Yoan Moncada in Pittsburgh | Photo taken by me | Sony A7III | Tamron 70-300

The White Sox closed out a disappointing road trip after losing 3-1 on Wednesday. Despite starting the season 5-8, we have seen some good developments that can bode well for the future. Here are some positive takeaways from the White Sox season so far.

The White Sox are more conservative when treating injuries

We are only two weeks into the season and the Sox are already treating injuries to Jimenez, Moncada, and Anderson. The White Sox have opted to rest these players completely and not allow them to play banged up. Last season, we saw some terrible injury management – from Yasmani Grandal playing on two bad knees, to Luis Robert Jr. swinging with one hand. The flat offensive production the last couple games have been proof of what the Sox would be if any of these players are lost for any extended period of time. 

Tim Anderson | Photo taken by me | Sony A7III | Tamron 70-300mm

The Sox have a very tough schedule in April, and they are probably going to be without Anderson for the rest of the month. Moncada and Jimenez are returning this weekend, and it is crucial they stay on the field to try and make up for Anderson’s lost production. While it may be strange that injury management is a positive takeaway, it is nice knowing that Yoan and Eloy are going to be at 100% coming back from injuries rather than trying to play hurt. The best we can hope is that these early injuries are just a stretch of terrible luck and not a continued trend from 2022.

The Rotation will be good despite tough outings

Michael Kopech, Lance Lynn, and Lucas Giolito all got completely rocked in previous outings but each of them responded well in the following outings. 

Michael Kopech bounced back in a big way in Pittsburgh by going six innings and giving up only one run after clearly tipping his pitches during the home opener. Talent-wise, Kopech is just about everything you can ask for in a starter. He has some of the nastiest stuff in the game and a concise, repeatable delivery to the plate. Kopech had one of the most valuable fastballs in the league last year, and this year he’s still topping the charts in fastball spin rate according to Baseball Savant. But can he stay healthy? Kopech has had trouble staying on the field throughout his career, but he mentioned in the preseason that he’s tired of being unavailable and that he is striving to throw 180 innings this season. This number seems high, but even if he threw 160 innings it would greatly help the Sox. 

Lucas Giolito is as cerebral a player as anybody on the White Sox. He has reinvented himself multiple times both physically and pitch mix-wise to try and get to the best form of himself. This attention to detail transfers to the game, but oftentimes he does not carry his best stuff to act on his strategy against hitters. With Lucas, there is a fine line between succeeding or failing, and it usually has to do with a 1-2 mph difference on his fastball. Oftentimes, Giolito comes out flat and his fastball is simply too straight to be sitting at 91-92.  In his last start, Giolito was sitting 94 with his fastball which allowed hitters to whiff badly against his wicked change-up. Hopefully his performance in Minnesota was the product of him feeling stronger due to his 20 pound weight loss transformation over the offseason, and he has rediscovered his former self. 

Lance Lynn had a nice comeback start against Minnesota as well, but there are scary peripherals against his 4-seam fastball and cutter which are his most used pitches. Hitters are currently torching his 4-seamer to the tune of a .368 batting average and his cutter is not faring much better. Lynn’s fastballs are far more effective when he is painting the corners, but so far Lynn has struggled with command, giving up seven walks through three starts. Lynn relies on mixing up hitters with his fastball variations, so it is paramount that Lynn hits his spots. Lynn is a crafty veteran with an extensive resume, so he may change up his pitch sequencing and go more often to his new breaking pitches or his sinker which has been his most effective fastball variation.

Mike Clevinger | Photo taken by me | Sony A7III | Tamron 70-300mm

Luckily, this staff is anchored by early Cy Young favorite Dylan Cease, and his stuff looks straight up unhittable even when he’s in the strike zone. Clevinger has also been steady in the early going. So despite some tough outings early on, there are reasons to be optimistic about the rotation. 

Luis Robert Jr. can live up to his potential

Luis Robert Jr. | Photo taken by me | Sony A7III | Tamron 70-300mm

Luis Robert Jr. has been on an absolute tear. Robert Jr. currently has a 1.038 OPS and has put up a defensive clinic in center field. Even if it has been a small sample size of twelve games, it has been eye-opening to see his potential be fully realized.

Robert Jr. has always been a mega talented player, but he has had stretches in his career where he looks lost at the plate. This year, instead of relying on just his ability, Robert Jr. is coming to the plate with a gameplan. Friday at Pittsburgh, Robert Jr. took a 70 MPH pitch thrown to the outside corner from Rich Hill over the right field wall. Robert identified this as a very hittable pitch, but he still chose to wait back on it and drive it the other way. Most of the time though, he looks to pull the ball. This approach bodes well for Robert Jr. as he consistently ranks in the top 3 percent in the league in max exit velocity. He even has a couple infield hits beating out plays at first base with his lightning speed when he tops off low and away breaking balls. When all his tools are clicking, Robert Jr. is far and away the best player on the diamond.

Robert Jr. will have to stay healthy if he wants to continue this pace he’s on. Contrary to many Sox players, most of Robert Jr’s injuries have not been a result of wear and tear but rather specific instances that are often contact-related. While Robert Jr. has to prove that he can avoid these kinds of injuries, I would not label him as injury prone as others on the team who have nagging injuries that seem to constantly hamper them.

Team celebrating | Photo taken by me | Sony A7III | Tamron 70-300mm

Opening the season 5-8 is not what we all had in mind. This has been a tough start for the White Sox, but it is simply too early to consider this a lost season this early on. Hopefully these positive takeaways bode well for the rest of the season. That said, we have seen plenty negative from the White Sox too, and they will need to start playing better to prove to fans this will not just be a repeat of 2022.