Even though the White Sox are a bottom dweller team this season, they have still been rather fun to watch. Seeing the young players make their debuts has fans drooling for the future. Pair that with their never-say-die attitude (Ricky’s boys don’t quit!) and the White Sox have been exciting in year one of the rebuild. Next season has the chance to be even more exciting. The offense will still have some gaping holes, but a few more prized minor-league arms should find their way into the starting rotation at some point in 2018.
The Big 3
Currently, the White Sox have the makings of a future “Big 3” in the Majors as we speak. That would be lefty ace Carlos Rodon, and right-handers Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito.
Rodon could very well wind up being the X-factor of future White Sox teams. When healthy, he has shown that he has the stuff that would label him an ace. The thing is, he has had trouble staying healthy in his career thus far. He missed the first half of this season with a shoulder issue, but came back and after an inconsistent couple starts, went off on opposing batters. He got to be so entertaining to watch that it was almost must-watch television for fans. Then, he went on the DL again, effectively ending his season. If Rodon wants to be the ace of this young staff, he needs to go a full season without any injury issues. If he does, he could win 15+ games each year for the South Side.
Reynaldo Lopez is what I would call a “bulldog” of a pitcher. If I had to compare him to a pitcher, it would be Yorando Ventura, the former flamethrower for the Kansas City Royals. Before his tragic death, Ventura was dynamite. He wasn’t in the top tier a la Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw; but he could probably be put into a second tier group. Lopez is similar to Ventura in that they both throw hard despite their smaller size. Furthermore, they both seem to have that competitive fire burning inside them. The White Sox don’t even need Lopez to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. Having him as a 3, or even 4 in a 5-man rotation would do absolute wonders for the ball club and truly shows the depth the organization has when it comes to starting pitchers.
Next, we have Lucas Giolito. Boy has he made people forget about his 5+ ERA in Triple-A. In 5 starts with the White Sox, he has registered a 2.56 ERA while walking just over 3/9 innings. To me, Giolito reminds me a lot of former White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd when it comes to size (both are 6’6). However, Giolito has MUCH better stuff than Floyd ever did. His throwing motion also gives opposing pitchers fits. He throws with an exaggerated downhill plane, making it look like his fastball has even more sink than it really does. This, in effect, makes his face high fastball a deadly weapon as an out-pitch. Look for Giolito to take a big step forward next year. His confidence is back, and it is showing.
The Reinforcements
Next season it sounds like the White Sox will have two more electric young arms joining the rotation sooner rather than later. That would be Michael Kopech and Alec Hansen.
All signs point to Michael Kopech being given the chance to win a rotation spot out of 2018 Spring Training. While that is an exciting thought, I would be shocked if he were to debut with the White Sox in April. However, fans shouldn’t have to wait very long to see him in black and white. If he has a great Spring Training, and dominates his first few starts in Triple-A next season, he could be up by June. The White Sox won’t rush him to the MLB by any means, but if he shows he is ready, he might force the White Sox’ hand.
Alec Hansen is the real surprise here. The previous 4 names mentioned are all locks to be with the White Sox next season. Hansen is a different story, at least according to MLB.com. They have the soon-to-be-23-year-old making his debut in 2019. The MiLB leader in strikeouts seems to have different thoughts on that.
#WhiteSox Alec Hansen has lofty goals, expects to "start consistently in the Major Leagues" toward the end of 2018: https://t.co/smX83wXNke pic.twitter.com/Rm1VHogU0D
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 18, 2017
Some scouts are saying that Hansen will be the future no. 1 on the pitching staff. All 4 of his pitches grade out to at least average, but his fastball/slider combo is what really sets him apart from others. His fastball is just slightly slower than Kopech’s, but similar to Giolito, Hansen has the size that Kopech is missing. In fact, Hansen will be one of the tallest players in all of baseball. He is listed at 6’7, but teammates such as Zack Collins swear he is even taller. In short, he is a taller version of Giolito with better stuff. He would have gone no. 1 overall in the 2016 MLB draft, but he got extremely wild in his last season at Oklahoma, effectively scaring teams away. The fact that the White Sox got him in the 2nd round could make him the steal of the draft. Currently, Hansen ranks 94 on the MLB top-100 list. Expect him to take a DRASTIC jump in those rankings going into the start of next year. I would be shocked if he wasn’t in the top-50. It sounds like he is confident that he will be with the White Sox next season at some point. If/when that happens, we will be looking at the future White Sox rotation in its entirety. Talk about goosebumps.
End Of 2018 Rotation
If Hansen does indeed join the White Sox next season, the rotation will look something like this.
- Carlos Rodon-LHP
- Lucas Giolito-RHP
- Reynaldo Lopez-RHP
- Michael Kopech-RHP
- Alec Hansen-RHP
Yes the number of righties is a little concerning, but 3 out of the 4 righties all possess ace potential. That makes it much less worrisome thinking about the imbalance of righty-lefty. At least for now.
Okay, so we have the 2018 rotation from say, mid-August/early September. Let’s preview 2019 in entirety while we’re at it.
2019 Rotation
- Carlos Rodon-LHP
- Michael Kopech-RHP
- Lucas Giolito-RHP
- Alec Hansen-RHP
- Reynaldo Lopez-RHP
Gun to my head, this would be the starting 5 in order in 2019. You could easily flip around 2-4 in any order, but I think Ricky Renteria goes with the slightly more experienced guys at the top in front of Hansen, then Lopez fills out the rotation as the 5th man.
I know we talk about how 2020 is the first year the White Sox might do anything relevant, but this is a rotation that can legitimately carry the team. Knowing that you can go into literally every game with a good chance of winning does wonders for the offense. It causes a ripple effect throughout the entire club house. And with Eloy Jimenez coming quick, the White Sox offense could be pretty damn good in their own right. Throw in a big time free agent signing by the wizard known as Rick Hahn, and suddenly the 2019 White Sox look like a team that can do some legitimate damage in the American League.
2018 will more than likely be another lost season record-wise, but they will be just as entertaining as they were this year, if not more. Then we buckle up for what could be an incredible 2019 ride.
