White Sox: 2018 predictions from the Southside Showdown writers
The White Sox have a collection of outstanding players who could have break-out or comeback seasons.
Many of the players could become household names outside of Chicago if they do what they are expected to do in 2018. When I asked who will be the White Sox MVP in 2018, these were the answers:
- Etheria: Abreu
- Roger: Abreu
- Joe: Anderson
- Darrell: Anderson
- Brian: Abreu
- Ruben: Abreu or Moncada
- Nicole: Moncada
- Jeff: Davidson
- Me: Lopez
Again, Darrell gave a quotable explanation for his choice of Anderson as the team MVP. He said:
"“White Sox MVP in 2018 will be Tim Anderson. Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada will each have big years, but Anderson will serve as a Scott Podsednik-esque spark plug, powering the offense.”"
How are we doing so far?
I was the only writer who did not look to the offense for the team MVP. I picked Lopez to have an outstanding season and earn the title of “Ace” for 2018. While teams need to score runs to win, they also need to have pitchers they can always rely on – Lopez could be that guy.
Twelve games in, Lopez has an ERA of 0.69, which is the best in the rotation. Davidson has five home runs, 10 RBIs, and a 1.007 OPS. Abreu is hitting .250/.333/.479 with three home runs. And, Moncada is off to a slow start hitting .184/.298/.306 with one home run. Anderson is hitting .267/.327/.489 with three home runs.