2018 season figures to be last year of rebuilding efforts as White Sox will closer to contention after the end of this season. Get ready for more excitement.
Another baseball season is upon us and this one might be very special. The White Sox are embarking on a season that will be remembered as one of two things: Either the year in which the White Sox finally arrive or the year that gives the league a preview of what’s to come. It’ll probably be the latter. But the beauty of a new baseball season is the uncertainty and the possibility of just about anything.
The 2018 White Sox season will be unlike both last year and 2019. Last season was full of speculation and patience but the prospects were ultimately not ready to show their maximum potential in the big leagues. They were rookies without a full season on the backs of their baseball card but that’s going to change now.
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Next season, the team will be much closer to contending. The prospects the Sox bring up this year will be looked at more as reinforcements rather than assets.
And as far as this season goes, it could be the most exciting year of the entire rebuild before things get interesting. The prospects can turn into studs, the minor leaguers into major leaguers, and the White Sox into contenders. All could happen this very season.
But regardless of how everything turns out for all parties involved in this entire, ambitious rebuild; the learning, the development, and the growth is the experience we all get to collectively watch unfold this season. And yes, development and growth don’t sound flashy nor is it easy to spot on a daily basis. But it’s essential to the process and could potentially be a major factor if, in fact, the Sox plan to surprise.
If the rebuild does go according to the plan and the Sox are contending for a championship in a few years, that would without a doubt be the best part of the process. But that’s going to come with something more than excitement.
As players like Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez continue to improve and showcase their talents throughout the early parts of their careers, if and when they are ready to put the White Sox in a position to contend, most people will begin to expect success and begin to expect to win on the Southside.
2018 might be one of the last seasons the White Sox can really focus on developing and still play with a bit of freedom and still play for fun without being hampered by drastic expectations of winning the whole enchilada so soon. Especially because most of these young players and prospects already face heavy individual expectations.
Enjoy this season because it might not be as stressful and the next few to come. This season can catch many people by surprise, but even if the Sox stick to the plan and wait for 2019 and 2020 to be on the top side of the standings, the team is chalked full of exciting young players ready to be the next faces of the American League.
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Along with another pair of thrilling prospects, the White Sox are going to be fun to watch because of their youth and hopefully because their talents will be on display.