Da Windy City
Fansided

Chicago White Sox: Predictions for the 2019 Season

By Vincent Parise

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 25: Yoan Moncada #10 of the Chicago White Sox is congratulated by Jon Jay #45 after scoring against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning during the spring game at Scottsdale Stadium on February 25, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 25: Yoan Moncada #10 of the Chicago White Sox is congratulated by Jon Jay #45 after scoring against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning during the spring game at Scottsdale Stadium on February 25, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Chicago White Sox Jose Abreu
(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Leaders on the Mound

The White Sox pitching could be something that could be an issue for this team this season. The pitching could turn out to be very good and make them a bit of a surprise team. They have a guy like Carlos Rodon who will be the opening day starter. He gets the nod as the guy who has been there the longest now.

They have guys like Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez getting ready for their second full season in the Major Leagues. These guys were both highly touted prospects with hopes of being fixtures on this staff when the team is ready to compete for the playoffs. Lopez might actually have the best stuff of the three so his ceiling could be great if reached.

They will be without their flamethrowing top pitching prospect Michael Kopech for the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in the fall. He made his White Sox debut in August and he really didn’t disappoint other than needing this surgery. There is an expectation that he turns into an ace of a staff type starter one day, but he won’t be contributing this year.

Ian Nova is a player that the White Sox acquired in the offseason and he is currently slated to be the fourth starter. They don’t have a fifth starter on their official depth chart as of yet, so that is something to watch for as the season begins.

Leader in Wins

In 2018, Lucas Giolito unexpectedly led the White Sox in wins. He was 10-13 which is respectable for a guy who was a part of a 62-100 ballclub. Leading the team in wins came despite not having the best season statistically. He had an ERA over 6 and his WHIP was 1.47 which are both not very good. I expect these numbers to come down for him, but he probably won’t lead the White Sox in wins this year. Carlos Rodon is going to hopefully be healthy this year and if that is the case he will lead the team with 15 wins.

Leader in ERA

They only had one qualifying starter with an ERA under four in 2018. That would be Reynaldo Lopez who led the team with a 3.91 ERA. This guy is pretty good and everyone should expect him to stick around for a long time. I believe he will once again lead the team in ERA in the absence of Kopech and it will be even lower than last year. Hopefully, guys like Rodon and Giolito can get their ERA’s under three as well but Lopez will lead with an ERA between 3.20-to-3.50.

Leader in Saves

Alex Colome is going to be the closer for the White Sox this season. He was with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners in 2018 but didn’t get many save opportunities in that stretch. The last time he was a full-time closer was in 2017 and he led Major League Baseball with 47 saves. The year before that he had 37. The White Sox bullpen was in desperate need of some help and Colome could get it done. He will obviously lead the team in saves if he is healthy and we can expect that number to be around 36 saves.

Home/Chicago White Sox