.

Spring training, for the most part, helps the pitchers. It’s no coincidence that pitchers and catchers report early. Starting pitchers use all those weeks to slowly build up to prepare for the marathon that is a 162-game season. The limited weeks left pitchers unprepared, especially early on for this season and it’s showing across the league.

The New York Mets lost Jacob deGrom right before the season. Likewise, the San Diego Padres starter Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with an adductor injury while Tampa Bay Rays starter Luis Patino will miss multiple weeks with an oblique strain.

The White Sox injuries, at least to Lynn and Giolito, are not arm-related. Lynn is having knee surgery while Giolito is dealing with aggravation in his abdomen. However, the White Sox starting pitching injuries are not an exclusive issue, within the context of the MLB at least. The next reason however likely explains why the White Sox lost their two primary starters early on this season.

White Sox Age in Rotation

Oftentimes, starting pitchers start to decline and face a surplus of injuries once they reach 30-year-old and beyond. Yes, there are pitchers like Satchel Paige, Randy Johnson, and Charlie Morton that can pitch for years and age gracefully. Overall, starting pitchers start to decline in their 30s and injuries eventually cost them their careers.

Lynn is 34 years old and turning 35 midway through the season. Despite rediscovering himself in a Cy Young caliber season last year, he’s in the twilight of his career. The veteran pitcher didn’t suffer a throwing arm injury but after dealing with right knee inflammation last season, the right knee injury is starting to cost him.

Lynn will have to start throwing on flat ground before returning to the mound just to come back to the team this season. This is the 11th season in Lynn’s career and one where the White Sox have to be cautious about rushing him back to the rotation as another setback would be costly.

While Giolito is 27-years-old and in the prime of his pitching career, the White Sox possess multiple pitchers in their 30s along with Lynn. Dallas Keuchel is 34 while relievers Liam Hendriks and Joe Kelly are 33 and 34 respectively. The White Sox, like many teams, were running the risk of injuries to pitchers in the latter half of their careers with the Lynn injury being the one that stands out.

Where The White Sox Go from Here

For starters, the White Sox will now rely heavily on Dylan Cease to step up as the ace in the rotation. Cease had a strong opening start and will be the number one starting pitcher with Michael Kopech joining him in the rotation, as he did in the opening weekend series against the Detroit Tigers. However, the injuries instantly put the back end of the rotation and the starting pitching depth to the test.

Dealin' Cease.#ChangeTheGame x @ValpoU pic.twitter.com/q9NkZQyV3t

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 9, 2022

A Quick Glance At The Other Starters

This is where Vince Velasquez, Dallas Keuchel, and Reynaldo Lopez play a major role in the White Sox roster. Velasquez is the only new face of the three but has the most to gain in the rotation.

Velasquez was acquired in the offseason after a brutal 2021. The former Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres starter finished a season where he had a .471 expected opponent Slugging Percentage (xSLG) and a .368 weighted opponent On Base Average (wOBA). Both stats were among the worst for starters in the MLB. However, Velasquez has the opportunity to find his pitches again, notably his fastball which he threw only 49% of the time last season.

Keuchel is the veteran in the rotation who used to be one of the best pitchers in the American League. However, Keuchel is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. As a result, he will likely remain a back-of-the-rotation starter that won’t take a lot of innings.

With Lopez likely playing a hybrid role, going from starter to reliever, it’s likely the White Sox will move him into the rotation for the next month. Lopez however needs to expand his pitch arsenal as he hopes to establish himself in the rotation. In one inning of relief against the Tigers, Lopez allowed a run but notably only threw fastballs and sliders in his appearance.

With the three available starters for the White Sox all having their glaring question marks, the backend of the rotation suddenly becomes a weakness in the roster. This could prompt the White Sox to bring Johnny Cueto up to the rotation sooner than anticipated. Cueto is not going to be anything special in the rotation but will help the team deal with injuries.

White Sox Bullpen

Moreover, the injuries bring the bullpen to the spotlight. The White Sox bullpen was already going to be relied on with their starters on inning limits, especially Michael Kopech. However, the bullpen is now an essential part of the White Sox success this season.

The 162-game season always tests the depth of every roster. Injuries are a part of the game and the White Sox have seen firsthand how the injuries can impact the roster. However, the White Sox also have the depth to compensate for the injuries and a bullpen that can accommodate a questionable rotation.

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If you’ve been watching the Chicago White Sox this weekend against the Detroit Tigers, one consistent trend we probably enjoyed was the White Sox being able to score runs in the first inning of the first three games of the season. It is likely one of the positive signs to come in what is supposed to be a promising season with legitimate chances of seeing a championship. The White Sox have started the ’22-23 season with a record of 2-1, with one of the losses coming from an odd walk-off single from Javier Baez. 

THIS WEEK: SEATTLE MARINERS (2-1)   

Following the series with the Tigers, the White Sox will head home and await the Seattle Mariners. Seattle is currently battling through a 4-game series against the Minnesota Twins. The Mariners have shown some grit to outlast the Twins in the first two close games. However, they were smacked around on Sunday, losing 10-4 with their pitchers giving up a total of six homers and 10 hits in the beatdown.

There are two pitchers the White Sox will likely face off against in the coming series against Seattle:

Robbie Ray (First game stats against MIN: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 HITS, 5 Ks, 1.29 ERA) — The 30-year-old veteran pitcher is entering his 10th season in the league after signing a 5-year-deal with Seattle this offseason. He has only played the White Sox twice in his career, with lifetime stats of 13.1 IP, 1 HR, 2 ER and 27 total strikeouts against the White Sox.

Logan Gilbert (First game stats against MIN: 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 HITS, 7 Ks, 1.80 ER) — Logan Gilbert is a 6’6” right-handed pitcher going into his second year in the league. He finished his rookie year with the Mariners with a 4.68 ERA. He’s only played against the White Sox for two innings, where he struck out three and gave up hit.

When it comes to Seattle’s group of hitters, the White Sox will need to keep an eye out for Mitch Haniger, who’s coming off a strong start with 3 hits, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs throughout his first three games. Seattle’s first-baseman, Ty France, and shortstop, J.P. Crawford have contributed to their offense with seven combined hits between each other. Crawford is coming off a career-high 37 doubles last season. While France had a timely hit in the ninth inning for the Mariners to help secure their second win of the season on Saturday.

The White Sox last played the Mariners back on June 27th, 2021, when they won 7-5. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games against Seattle. The three-game series against the Mariners begins on Tuesday, and while it is not official, it appears it will be the eight-year righty, Vince Velasquez on the mound for the home White Sox opener. Seattle still has another game on Monday night, while the White Sox have a short trip back to Chicago from Detroit.

This early in the season, it’s hard not to be optimistic about Andrew Vaughn’s excellent hitting through the first three games (6 RBI, 4 H, 2 HR). The offensive firepower remains more explosive than ever with Luis Robert already leading the club with 5 total hits and Jose Abreu right behind him with four total hits and two doubles to start the season. Dylan Cease was on fire Saturday, racking up eight strikeouts and giving up only two hits through five innings.

It remains a disappointment the White Sox will lose AJ Pollock and Lucas Giolito for some time, but neither case appears to be serious enough to sideline them for weeks. The White Sox will then host the Tampa Bay Rays for three games in their home field, before traveling to Cleveland for a long 4-game series against the Guardians.

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The Chicago White Sox added some depth to their pitching by signing former San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto late Monday night per Jeff Passan.

After trading Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers, losing Garrett Crochet for the year, and losing Lance Lynn for at least the first month of the season all within a one week span, general manager Rick Hahn acted fast to sign a new pitcher to the team that is likely a good bet to contribute, at least until Lynn recovers from his slightly torn knee tendon.

Lynn is expected to be back within 4-8 weeks but it could be more time that he misses depending on how quickly he can heal from the surgery.  The good news is that this injury happened before the season even kicks off as opposed to late in the year like last year with so many of the White Sox pitchers.  It is important to note that the White Sox hired new trainers for this 2022 season.

The deal for Cueto is reportedly a $4.2 million deal and it’s an easy deal for Hahn to make with the hits that pitching staff has recently taken.  There is no reason to believe Cueto can’t contribute to a White Sox pitching staff that is arguably worse than last year.

With the recent additions of Josh Harrison, A.J,. Pollock, and backup catcher Reese McGuire from the Toronto Blue Jays, it is clear that pitching is now the most glaring hole on this team.  Cueto should definitely improve that as a 4th or 5th starter in the rotation immediately.

In his 2021 season with the Giants, Cueto made 21 starts and posted a 4.08 ERA. In 114.2 innings.  In those innings, Cueto posted 98 Ks and 30 BB, winning 7 gamee and losing 7.  Cueto is a two time all star.

In other pitching news, Lucas Giolito has once again been announced as the opening day starter for the ballclub.  It will be Giolito’s third straight opening day start for the White Sox.

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Just last week, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito expressed his frustration with the team to reporters during spring training.  Giolito is frustrated over going to arbitration with the White Sox and wanted something done.

“It is very disheartening and frustrating,” Giolito said via 670 The Score.  “I love this team and before the filing to come down to a $50K difference, it’s like, ‘Come on.’ It’s just an upsetting part of the process.”  Giolito certainly has a right to be upset about such a small amount being the reason both parties were destined to an arbitration hearing.

After last weeks reports that the White Sox and their ace Lucas Giolito failed to come to an agreement to avoid arbitration, it seemed like an arbitration hearing was inevitable for Giolito.  It was reported widely that the difference was a mere 50k between the White Sox and Giolito.  Fortunately, both sides have now come to an agreement on a 7.45 million dollar, one year deal.

The #WhiteSox have agreed to terms on a one-year, $7.45-million contract with right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito for the 2022 season, avoiding arbitration.

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 1, 2022

This is a good step forward between both parties to hopefully work out a longer term deal in the near future.  That would be one of the next key moves for the White Sox to make is to lock up their ace to a multi year contract while they are still in their championship window.  Whether or not they sign Giolito to an extension remains to be seen, we all saw what happened with Carlos Rodon this off-season.

With Giolito coming to an agreement with the team, all White Sox players that were eligible for arbitration, have avoided going to arbitration hearings.

Although the opening starter has not yet been officially announced, it is presumed that Lucas Giolito will get the ball for the first game of the season in Detroit, April 8th.

In other news, Garrett Crochet left a spring training game early with the trainer, and their are rumblings that it may be a serious injury that will sideline the hard throwing lefty.  The Sox are fairly thin when it comes to left handed relievers, so a move may have to be made to compensate the loss of Crochet if he’s out a long duration of time.

As opening day approaches, the White Sox also optioned players Jake Burger, Zach Collins, Jimmy Lambert, Matt Foster, and newly acquired outfielder Adam Haseley to AAA Charlotte.  It would seem that catcher Seby Zavala may be winning out the competition for backup catcher this year.

Once official rosters are announced for the season, we will know more.

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There was no fans in the stands at Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday night but history was still made. Chicago White Sox starter Lucas Giolito threw the first no-hitter of the 2020 MLB season on Tuesday night, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0.

Gilito was dominant in his performance, throwing 101 pitches with 74 of those as strikes. He walked just 1 batter, the lone blemish on his stat line and struck out 13:

LUCAS GIOLITO DID IT pic.twitter.com/7dFkR2Afdq

— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) August 26, 2020

This is the first no-hitter for the White Sox since Philip Humber’s perfect game on April 21, 2012 and the 19th no-hitter in franchise history.

After a rocky first start of the season, Giolito has found his groove and has been really damn good of late. With the White Sox offense buzzing, a pitcher like Giolito near the top of the rotation is a huge bonus. Things are trending upwards for the South Siders in 2020…

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On Wednesday, Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito pitched his best game of the year throwing a complete-game shutout against the Minnesota Twins. Giolito struck out 12 in a 4-0 White Sox victory. It is his second complete-game shutout of the season putting him in contention for some postseason awards.

Giolito lowered his ERA of 3.30 following the win against the Twins as he has completely turned it around from last season. At this point last season, his ERA was nearly double as he led the league in walks in 2018. This season he leads all White Sox pitchers in strikeouts and ERA.

He has been the much needed constant in a White Sox starting rotation that has been in flux all season. From the start of the season up until the promotion of Dylan Cease in early July, Giolito was the only consistent starting pitcher the team has had. Now that Cease, Reylando Lopez, and Ivan Nova have been pitching better over their last few starts, Giolito has still performed at a higher rate.

In his last three starts, he has recorded double-digit strikeouts while allowing just four earned runs over 21 innings pitched. It is even more impressive given that it came against the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, and Minnesota Twins, all three have potent lineups. Giolito’s shutouts this season have come against arguably the two best offensive teams in the American League in the Houston Astros and the Twins.

With his great consistent pitching, Giolito has positioned himself to be a strong candidate to win Comeback Player of the Year and should receive some votes for the Cy Young. Following a few bad starts in July, he has rallied to pick up quality starts in seven of his last eight games.

Giolitio has been the White Sox’s MVP in 2019 given what he has meant to the staff. The White Sox bullpen has logged a lot of innings in August as the team has had just one off-day in the month and have had two double-headers. Wednesday’s complete game gave the bullpen a much needed day as Giolito has been able to consistently go six or more innings relieving the bullpen of more innings.

If he continues to pitch consistently well for the remainder of the season, Giolito could win 20 games.

No White Sox pitcher has achieved that feat since Estaban Loaiza in 2003 with 21 victories. With a strong end to the season, Giolito will assist his chances of possibly winning the Cy Young but has already established himself as an ace of the White Sox staff.

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During their three-hour rain delay Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox received great news. Lucas Giolito, James McCann, and Jose Abreu were named to the All-Star game in Cleveland next week. It is the first time the team has had multiple players be named to the All-Star game since 2016, and it speaks volumes about their current rebuild.

Giolito has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season as he currently has an ERA of 2.87 and has a WHIP of 1.066. Last season he was one of the worst pitchers in the league as he led the league in walks with 90 for the season. On Sunday, he held one of the best offensives in the league scoreless and to just one hit over five innings pitched.

McCann’s season has been as equally impressive as he is batting .320 and is slugging .519 through 57 games. When the team signed him this past off-season, many believed him to be a backup for this season while Zack Collins developed in the minors. McCann now has put himself in a position where the team may look to keep him long-term especially with how well he has worked with Giolito this season.

Abreu will make his third All-Star appearance as he was the starting first baseman in last year’s game in Washington D.C. He currently leads the American League in RBIs with 60 and is on pace to have a career season.

His run production is attributed to the batting success of the players he has hitting in front of him. Leury Garcia, Yoan Moncada, and Tim Anderson have consistently gotten on base for Abreu to drive them in all year long.

The team having multiple All-stars shows that the front office knows what they are doing. Giolito’s turnaround and having McCann developing into a prominent player shows that the team is doing a tremendous job, scouting and developing their players. That point is highlighted even more by the fact that the team had two to three players that were snubbed for the game.

Moncada and Anderson are having their best season of their young careers. Both are batting above .300 as Moncada is on pace to hit over 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBIs.

Anderson, before his injury, was pushing for the 30/30 club of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. It could be argued that both deserved to be named All-Stars. Closer Alex Colome also warranted being named an All-Star as he has saved 18 games this season and could be one of the most sought after players at the trade deadline.

Having so many players be either named to the game or deserving of being named to the game shows that the rebuild is on the right track. Anderson, Moncada, Giolito all have either been drafted or traded for in hopes of helping the team build a contender.

Being able to find All-Star caliber players demonstrates that general manager Rick Hahn is doing his job the right way. Having players named to the All-Star game is always great, but it’s even better when it is young players who have the potential to win championships.

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Last week the Chicago White Sox and Cubs split the first two of a four-game season series at Wrigley Field. Both games were highly watched and fans of both teams have renewed interest. With the Cubs being as good as they have been in over a century and the White Sox developing a contender, the next few seasons could be the best Chicago has ever seen.

It has been a lifelong dream of any Chicago baseball fan to see the Cubs and White Sox square off in the World Series. The city of Chicago would be split in two as bragging rights for fans of both team would be at an all-time high.

Since the two last faced off against in a World Series against one another back in 1906, there has been just one season in which both teams made it to the postseason.

That season was 2008 as both teams won their respective divisions but in different fashions. The Cubs were the best team in the National League winning 97 games and won their division by eight games. The White Sox, on the other hand, had to win three consecutive games against three different teams to win their division in a 163 playoff game.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday nights games had a similar exciting vibe to what was seen during the Crosstown Classic back in 2008. White Sox fans took over Wrigley Field when rookie slugger Eloy Jimenez cracked a two-run homer in the top of the 9th leading to a White Sox 3-1 win. The Cubs returned the favor by hitting three home runs in a 7-3 victory over the best pitcher in baseball currently in Lucas Giolito.

You could compare this White Sox season to that of the 2014 Cubs season in which many of their young stars began to develop at a major league level. With players like Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, Giolito, and Jimenez playing well currently, the White Sox still have prospects Zack Collins, Dylan Cease, Nick Madrigal, and Luis Robert all slated to be up by the 2020 season.

If the White Sox add a premier position player or starting pitcher in this next off-season, their 2020 season could be identical to the Cubs 2015 season where they made it all the way to the National League Championship Series. The White Sox window to compete would then be open for at least five seasons before any of their prominent players would reach free agency.

The current Cubs core has two more seasons together before the possibility of free agency breaking the team up after the 2021 season. The Cubs will try their best to keep both Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez, three core pieces who could see free agency after the 2021 seasons.

Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer would certainly like to keep all three players as part of their roster but it might not be easy. Bryant and Baez will likely command big contracts although the Cubs do start getting their TV network money soon.

The 2020 and 2021 season would potentially be the best opportunity for both teams to face off in a World Series. It could also be the first time ever that both teams could make it to the postseason in back to back years.

Each Chicago sports team has had its “Golden Era” of success. The Bears had the 80s, the Jordan Bulls of the 90s are considered the best team in NBA history, and recently the Blackhawks Dynasty this decade brought hockey back to Chicago.

Cubs and Sox fans could be destined to enjoy that same success with the directions both teams are heading which could make for some fun summers soon.

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Momentum is building for the Chicago White Sox following their four-game series with the New York Yankees this past weekend. Although they split the series two games apiece, there were many positives to show why the team is on the upward both on and off the field.

The White Sox took the first two games of the series in two different ways that sparked buzz and optimism. Last Thursday, they trailed the Yankees 4-0 before tying the game and then later winning it in the late innings. Shortstop and possible All-Star candidate Tim Anderson had the big hit as he clocked a three-run homer to tie the game.

Friday’s game was the most important of the series due to the magnitude surrounding the game. There was a large crowd on hand to watch one of the best pitchers in baseball this season in Lucas Giolito pitch. It was also the team’s chance to finally reach a .500 record this late in the season since 2016, the season before the rebuild began.

The team has had several chances to get to .500 this season but had missed their chance. Friday night they blew out the Yankees winning 10-2 behind Eloy Jimenez career night as he went three for four with two three-run home runs. Giolito continued to pitch great as the team finally got their record even on the season, but most importantly succeeded in an important spot.

On Saturday, The White Sox made the front page of the sports section of the New York Post. This is important as the Post recognized Jimenez’s big night providing the team with national recognition. Not even the Chicago Tribune featured the White Sox on the front of their sports page given the significance of Friday night’s win.

The win and the recent strong play of the young White Sox players led to an increase in attendance for the team. During the four-game series, the average attendance was 32,507 with both Saturday and Sunday’s games being sold out. Those are huge numbers for a franchise that has been nationally mocked for low fan attendance in recent seasons.

Even though the White Sox lost the last two games to the Yankees, they have sparked interest for the first time in nearly seven seasons. If the team continues to play near .500 and young players like Giolito, Jimenez, Anderson and Yoan Moncada continue to play strong, the team will be relevant again. T

his past weekend series demonstrates how the rebuild is trending upwards and how fans and the media are starting to take notice.

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White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito won his fifth consecutive game on Tuesday as the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3, continuing his hot streak in the month of May.

Giolito has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the month of May and his current production has been immeasurable for the White Sox. As the month comes to an end, his numbers warrant him being named A.L. Pitcher of the Month and possibly being named an All-Star.

Since returning from the Injured List back on May 2nd, the White Sox have won each game Giolito has started in May. His worst start was his first game back in which allowed seven hits, two walks, and two runs over five innings. Since the start against Boston, Giolito has pitched seven innings or more in all but one start in which he was credited with a complete game as the game was called after five innings. He has also averaged eight strikeouts per game in that span.

Giolito’s previous two previous starts demonstrate his maturation as a pitcher.

Against Houston last week, he threw a complete game shutout only allowing four hits. On Tuesday night, he allowed a single, walk, and an Alex Gordon three-run home run in the first inning. Following the home run, Giolito retired 20 of the next 21 batters allowing just two hits the rest of the game. It was impressive because he has struggled to keep his composure when the opposing team gets to him.

The current run of dominance has been much needed for a White Sox team that has lacked both productivity and consistency from their starting rotation. His current ERA is under three while the rest of the starting staff has an ERA above six.

Giolito has also saved the bullpen from being overused the last few weeks as the team has been without an off day. In his last three starts, the bullpen has only pitched in one of the 23 innings of the three games. That is huge for a bullpen that pitched eleven and one-third innings against Minnesota last weekend and had a bullpen day the previous week in Houston.

With June just a few days away, Giolito has positioned himself for strong consideration for A.L. Pitcher of the Month. If he continues to perform at a high level, he could be named to the All-Star Game as he will have five to seven starts from now to early-July. Giolito would also be the first player from the rebuild to be named to an All-Star game which would be massive for the franchise.

The turnaround of Giolito from last year to this year could be one of baseball’s best stories this season. Given his massive struggles allowing runs and walks in 2018, his success in 2019 is that much more significant. Although the White Sox have been under .500 all season long, they have flirted with a winning record this month because of what Giolito has done, and that deserves recognition.

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Lucas Giolito picked up his first ever complete game shutout Thursday night as the White Sox beat the Astros 4-0 in Houston. Giolito has been the White Sox best pitcher this season as the team has played better more recently. He was acquired in the Adam Eaton trade which has been discussed this week due to Eaton’s verbal argument with former White Sox Todd Frazier.

The Eaton trade may now be one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory.

Current Sox starters Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, and minor league starter Dane Dunning were acquired on December 7th, 2016 by the White Sox from the Nationals in exchange for Eaton. He was one of the few veterans of value that the White Sox could trade. The Nationals were further enticed because of the quality of the team friendly contract given their high payroll.

Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo was looking to add a top-tier outfielder following the team missing out on trading for Andrew McCutchen. Eaton was coming off a 2016 season where he had proven himself a reliable lead-off hitter and was a finalist for a Gold Glove.

When the trade was made, many pundits believed Rizzo had given up way too much as Giolito was the number one pitching prospect in baseball at the time. The deal also included the team’s third overall prospect in Lopez and a promising arm in Dunning.

The goal for the Nationals adding Eaton was to improve their outfield defense and have another bat ahead of their sluggers in Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, and Jason Werth. He was supposed to be the final piece needed to help the Nationals get beyond the National League Divisional Series.

So far the deal has not panned out at Eaton has not made a major difference for the Nationals. In his first season with the team in 2017, he played in just 23 games before tearing his ACL and missing the remainder of the season. Last season he performed well posting an on-base percentage of .394 but was hampered by injuries only playing in 93 games. The Nationals’ playoff window has now closed as the team lost Harper and now contends with a more competitive division.

If the White Sox return to a competitive form and win a division with Giolitio, Lopez, and Dunning, the trade will go down as one of the more lopsided in baseball history.

At worst, Giolito and Lopez provide the team with two back of the rotation starters with all three of them still having the potential to be a quality number two starter. That was a lot to have given up just for Eaton, who has been often injured and hasn’t shown the value to warrant that trade.

Although both struggled in their first full season in the majors last year, Giolito and Lopez have rebounded this season as they have been the only two consistent starting pitchers for the White Sox. In their last six combined starts, both have only allowed seven earned runs. Furthermore, both have saved the bullpen of taxing innings as both have pitched six or more innings including Giolito who has thrown back to back complete games, with the first being five innings due to rain.

Both have improved on what their biggest struggles were last season as Giolito has reduced his walks as he is averaging just two walks in five May starts. He dominated one of the league’s best lineups in the Astros as he struck out nine, walked four, and allowed just four hits.

Lopez’s biggest struggle in 2017 was making batters miss. In his first 10 starts in 2018, he only had 42 strikeouts compared to 54 through 10 starts this season. Lopez has been recorded at least one strikeout in his 10 starts and had six straight starts of five strikeouts or more.

A rash of injuries to a good portion of the White Sox prospects have delayed the rebuild, but Giolito and Lopez have proven themselves as reliable starters. Dunning is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but could still be a starter or a reliable reliever if he fully recovers.

Fans may question whether the White Sox made the right decision trading away Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, but no one can question what the team got in return for Adam Eaton.

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The Chicago White Sox lost their fifth consecutive game Wednesday dropping the matinee to the Tampa Bay Rays 9-1. The team is off to a 3-8 start and were outscored in their series against the Rays 24-7. Despite the poor start and inadequate performance by the starting rotation, there are still promising signs of a better season in 2019.

Heading into the start of the 2019 season, starting pitching was expected to perform better than it had in 2018. Young starters Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez who struggled at times last season were expected be more matured with a full season of MLB experience underneath them.

Outside of Giolito’s first start this season, both haven’t looked good in their three combined starts. Both pitchers have failed pitched six innings in those starts.

The starting rotation has been unreliable from the start of games as they have allowed first-inning runs in six of their last seven outings. The poor performances have hurt the bullpen as the White Sox have not had a starter pitch six-innings since Carlos Rodon’s start last Wednesday in Cleveland.

Veteran pitchers Ivan Nova and Ervin Santana have combined for a total of six innings in their last two starts.

Chicago’s struggling starting pitching has negatively overshadowed some of the positive starts by some of their younger position players. Shortstop Tim Anderson is off to a great start as he is leading MLB in batting average hitting .513 through his first nine games. Anderson has six multi-hit games in his last seven starts and is four for four in stolen base attempts.

Another young player who is apart of the future core for the team is third-baseman Yoan Moncada. Moncada’s batting average has dipped since last week, but he continues to be run-producer for the team. He leads the White Sox in RBIs with 13 and runs with 12. More impressive is Moncada’s .617 slugging percentage as he has five doubles and three home runs through the first 11 games. Two of the doubles were mere inches away from being home runs.

The team’s most important prospect in Eloy Jimenez has failed to excite in the first 11 games but has steadily shown signs of progression. Although batting under.300, he has collected five multi-hit games. Opposing pitchers have been throwing him off-speed pitches low and away which has posed a problem for him.

In his last several games, Eloy has shown adjustments by driving the ball in their air where early on he was hitting the ball on the ground. Wednesday, he collected his first extra-base hit which was a line shot double down the left-field line. With a few more at-bats, Jimenez could start hitting the way he did in the minors last season.

It is hard to find excitement for a team that is on a five-game losing streak coming off a 100 loss season from the year before. Although not pretty now, the White Sox do have some hope in their young position players. If the starting pitching can turn it around as they should, the White Sox can turn their fortunes around sooner rather than later with the potentially potent lineup they have developing.

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On Thursday, the 2019 Chicago White Sox season will begin in Kansas City against the Royals. In the third year of a rebuild, the young team will look to improve on a 2018 season in which the team lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history. If the team is to turn their fortunes around in 2019, they will need their young core of players to lead the way.

When the White Sox began their rebuild it started with the acquisition of Top 100 prospects in Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, and Eloy Jimenez. All were acquired via trade in the first season of the rebuild with Moncada, Giolito, and Lopez being called up late in the 2017 season.

Their performance in 2017 led to possible hopes that the team was ahead of schedule in the rebuild for the 2018 season, but they regressed rather than progressed. Moncada, who was the top prospect in the Chris Sale trade, led the league with 217 strikeouts which were also a White Sox record. Giolito, who posted a 2.38 ERA in seven starts in 2017, finished with a 6.13 ERA in 32 starts last season. Lopez was the one prospect who actually improved from 2017 to 2018 as he led the starting staff with a 3.91 ERA and strikeouts per nine innings with 7.2.

Moncada has had a terrific spring training this season as he has batted over .300 and hitting four home runs while playing a new position at third base. Giolito has a strong spring while pitching with a new pitching mechanics is throwing harder as his fastball has been clocked at 97 MPHs.

Pitching prospect Michael Kopech will be sidelined for the entire 2019 season following his debut in 2018. He made four starts in 2018 before it was announced that he would require Tommy John surgery which will keep him out until the 2020 season.

The two most anticipated players for the White Sox this season will be both Jimenez and Cease. Jimenez will start the season with the team after signing a six-year $43 million deal which is the biggest ever for a minor league prospect. In Triple-A Charlotte last season, he hit 22 home runs and drove in 75 RBIs in 108 games. It is this reason why many are predicting him to win the American League Rookie of the Year award this season. Cease was named MLB Pipeline’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season and is expected to be called up by the White Sox in either late-July or August.

Another reason why the team could be better in 2019 is because of a set bullpen, something they didn’t have last season. Manager Rick Renteria did not have a permanent closer as Jace Fry, Nate Jones, and Joakim Soria all were given the opportunity to close last season. This past offseason, general manager Rick Hahn traded for All-Star closer Alex Colome and signed All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera. Colome saved a league-high 47 games in 2017 and Herrera posted an ERA under three in three of his last four seasons. With Colome as his closer, Renteria is able to set up his bullpen properly, something he hasn’t been able to do in the past two seasons.

Finally, health will be a factor for a few White Sox veterans who have struggled with injuries in the last few seasons. Opening Day starter Carlos Rodon will look to have his first injury-free season since 2015. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential to one of the best pitchers in the American league.

First baseman Jose Abreu will also look to rebound following a 2018 season cut short due to injury. A lower-body injury led to him playing in a career-low 128 games hitting just 22 home runs and driving in 78 RBIs.

The 2019 season should be better for the White Sox if their young talent improves and their veteran talent can stay healthy. The team doesn’t need to compete for a playoff spot but does need to show signs of improving with more wins than last year. In a Central Division in which others are rebuilding, there is no reason why the team can’t improve and inspire hope for the 2020 season.

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On Monday evening, the Chicago White Sox announced that prospect Dane Dunning underwent Tommy John surgery. The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews following Dunning being sidelined for weeks with forearm discomfort. It is just another loss to a prospect that has dampened a promising rebuild.

When general manager Rick Hahn began the team’s rebuild in December of 2016, his ability to acquire a large amount of minor league talent whether through trades or the draft, brought excitement back to the White Sox. Now with the start of the 2019 season less than two weeks away, the team has suffered another significant injury to the rebuild.

Dunning will mark the third prominent White Sox pitcher who will require Tommy John surgery since 2017. Relief pitcher Zack Burdi required the surgery in 2017 costing him a chance to play in the majors in 2018.

Starting pitcher Michael Kopech was the team’s best pitching prospect and was called up late in the season. Kopech started for games before he was sidelined with a tear in his arm requiring the surgery that will keep him out until 2020.

Dunning was the team’s second most anticipated pitching prospect behind Dylan Cease this season. Cease is expected to be called up mid-way through the season while Dunning was given an outside chance to be called up this year, but for certain next year.

Injuries have had a heavy toll on the White Sox minor league system as 2017 first round pick Jake Burger missed all of last season with a torn Achilles. Pitcher Alec Hansen frightfully regressed through 2017 as many believed he would make it to the majors before both Kopech and Cease.

The extensive injuries have been excruciating for all involved with the White Sox organization from the front office to the fans. Hahn and management must wait for these injuries to heal before determining if the players will develop into the players they projected them to become. For the fans, it another year of waiting to see promising talent at the major league level that could possibly lead the team back to contention.

The Dunning injury comes at the worst time following the free agent debacle and many still waiting for the team’s top prospect Eloy Jimenez’s promotion to the majors. The excitement for rebuilds begins with the promotion of young talent in waves. In 2017, Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Reylando Lopez sparked hope late in the year with their call-ups. Last season, Kopech did the same before his injury as each start was appointment television. This season it will be both Jimenez and Cease.

All that momentum will be extinguished as following Cease and Jimenez, there will be a gap in the callups. Fans will have to wait until 2020 to see Kopech and probably 2021 at the earlier to see Dunning. Injuries are costly because they delay development and delay a team’s ability to start competing again.

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The 2018 Chicago White Sox finished their season in disappointing fashion losing their last five games to post the first 100 loss season since 1970.

The 2018 season was dedicated to their younger talent establishing a full year in the major leagues, and even though their performance struggled at times, their upside along with other factors build optimism for 2019. The young core of players acquired by general manager Rick Hahn in the winter of 2016 benefited the most from playing time in 2018. Pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Michael Kopech saw either a full season or extended time this season.

Although he struggled mightily to start the season, Giolito found his stride in the summer as he recorded eight quality starts in a span of 10 as he lowered his walks drastically. Lopez demonstrated durability and consistency as he finished the season with 188 innings pitched and an ERA of 3.91 which was a team best.

When promoted in late August, Kopech was one of the more anticipated White Sox prospects to be called up. Even though three of his four starts were cut short due to rain, he did manage to impress in his limited time as he only allowed one run in 11 innings. On September 7th, the team confirmed Kopech had torn his UCL ligament requiring Tommy John surgery.

https://twitter.com/Starting9/status/1032064039508221957

From a position player standpoint, the team had the young tandem of Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada come on strong in the second half of the seasons to build towards next season.

Anderson’s power numbers have gradually improved in each of his first two season as he became the first White Sox shortstop to hit 20 home runs, 20 or more doubles, and steal 30 or more bases. Moncada’s struggled historically with strikeouts nearly breaking the league record for most strikeouts in a season. He did show promise in September as he began to hit consistently from both sides of the plate recording nine doubles in the month.

The player who surprised the most in 2018 and who could be the main contributor in 2019 is outfielder Daniel Palka.

Palka led the team with 27 home runs in just 124 games. Called up in late April, Palka became a regular down the stretch due to his ability to hit the long ball and drive in runs. He could be the team’s future designated hitter due to his important left-handed power enabling the White Sox to balance out their lineup.

Due to the team’s low payroll, Hahn is expected to target either one or two potential high priced free agents this off-season. Third baseman Manny Machado has been one of the more talked about free agents the White Sox could sign as they were interested in trading for him last off-season at the winter meetings. Adding Machado would provide the team a perennial 30+ home run hitter and one of the best defensive third baseman in the entire league.

Similar to 2017 and 2018, next season will be ripe with anticipation for another round of White Sox prospects to make their major league debut. Outfielder Eloy Jimenez will most likely be promoted the second week of the season as he will meet service time. Fans and the media clamored for Jimenez to be promoted this season, but by keeping him in the minors the team gained another year of contractual control.

Pitcher Dylan Cease could be in line to also make his major league debut in the middle of the 2019 season. Cease impressed this season as he was promoted to Double-A Birmingham mid-season and was named Pipeline’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the 2018 season.

As the 2018 season was dedicated to the team’s young starting pitchers to establish a full season’s worth of experience, 2019 could be the same for the bullpen. Young relievers Caleb Frare, Ian Hamilton, Thyago Vieira, and Ryan Burr could see extended time to determine if they apart of the long-term plans.

One player that could make his debut as the team’s closer is Zach Burdi who spend this season recovering from Tommy John surgery. When drafted in 2016, Burdi was being fast-tracked to the majors and was expected to be called up towards the end of last season as the White Sox future closer, but suffered the arm injury that required surgery.

The 2019 season will be similar to the 2018 season as it will be dedicated to the White Sox’s rebuild with a focus on player development over wins or losses. Another bright side is that the team will be drafting third overall in next year’s amateur draft.

With another year of experience for their young core, the addition of a high level free agent, and the promotion of more prospects, the White Sox 2019 season could finally excitement with the expectation of winning in 2020.

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The Chicago White Sox are currently on pace to have their worst season in franchise history. The team will start the month of June as one of two teams that haven’t hit the 20-win mark, joining the Baltimore Orioles. As their rebuild continues, one aspect of the team to keep an eye on as the season progresses is the changes coming to their starting rotation very shortly.

Within the next two weeks, the White Sox are expected to get their former first-round pick Carlos Rodon back from rehabbing a shoulder injury. Rodon was shut down in early September last year and underwent shoulder surgery to repair damage in the area. His return will be a boost to the ball clubs as he has shown potential to be a top of the rotation starter in his limited time.

The start of Rodon’s 2017 campaign was also delayed due to injury as he did not make his debut until June 28th. Although he struggled at first, he did perform extremely well in the month of August. Rodon recorded four quality starts in a span of five outings only missing his fifth quality start by just one walk. Of the five appearances, four came against teams that would appear in the 2017 playoffs. In back-to-back starts against the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers, Rodon only allowed four total runs and pitched seven or more innings in both starts.

One of the White Sox best pitchers this season has been James Shields.  He’s pitched well in his last few outings as he as recorded three-consecutive quality starts.

Shields is putting himself in position to provide the White Sox front office with a very attractive trade piece for other teams. General manager Rick Hahn will listen to any trade offers for Shields as he most likely does not fit into the team’s future plans. The question isn’t when Shields gets traded, but how much the team can get in return if he continues to perform at a high level.

As the team heads into the summer months, one of the hottest topics will be the promotion of pitching prospect Michael Kopech from Triple-A Charlotte. Kopech is regarded as the White Sox best pitching prospect and one of the best prospects in all of baseball. In his last two starts, he has struck out 15 in just 11 innings pitched.

Kopech appears ready for a promotion, but there are several factors in the team holding off from promoting him soon.

If the team waits until mid-June, they most likely gain super two status for Kopech in which they would gain another year of control before he would qualify for arbitration. Another aspect is that the team could wait for a spot in the rotation to open up before bringing him up.

A trade of Shields could be what the team is waiting for as a similar situation occurred with second baseman Yoan Moncada last season. Moncada was called up the day after the team traded third baseman Todd Frazier,  pitchers Tommy Kahnle, and David Robertson to the New York Yankees.

There are other prospects who could factor into the starting pitching staff from now until the end of the season with the team struggling. Dylan Covey is currently getting a look following the demotion of Carson Fulmer to Triple-A and Double-A prospect Dane Dunning could possibly see a few starts once the roster is expanded in September.

Manager Rick Renteria also confirmed that the team would give Fulmer another look as a starter once he works on his issues in the minors.

The performance on the field and the record are not fun for the team or the fans this far into the season. In a rebuild, it is important to identify the talent that will help the team in its goal of building towards sustained success.

With young starters Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez already here, the team will have a chance for all of their top pitching prospects to gain MLB experience by season’s end. Although it may be rough in the second of the 2018 season, the White Sox and their fans will get a chance to get an in depth  look at the team’s young starting pitching talent.

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As the Chicago White Sox continue their rebuild this season, general manager Rick Hahn is reaping the rewards of trading outfielder Adam Eaton from way back in December of 2016. The day following the official beginning of rebuild with the trade of ace pitcher Chris Sale for Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, Hahn acquired three of the Washington Nationals top pitching prospects for Adam Eaton. The prospects were Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning, all of whom have impressed and improved with their time with White Sox showing the true one-sidedness of the trade.

When the trade took place, many pundits felt that the Nationals gave up way too much for Eaton based off of his value. Eaton had performed well as a leadoff hitter with the White Sox during his career and was coming off a 2016 season in which he nearly won a Gold Glove for his improved defense. The Nationals had been looking to acquire an impact outfielder and were even more hard set once a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates had fallen through for former MVP Andrew McCutchen.

At the 2016 winter meetings, it appeared that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was looking to make a deal at all cost, and Hahn was the beneficiary.

Before the Sale trade, the two teams most rumored to acquire Sale were the Boston Red Sox and Nationals, many believe that it was the package the White Sox received for Eaton was initially intended for Sale plus one of the Nationals top positional player prospects. Both Giolito and Lopez started their 2017 seasons in Triple-A Charlotte before being called up to the majors for the last few months of the season. Dunning spent his entire season in Single-A Winston-Salem.

Giolito and Lopez have performed well in their brief time with the White Sox. Between the two, they have recorded nine starts in which they gave up three earned runs or fewer this season. Lopez has been extremely impressive recording three quality starts so far especially considering that many scouts had him projected as a reliever rather than a starter. Giolito has struggled at times this season, but in his last two has been consistent limiting his opponents to just two walks and five or fewer hits.

Dunning has performed outstanding in the White Sox farm system this year as he is the first of the team’s major prospects to be promoted being called up to Double-A Birmingham on April 26th. Since the promotion, Dunning has recorded back to back quality starts limited his opponents to three runs and walks or less while pitching six innings. On Wednesday night, Dunning struck out five and allowed no walks.

If all three pitchers end up being quality starters for the White Sox pitching rotation in the future, the trade will be looked at as one of the worst historically on Rizzo’s end. Lopez and Giolito both still have the ability to develop into top of the rotation starters and Dunning is showing the signs that he could also do the same.

This past offseason, a several trades took place involving top level outfielders which provides depth and perspective to the Eaton trade. All-star and Gold Glove outfielders Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, and McCutchen were traded in the offseason, and none of the trades garnered the return value that Eaton’s did. The Yelich trade involving the Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers came the closest as the Brewers parted ways with their best prospect in Lewis Brinson.

At the time of the Eaton trade, Giolito was viewed as the Nationals’ top pitching prospect with Lopez ranking third. Even more, both were seen as the best pitching prospects in all of baseball as both were ranked in the top 50 of MLB’s Top 100 list. Unfortunately for the Nationals, Eaton tore his ACL early in the 2017 season missing the rest of the season and this year has been sidelined since April 8th due to an ankle injury.

During the White Sox rebuild, many of the team’s veterans were traded away from prospects with the Sale for Moncada trade being deemed the biggest due to Moncada’s ranking as the best prospect in baseball. As time goes on, the trade involving Giolitio, Lopez, and Dunning will surpass that due to the value placed on quality starting pitching. Many teams are lucky to get an average starting pitcher in a trade, but Hahn has the possibility to have acquired three top starters for a small cost in Eaton.

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On Wednesday, White Sox manager Rick Renteria all but confirmed the team’s five-man starting rotation for when the team’s season begins in one week.

There were no major surprises as the staff will follow as ordered: James Shields, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Miguel Gonzalez, and Carson Fulmer. The rotation will feature three starters who have never pitched a full season in the majors with two veteran starters the team is hoping can provide valuable trade assets for later in the season.

#whitesox starting rotation of (in order) Shields, Giolito, Lopez, Gonzalez, Fulmer "sounds right," manager Rick Renteria said.

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) March 21, 2018

The one surprise for the staff to start the season was Fulmer being named the team’s fifth starter especially with his struggles in his Cactus League starts this spring. In five starts this spring, Fulmer gave up four runs and three walks in three starts. In his last outing, he allowed no hits and no runs over four innings while walking just three.

The rotation will most likely change throughout the seasons as former first-round pick, pitcher Carlos Rodon, is expected to return from shoulder surgery in June. Rodon has been viewed by many to be the potential “Ace” of the White Sox staff as he posted four consecutive quality starts last year in which he averaged seven strikeouts per start during that span.

Minor league pitching prospects Michael Kopech and Alec Hansen could also force changes to the rotation during the season as both have the potential to be mid-season call-ups this year. Kopech is regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball as many baseball experts believe he can make his Major League debut as early as May but could go straight to the bullpen when brought up.

Hansen is as highly touted as Kopech according to a few scouts but is still seen as being a year away from being brought up to majors.

General Manager Rick Hahn and team management are hopeful that their three young starters can gain both experience and consistent success this season. As for the two veteran starter, they can be role models to their younger teammates by the way they handle themselves with each start. With the quantity of young pitching talent, it is vital for the White Sox pitching staff to find success early this season.

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The White Sox young talent was on display Saturday as they played the Cubs to a 4-4 tie. The game was highlighted by two big name prospects acquired last season in trades by general manager Rick Hahn. Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and outfielder Eloy Jimenez both impressed against the Cubs with a game that was televised on WGN.

Giolito started the game and struck out eight over four-plus innings include striking out All-Star and former National League MVP Kris Bryant twice. He also struck out lefty slugger Kyle Schwarber twice and only allowed just two hits which included a home run to catcher Victor Caratini in the third inning. Giolito was acquired last season from the Washington Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade in which he was the key prospect the team received in return.

Last season in seven starts, he posted four quality starts pitching more than six innings and allowing less than three runs.

Jimenez made his spring training debut on Saturday after being sidelined from the start of Cactus League play with tendinitis in his left and impressed with a two-run homer in his first at-bat. On a 0-2 count with a pitch low and away, Jimenez drove the pitch to the opposite field for the home run. The home run was special for him as he did against his former team and is seen the White Sox number one prospect and is ranked third on MLB’s Top 100 list.

The news was all good for the White Sox on Saturday as the team lost another of their top prospects to injury as centerfielder Luis Robert is expected to sidelined for 10 weeks with an injury to his left thumb. The news is especially devastating as Robert impress earlier in the week with grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds. The team will return to exhibition play on Sunday when they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks

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With the MLB All-Star break upon us, marking the half-way point of the season, it begins to become more clear which teams are in the running for the playoffs and which teams are likely not in that same picture.
For the teams who likely won’t make the playoffs the focus shifts from winning games to developing and calling up prospects in the hopes of a playoff push in future years.

Heading into the second half of the season the Chicago White Sox have a number of prospects that could get called up before the season comes to an end.

Lucas Giolito

Giolito came to the Chicago White Sox in a trade from the Washington Nationals.

So far this season Giolito is 3-8 with an ERA of 4.98 and 2 complete game shutouts over 90 innings. Giolito has shown some flashes but has been far from consistent this season, but if he can lower his ERA and pitch more consistently might get some time in the majors.

Carson Fulmer

Carson Fulmer has struggled on the mound so far this season. In 82.2 innings, Fulmer has an ERA of 5.55 and 62 strikeouts with a record of 6-5.

Fulmer was called up straight from AA last season and ended with an ERA of 8.49 during that stint, struggling in his first action in the big leagues.

Once Fulmer has had a little more time to figure out AAA batters don’t be surprised to see him in a White Sox uniform once again, plus he’s on the White Sox’s 40-man roster.

He could find himself making the 2018 opening day roster with a strong showing in September.

Zach Burdi

Zach Burdi has 33.1 innings and 29 total relief appearances.

In that time he’s struck out 51 batters and has an ERA of 4.05. Burdi has been the anchor for the AAA Charlotte Knights bullpen all season and if the White Sox move relievers Anthony Swarzak or Tommy Kahnle at the trade deadline then Burdi might get a call up to fill one of those spots.

Chicago would love to have a guy like Burdi come in and show he’s capable of being a go-to reliever for the future.

Michael Kopech

Michael Kopech was one of the prospects sent over from the Boston Red Sox this offseason in the Chris Sale trade.

So far in 16 starts over 78.1 innings has an ERA of 4.02 and has already thrown over 100 strikeouts plus was named the starter for the AA Southern League all-star game. He had a nice showing in the MLB Future’s game, striking out fellow White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada.

Kopech has shown tremendous promise in AA ball this season and it is almost certain to get called up at least to AAA before the season is over, but if he keeps up the strong showing in Charlotte he could very well make it to the MLB before season’s end also.

He throws straight gas and could be very valuable as a member of the White Sox rotation in the future.

Yoan Moncada

Yoan Moncada was the centerpiece for the Boston/Chris Sale trade. In 73 games this season Moncada has a batting average of .282, is 3rd on the team in home runs with 11, and again is 3rd on the team in RBI’s with 33.

Moncada has shown that he can both bat and play the infield consistently throughout the season and many view it as only a matter of time before he gets set up to the majors, especially since current White Sox infielder Todd Frazier is one of the more likely White Sox players to get moved at the deadline.

Despite struggling while being called up last season in Boston, Moncada seems ready for the big leagues.

It’s very likely that White Sox fans will be able to see the future of the franchise late this season.

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The Chicago White Sox loaded up on prospects during the 2016 offseason, acquiring talent in trades with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals.

Chicago added Yoan Moncanda and Michael Kopech in a deal with the Red Sox, and received a nice haul highlighted by pitcher Lucas Giolitio from the Nationals.

On Thursday, Giolito threw the best game of his White Sox minor league career.

Giolito threw a 7-inning no-hitter for the Charlotte Knights against the Syracuse Chiefs, which happen to be the Triple-A affiliate of the Nationals.

Lucas Giolito tosses a NO-HITTER! pic.twitter.com/8XizNAgkvC

— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) May 25, 2017

It was the first game of a doubleheader as Minor League Baseball plays 7 innings when there is a doubleheader.

Giolito finished the game giving up no hits and runs, walking three batters and striking out three batters.

He’s currently ranked as the top pitching prospect in the White Sox farm system and the No. 2 overall prospect in the organization.

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The full overhaul of the White Sox continued Wednesday afternoon with the trading of Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals.  If there was any doubt after the Chris Sale trade that the White Sox are committing to a full tear down, that doubt was washed away with the news of the Eaton deal.

Eaton becomes the second of the Sox young, controllable, assets to be sent elsewhere following the trade of Chris Sale to the Red Sox on Tuesday.  And much like the Sale trade, the White Sox appear to have gotten maximum value for a top level player.

The Sox got three prospects back from Washington for Eaton, all of which ranked among their top-six.  The centerpiece of the deal is pitcher Lucas Giolito, the Nats number one prospect and the third overall prospect in baseball according to MLB.com.  Both of the other players involved are also pitchers, so let’s dive into it.

Lucas Giolito

Giolito is a 22-year-old right handed pitcher, and was the 16^th overall pick of the 2012 draft.  He has long been heralded as a can’t miss type pitching prospect.  He has an 80 tool rated fastball, the highest on the scale.  To go along with that he has a plus-plus curveball and an above average changeup, which has continued to improve.  He is the top rated pitching prospect in baseball for a reason.

As is the case with most young pitchers, Giolito still has some work to do with fastball command and consistency with his secondary pitches.  The walk rate of 3.4 per nine in the minors last year isn’t great, and was up a little from the mid-2.0 range his previous two seasons.

Giolito appeared in six games for the Nationals last year, including making four starts.  He struggled quite a bit with a 6.75 ERA, a 5.1 BB/9 rate and struck out only 11 batters in 21.1 innings.  He also allowed an insane seven homers in those 21.1 innings.  The good news is that is a pretty small sample size and we should also keep in mind that he is just 22-years-old.

If there is one other concern about Giolito it is that he has already had Tommy John surgery.  The procedure was done right after he signed with the Nationals out of high school.  So even though he was drafted in 2012, he didn’t pitch a full season in the minors until 2014.  There was some concern as well that his fastball velocity was only in the mid-90’s while pitching for the Nats last season, so that will be something to keep an eye on next spring.

Giolito is probably ready to go right now, and I would expect to see him in the White Sox rotation either to start the season, or shortly thereafter.  If he pans out like the scouts expect, he is a potential ace in the making.

Reynaldo Lopez

Lopez is also a 22-year-old right handed pitcher hailing from the Dominican Republic.  He was the Nationals second highest pitching prospect after Giolito and ranks as the number 38 prospect overall according to MLB.com.  He has a plus-plus rated fastball with an above average curveball.  The changeup needs some work still.

Lopez moved quickly through the Washington system over the last two years going from low-A at the start of 2014, all the way to the big leagues last season.  He appeared in 11 games for the Nationals last year, making six starts and posting a 4.91 ERA and striking out 42 batters in 44 innings.  The walk rate was high, 4.5/9, but he was between 2.5-2.9 the previous three years in the minors, so I wouldn’t expect the wildness to continue.

His fastball sits in the mid-90’s and has been known to hit triple-digits at times and like Giolito, he has a power curve to go with it.

There is some discussion as to whether or not Lopez’s future will be as a starter or a reliever, but the White Sox clearly believe that he has the potential to be a starter long term.

Lopez is another candidate to either start the season with the White Sox, or at the very least get some run in the rotation at some point during the season.  There will likely be some growing pains with him, but his fast rise certainly bodes well for his long term potential.

Dane Dunning

The final piece in the deal is right-hander Dane Dunning, who was the Nationals first round pick (29^th overall) in this past draft.  Dunning will turn 22 on December 20^th, and pitched collegiately at Florida.  Due to the insane depth of the Gators pitching staff, Dunning pitched out of the bullpen for the most part his final year, getting an occasional start here and there.

He has a plus-fastball tool, with an above average changeup.  His breaking ball is a slider and that needs some work.  The fastball sits mid-90’s with good movement, so I’m sure Don Cooper will enjoy that.  The solid changeup will also play well with the Sox philosophy.

Dunning started eight games in the minors after getting drafted last year, with seven of those coming at low-A Auburn.  He posted a 2.14 ERA in 33.3 innings in those seven starts, with 29 strikeouts against just seven walks.

The book is still out on whether Dunning will be a starter or a reliever but again, the Sox seem to believe his future is in the rotation.  He will likely start the season at either high-A or AA for the Sox and could be a quick riser through the system.  His ceiling isn’t as high as Giolito or Lopez, but he does have a chance to be a back end starter.

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All three of these pitchers slide into the new, and loaded, White Sox top-10 prospects list.  Giolito checks in at number two, Lopez at four, and Dunning at ten.  The Sox top-10 now features six top-100 prospects according to MLB.com, and the new top four was all added in the last two days.

The future of the White Sox pitching staff looks very bright.  Giolito and Lopez, along with new addition Michael Kopech, and Carson Fulmer are all ranked in the top-60 overall.  Add in Carlos Rodon and you’ve got your starting five right there.  And in case some of them don’t work out like you think, well that why you got a Dunning or a Spencer Adams (Sox #7) in tow as well.  The Sox are stockpiling power arms, and with the way they have developed pitching in the past, that should work out very well for them.

The next step is to bring in some more offense.  You might notice I didn’t mention Jose Quintana in the mix above.  That is because it appears that he will be the next to go, and this time I expect Rick Hahn to be looking for some bats in return.

The haul the White Sox have gotten in these two deals is impressive.  In fact the Sox allegedly got three of the four players the Nats offered them for Chris Sale in this deal for Eaton.  Rick Hahn is getting rave reviews from people in baseball for committing to the rebuild and cleaning up with the young talent acquired in these deals.  If he can get a couple of top-100 hitting prospects for Quintana, the Sox rebuild will be well on its way.

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The Chicago White Sox aren’t done making any moves just yet.

Just a day after they traded away ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox, they made another move by sending Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals.

In return, the White Sox get prospects Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez. Giolito was ranked as the Nationals No. 1 prospect and the third-best in baseball. Lopez is the No. 3 prospect in Washington’s farm system and Dunning is No. 6.

Giolito a great get for chisox. And they do it for Eaton instead. Big week for south siders.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 7, 2016

The addition of Giolito now gives them the No. 1 and No. 3 prospects in baseball after they acquired Yoan Moncada from the Red Sox. The acquisition of Moncada bumped the White Sox farm system to the second-best in baseball. This move could bump them up to No. 1 very shortly.

Chicago is still in talks with other teams regarding other players as Jose Quintana and Todd Frazier are names to keep an eye on as the Winter Meetings continue.

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