Chicago White Sox: Roster outlook for 2020 season

The White Sox 2019 season has been filled with ups and downs. This is what happens with a young team, but they are on the brink of greatness. The organization, however, needs to spend money going into 2020.

I will be the first to admit, I was upset the Chicago White Sox did not spend money on Manny Machado this offseason. Upset probably is not the word. I swore the team off with how livid I was with their approach. Mainly, the excuses of not spending on Machado upset me the most, but looking back on it, maybe the team knew what they were doing.

Looking forward to the 2020 season, the team is going to be very young. Even younger and less experienced than they are right now. As of right now, the White Sox have five prospects in the MLB top-50 prospect list. In fact, four of the five are in the top-25. Now, that is a little deceiving because two of those players have already been called up and will not be going back down.

Michael Kopech who is ranked No. 18 and Dylan Cease who is ranked No. 25 should not be going down ever again (unless for a rehab stint). The White Sox need both of these prospects to hit, and early indications say they should. Couple these two with Lucas Giolito, who has exploded onto the scene this year, and you have the start of a decent MLB rotation.

White Sox fans are already excited after the team has been somewhat decent this year. With a starting pitching rotation that has hurt them tremendously, the club should look to add some decent arms this offseason. Even though there are not many younger options, some of the top names include Gerrit Cole, Alex Wood, Cole Hamels and Rich Hill.

If the White Sox can add just one strong arm to pair with their top three pitchers, the team should turn into a more dominant force in the AL Central. Reynaldo Lopez has shown signs of life as of late too and would make a great fifth starter. The team could also entertain keeping Carlos Rodon who enters arbitration for the 2020 season. What was once a rough spot for this team in 2019, could be a driving force if the chips fall correctly in 2020.

That’s not all though White Sox fans. Three of the top-50 players who have not been called up are expected to be up at the start or at least close to the start of 2020. Luis Robert is a top-five prospect in baseball. Andrew Vaughn, although struggling as of late, should be ready to come up at some point in 2020. Nick Madrigal is ahead of Vaughn and should start to show improvements for the Charlotte Knights after recently being called up to AAA.

Between 2020 and 2021 though, the lineup for this team should look like this if they keep Jose Abreu (who wants to be back) and re-sign James McCann.

1B – Jose Abreu/Andrew Vaughn
2B – Nick Madrigal
3B – Yoan Moncada/Andrew Vaughn
SS – Tim Anderson
C – James McCann
LF – Eloy Jimenez
CF – Luis Robert
RF – TBD (I’d like to keep Leury Garcia)
DH – Abreu/Vaughn/etc.

Now, the team should not hold back in upgrading at certain positions either. If they do not get Abreu, maybe they target a guy like Anthony Rendon if he hits free agency. If possible, I’d love for them to land both since the team is in the bottom half of spending. However, if they do not land a top guy again because of money, that is okay. The future is still bright here.

Once Vaughn is called up he would likely hold the first base position while Abreu slides into a more permanent DH role similar to Nelson Cruz. That potential lineup with their potential starting pitching rotation could lead to a dominant AL Central team. Unfortunately, we cannot always predict potential, but the arrow is still drastically pointing up for this team.

Watching the Chicago White Sox this year has been both fun and a struggle. Next year should look even better though. Not to mention, they also have some solid pitching prospects that could be looking at a 2021 call up. Go get it in 2020 though White Sox. No time is better than the present.