If you are a White Sox fan, you haven’t had much to be excited about this year, as they are on pace to be one of the worst teams in major league history. Despite their record, there have been a few positives, as Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, and other young players have had good starts to their major league careers.
However, 2025 should be a more interesting season for the White Sox, as they should have a brand new roster flushed with some of their top prospects. With a new manager and an overhauled roster, the White Sox games should be significantly more fun to watch as a fan.
Here is how the lineup is likely to look on opening day:
Catcher- Edgar Quero/Korey Lee. Unless the White Sox decide to manipulate the service time of Quero, he should be on the opening day roster, as he has crushed pitching between the two upper levels of the minor leagues. Lee has shown enough to be a more than serviceable backup, as he is one of the best catchers in the league at throwing runners out. This would be one of the best catching duos the White Sox have had in recent memory.
First Base- Andrew Vaughn/Tim Elko. I don’t think Vaughn has done enough for the White Sox to be able to move him for a price they’d be comfortable with, so he’ll be around for at least another year. Elko has been pushing for the majors for some time now, and if he isn’t up in September, he’ll be up in April.
Second Base- Brooks Baldwin. Baldwin has shown more than enough in his short time to get an extended look in 2025. It does help him that there isn’t anyone pushing for his spot, as Jacob Gonzalez has been better this year, but still underwhelming in AA.
Shortstop– Colson Montgomery. The original plan was likely for Montgomery to make his debut at some point this year but he has been underwhelming in AAA. Unless he has a bad Spring Training or the White Sox manipulate his service time, he’ll likely be starting at short on Opening Day.
Third Base– Miguel Vargas/Bryan Ramos. Varags has been bad since the trade, but the White Sox invested heavily in him, so he’ll get the first crack. Ramos will likely get some playing time at third on Vargas’ days off, but he should DH on the others to give him some consistent at-bats.
Left Field- Oscar Colas/Free agent. While there is a good chance that the White Sox keep Andrew Benintendi, I believe they will do everything in their power to trade him in the offseason, freeing up a spot for Oscar Colas or a trade/free agent.
Center Field- Luis Robert Jr. Robert has not helped his trade value this year so barring any insane offers, he will be starting in CF on opening day.
Right Field- Dominic Fletcher. Unless the White Sox make a big splash in the offseason, it looks like Fletcher has a clear path to playing every day in right field. This isn’t the worst thing, as Fletcher has played very well since returning from the IL.
DH- Gavin Sheets. I would say there is a more than likely chance that Gavin Sheets is non-tendered, leaving this spot for Tim Elko and Bryan Ramos. However that might make too much sense, so he’s slotted in there now at this point.
While this team might not win many games, they will have a young, exciting lineup for the first time in a while, making the White Sox at least watchable in 2025.
The ’99 D-Backs hold the record for the best year over year improvement at 35 wins going from 65 to 100 wins. The Sox are on pace to finish 39-123. Even if we improve by a respectable 23 games, we’d still be a 100 loss team. Given this line-up and no additional influx of talent, I’d say that at least 100 losses is a given and so whether they are actually watchable depends on your tolerance for pain and mediocrity.