White Sox: 5 Bold Predictions for 2019 Season

Tim Anderson Will Have Breakout Season

In 2018, Tim Anderson had perhaps his greatest season of development defensively with the Sox. After committing a league-high in errors during the 2017 season, Anderson cut down his mistakes at shortstop and even finished the 2018 season as a member of the 20/20 club. He finished with a career-high 20 home runs and 26 stolen bases.

Going into this season, Anderson has already come up with the slogan of the year for the Sox and could take another big step forward in 2019. Anderson might never walk a lot but he could become better at decreasing his strikeouts as he did last season when compared to his 2017 season.

Anderson could be even better this season than he was in 2018. He might have finished 2018 with career-lows in batting average at .240 and slugging percentage at .406, but the progress he made defensively turned him into a much more valuable player for the Sox. If he’s able to hit breaking balls with more authority than he has in the past (subscription required), expect 2019 to be a breakout year for the 2013 first-round draft pick.

In fact, another bold prediction is 2019 will indeed be a breakout season for Anderson. He has the tools to be an above-average player for the Sox and was third on the team last season with a 2.5 WAR. With three major league seasons under his belt, 2019 will be the year that Anderson becomes a major contributor for the Sox.