We are officially one week into the 2021 season! So far, the White Sox have not lived up to the hype that followed them after their headline-making off-season. They sit at a disappointing 4-5; fourth place in the division. The early-season injuries of OF Eloy Jimenez, OF Adam Engel, SS Tim Anderson, and OF Billy Hamilton were the dominoes that have lead to inconsistent play on the field. The errors, the struggle at the plate, and inconsistent pitching have taken a toll on the White Sox fandom as they have yet to see the World Series champions they were promised year after year.
3B Yoan Moncada is genuinely struggling at the plate right now, struggling enough that it might be time to move him out of the cleanup spot. Moncada was coming off a down year in 2020 that was mostly written off as a prolonged Covid-19 recovery. Unphased, Manager Tony La Russa announced that Moncada would be batting cleanup once the regular season started. Moncada looked great in spring training (.302 1HR 4RBI 1SB 20G), but once the season started, he has not looked good (.161 1HR 2RBI 8G). Moncada has to re-earn his spot at 4th or be moved lower in the order.
The bullpen, which was supposed to be a strength of the White Sox, has been underwhelming at best. The White Sox spent a lot of money to bring CP Liam Hendriks to the south side, and it has yet to pay off. Hendriks owns an ugly 8.10ERA after he blew his first save opportunity against the Kansas City Royals. This was only Hendriks’s second appearance all season, so La Russa definitely needs to be pitching him more often. Regardless, blowing the first chance at a save will always leave a sour taste in your mouth.
It has not all been doom and gloom for the White Sox. P Michael Kopech has looked every bit of the elite pitching prospect he was thought to be. I would go as far as to say that Kopech (3G 6.1IP 11K 2BB 0ERA .47WHIP) has been the best pitcher on the White Sox pitching staff.
In his first start in front of White Sox fans, SP Lance Lynn pitched a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts and no walks for the home opener. After this fantastic performance, he easily became a fan favorite and validated the trade to acquire him in the offseason. The addition of Lynn to a rotation with SP Lucas Giolito and SP Dallas Kuechel gives the White Sox a set of aces up their sleeve to turn any big game matchup into a win.
DH/C Yermin Mercedes (.536AVG 2HR 7RBI) has gotten off to the hottest starts in MLB history. Even when he had a game without a hit, he got on base three times via the walk. This guy is taking his opportunity to stake a claim to a spot in the lineup.
Be patient, my fellow White Sox fans, baseball has always been a grind, and the team has too much talent to stay inconsistent forever. This team is good, but sometimes it takes a little bit of time for the various pieces to start clicking together.