After having some time to cool down from the playoff ending loss to the Oakland Athletics, I can reflect on how good the 2020 season was for the Chicago White Sox. This season was the beginning of something beautiful on the Southside of Chicago and should be for years to come.
Lucas Giolito (4-3 3.48ERA 1.04WHIP 72.1IP 97K 28BB) followed up his all-star 2019 season with an even better 2020. Giolito still had his doubters heading into the season, but he established that he is one of the game’s elite pitchers. Giolito had the best game of his career on Tuesday, August 25th, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched his first career no-hitter, striking out 13 with 101 pitches. Giolito finished off his season by getting his first career postseason win (7IP 2H 1ER 8K 1BB 100PC) against the Oakland Athletics. The only game that the White Sox won in this series. Giolito has earned a spot on this pitching staff for years to come.
Jose Abreu (.317AVG 19HR 60RBI .987OPS 43R 76H) led the league in RBIs for the second straight year and is more than likely going to earn his first MVP for being in the top 10 in almost every offensive category and never missing a game. Abreu has always been one of the best hitters, but the White Sox have been so bad that he never received the recognition he deserves. Hopefully, he will be getting his due with the 2020 American League MVP.
Tim Anderson (.322AVG 10HR 21RBI .886OPS 45R 67H) almost walked away with his second consecutive batting title but slumped in the last week and a half. However, Anderson still had a better year in other respects. He took on more of a leadership role and really knew how to hype up the team. It’s funny to think that only two years ago, the White Sox were in the running for SS/3B Manny Machado. The options being, either Anderson moves to the outfield or is no longer a part of the team. Needless to say, it all worked out. Anderson held his own in the playoffs with three hits in each of the three games.
Luis Robert (.233 11HR 31RBI .738OPS 33R 47H 9SB) had a great rookie season. Even though he was mired in a two-week slump toward the end of the year, there is no doubt about how good he is going to be. In a 162 game season, Robert would have been on track to a 20HR, 20SB season, which is an extremely rare accomplishment. Robert also quickly became one of the team’s best fielders at center. Robert will only get better, and it wouldn’t shock me if he becomes a 2021 MVP candidate.
Eloy Jimenez and Nick Madrigal also had great seasons to round out the offense. Jimenez showed a lot of improvement with his plate discipline and Madrigal did what everybody thought he would do once he got called up; he hit the baseball.
The White Sox have built an incredible pitching staff this season. They discovered many young pitchers to go along with the already proven veterans. Codi Heuer, Matt Foster, Garret Crochet, and Dane Dunning. The White Sox have finally set up their bullpen with plenty of arms to go along with Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome. Dunning has made the White Sox rotation going into next season. With Cease, Dunning, and Michael Kopech, this could be one of the best young pitching staffs in the league.
The White Sox had a great 2020. The rebuild is finally over, and they made the playoffs after 12 years. GM Rick Hahn put incredible forethought into the various moves he made, and they are all paying off. The White Sox made sure to sign the young core of this team long-term. I am confident that they will continue to develop into one of the best teams in the MLB for the next 5-7 years.