White Sox: Potential 2019 Lineup Revisions, Updates
Revision to previous future lineup for 2019 article. With more trades made by White Sox, what will future lineup look like in the next two seasons?
A month ago, Southside Showdown posted an article previewing what the lineup of the 2019 Chicago White Sox would look like. The story went down the line naming the players, their positions, their spot in the order as well as a quick and semi-detailed scouting report. The lineup featured a couple of major leaguers but mainly had the highly rated prospects that are or were playing in the Sox farm system.
Since that story was posted, the White Sox have made a couple of stunning moves that have not only changed what the future will look like for the Sox, but also continued to improve what is now highly regarded as the best farm system in the MLB.
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The biggest trade of the season to date was the trade between the White Sox and the Cubs. The White Sox sent 2016 All-Star Jose Quintana to the Cubs in exchange for four prospects, including the Cubs top two prospects OF Eloy Jimenez and RHP Dylan Cease. Next, the Sox made another shocking move trading David Robertson, Todd Frazier, and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees for Yankees’ No. 3 prospect OF Blake Rutherford, along with two other prospects and veteran reliever Tyler Clippard.
The White Sox made another move on Tuesday, sending reliever Anthony Swarzak to Milwaukee for OF Ryan Cordell. If the Sox had any trading pieces left, Sox fans can be sure Hahn can probably sell them before the deadline and he has done just that with his latest deal. Thursday morning, the Sox traded reliever Dan Jennings to the Tampa Bay Rays for 1B Casey Gillaspie, brother of former White Sox 3B Conor Gillaspie.
So with another great haul of prospects, how does the 2019 Chicago White Sox lineup look like now?
Here’s the previous lineup from the first Southside Showdown story:
- SS Tim Anderson
- LF Willy Garcia
- 2B Yoan Moncada
- CF Luis Robert
- RF Avisail Garcia
- 1B Jose Abreu/Gavin Sheets
- DH Matt Davidson
- 3B Jake Burger
- C Zach Collins
Here’s the revised 2019 lineup:
Since the previous story, Moncada has actually made the move up to the big leagues. The trade of Frazier to the Yankees left a vacant spot in the infield and the lineup for Moncada to fill. General Manger Rick Hahn broke the news that Moncada was to be called up after Frazier was traded and since then, Moncada has played in a handful of MLB games. In his eight games, he’s 3-for-27 with a triple, a home run, five RBI, four walks, and nine strikeouts. He’s been a bit underwhelming for the amount of hype that surrounded his arrival, but he has definitely shown some flashes of why he’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball.
Jimenez arrived as the Cubs No. 1 prospect and looks to be like the real deal. Jimenez is currently hitting .400 with 18 hits and nine extra base hits in 45 at-bats in his 13 games with Single-A Advanced Winston-Salem Dash. This past Sunday, Jimenez went 5-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, and the game-tying single in the ninth inning.
The 20-year-old has been said to have incredible power, as shown in the video where he knocked one of the stadium lights in a minor-league home run derby. He has drawn comparisons to a former Cubs prospect Jorge Soler and even Giancarlo Stanton. That speaks volumes to the amount of power this young slugger has. For that, he definitely slides into the cleanup spot, as many scouts have also said he should have no trouble hitting 40 home runs in a season.
Garcia is caught in a very weird place. He was voted onto the All Star team this year and has been one of, if not, the best hitter on the team. At only 26-years-old, Garcia can be one of the leaders of this young rebuilding team. However, Garcia was recently placed on the DL and is set to miss a couple of weeks with a thumb injury that has previously bothered him. Also, the Sox have been selling high on most of their trading assets so if they were to trade Garcia at any point, it would make sense to trade him this year.
The 2017 All-Star would be great to keep if he performs like he has been this season, but the Sox would probably get another great package of prospects if they do decide to sell Garcia. Luckily for the Sox, they have another ace in the hole in the newly arrived outfielder Rutherford. Rutherford is only 20-years-old and has been described as a more athletic David Justice. Scouts have said that the power might not be there but he will be a great hitter nonetheless. He’s currently hitting .276 in Single-A ball with 25 of his 81 total hits going for extra base hits (21 doubles).
If Rutherford does not pan out for the Sox, the Boys in Black have another promising young outfielder in Cordell, 25, who scouts have said is “major-league ready.” Cordell is slashing .284/.349/.506 in Triple-A.
The first base spot was up in the air a few weeks ago, but the Sox have reportedly shut down trade talks involving Abreu. Abreu, 30, has been the best hitter on the ChiSox over the past three years but he signed a one-year deal over the offseason to avoid arbitration.
After acquiring a former teammate of his from Cuba –Moncada – the Sox have decided to hold onto Abreu and have him play more of a leadership role in the clubhouse. In addition to being a great all-around player and a premier slugger, Abreu has been known to be a great clubhouse presence and a great teammate. Abreu even offered to pick up Moncada from the airport when he arrived from Charlotte and he did just that.
There’s no telling how many more years the White Sox will choose to hold onto Abreu, but like right field, the White Sox have two prospects who can potentially take over the first base duties if the Sox want to sell Abreu or move him to being a designated hitter. Sheets was the Sox second round pick of this year’s draft and the newly arrived Gillaspie, 24, will be reportedly sent Triple-A Charlotte and is close to being “major-league ready.”
Next: White Sox Trade Dan Jennings
The order of this lineup is extremely tentative and can move around easily, especially with new young studs arriving more frequently, however the players and positions listed are a strong possibility which is very promising for the Sox. A lineup consisting of these young players (with of the exception of Abreu) all currently listed 26 or younger shows just exactly how prosperous the future of the Sox is going to be.