White Sox: Five Potential 2019 Team Most Valuable Player

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CHICAGO, IL – MAY 20: Reynaldo Lopez #40 of the Chicago White Sox reacts to a strike out during the eighth inning of a game against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 20, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Next likely: Reynaldo López

When he was dealt from the Washington Nationals in 2016, many focused more on Lucas Giolito and sort of overlooked Reynaldo López.

López had experience in the majors pitching 44 innings with the Nationals in 2016, but when he was traded, he started his time with the White Sox at Triple-A Charlotte. There he posted a 3.79 ERA in 121 innings pitched.

López made his White Sox debut in July of 2017 year and pitched 47 innings. His 2018 was a memorable one as he was arguably the team’s best pitcher. In 188 innings, he posted a 3.96 ERA while striking out 151. He started 32 games.

Hot off his solid 2018, his 2019 seems likely to be his breakout year and he could potentially be the team’s best player.

Next likely: Carlos Rodón

When drafted, many were not familiar with the name Carlos Rodón. But as he first touched a baseball apart of the organization, everyone knew his name.

He started his first year with the organization in the Arizona Rookie league. He spent two games there as he was promoted to Single-A Winston-Salem. He pitched only 9.2 innings with an ERA of 1.86 then was promoted and passed Double-A to go to Triple-A. With the Charlotte Knights, Rodón pitched 12 innings with an ERA of 3.00 and 18 strikeouts.

His best year came in 2016 when he pitched the most amount of innings in his four-season-career, 165. He posted a 4.04 ERA while striking out 168 and walking only 54.

Rodón was not able to follow his fantastic sophomore year up as he was only started 12 games in 2017. He missed the first three months of the season recovering from bursitis. He ran into tough luck as he did not start his 2018 season on time as well.

Despite all of this, Rodón is as sharp as he can be. His slider, after learning from Chris Sale in his rookie year, is deadly. He took notes from Jose Quintana’s put-away pitch: the high fastball. His changeup is his own trademark. A little help from arguably the league’s best pitching coach does not hurt. Once he fully learns how to put all of his pieces together, he can be the ace the team needs him to be.

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