Chicago White Sox: Four players that could breakout in 2020

1. Michael Kopech

The Chicago White Sox are very excited to see Michael Kopech return from Tommy John surgery in 2020 and with good reason.

During his 2018 season spent at Triple-A Charlotte, Kopech had a 12.1 K/9 rate and with a fastball that sometimes exceeds 100 MPH, there’s no reason that strikeout rate can’t be maintained at the major league level.

That being said, his control issues are very concerning as his walk rate has risen as high as 5.9 BB/9 in his minor league career.

As the second piece acquired with Yoan Moncada in the Chris Sale trade, Kopech has some lofty expectations to live up to.

Kopech has some experience at the major league level as he made four starts in 2018, although he didn’t fare particularly well as he allowed eight runs in 14 1/3 innings.

A sample size as small as that at the big league level isn’t something to worry about at this stage, but it means he’s likely not a finished product quite yet.

If Kopech could somehow even channel the 3.70 ERA he had at Triple-A in 2019, though, he’d prove to already be a mid-rotation starter for the team behind Lucas Giolito and hopefully Zack Wheeler, if they do end up signing him.

The likelihood is that a breakout for Kopech won’t come right away as pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery often deal with fatigue and control issues initially.

Once he gets past both of those issues, though, the sky is the limit for Kopech.

2. Luis Robert

So, in this case, the expectations have to be tempered initially as Luis Robert has not played a single game at the major league level yet.

Nonetheless, the success of this team is highly tied to the ability of Robert to be at least an average player in 2020 once he gets called up.

There are many reasons to be excited about Robert who split the 2019 season between three minor league affiliates, with no pitchers being able to contain him.

The 22-year-old hit .328/.376/.624 with 32 homers, 92 RBI, and 36 stolen bases in 122 games.

Robert could be among the very rare true five-tool players in the game and that is a talent that the future of this franchise is banking on to lead this team into the future.

In all likelihood, Robert will start the season at Triple-A Charlotte for the sake of service-time manipulation. He likely won’t be in the minors by the start of May, though.

Once he’s called up, the White Sox will be hoping that Robert bursts onto the scene like Ronald Acuna Jr. did in 2018 when he had a .917 OPS on his way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

For the 2020 season to be considered a breakout season for Robert, he would only have to prove to be an above-average everyday center fielder initially.

3. Nick Madrigal

This is a second case in which a breakout player could be someone who hasn’t played a single game at the major league level.

While Nick Madrigal might not get the starting second base job right out of Spring Training, there is certainly pressure on him to seize the position in very short order.

With the White Sox waiving Gold Glove-winning second baseman Yolmer Sanchez this week, the team appears committed to allowing Madrigal to play second base for the heavy majority of the 2020 season.

The 22-year-old infielder split the 2019 season across three levels and was very impressive, hitting .311/.377/.414 with four homers, 55 RBI, and 35 stolen bases.

Madrigal doesn’t have even close to the same amount of raw power Robert has, but the second baseman struck out a mere 3.0% of the time with only 16 strikeouts in 532 plate appearances.

That is an impressive showing of bat-to-ball skills that is unheard of in today’s game focused on launch angle which has led to an increase in strikeouts.

While the White Sox are likely going to sign a second baseman just in case Madrigal fails, they likely won’t be adding someone that will be expected to start many games throughout the season.

As a result, Nick Madrigal needs to be capable of starting regularly at second base and given his performance in the minors last season, there’s no reason to think that he can’t at least be an average second baseman in 2020.

4. Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease was one of the team’s top pitching prospects entering the 2019 season, but he had a so-so minor league season through his first 15 starts.

The 23-year-old had a 4.48 ERA and 1.566 WHIP to go along with 9.6 K/9 as compared to 4.2 BB/9 in 68 1/3 innings.

However, with the White Sox nowhere near contention and their starting rotation depleted at the major league level, the team decided to call up Cease to take a rotation spot down the stretch.

In 14 starts for the south side, Cease simply didn’t impress as he registered a 5.79 ERA, 5.19 FIP, and 1.548 WHIP while averaging 10.0 K/9 as compared to 4.3 BB/9.

On a positive note, the right-hander finished his rookie season strong in which he had a 3.00 ERA and a .211 average against him during the month of September (four starts).

With that strong finish, the hope is that Cease will prove he belongs at the major league level in 2020 and that he will pitch closer to his 2018 minor league numbers in which he had a 2.40 ERA and 1.065 WHIP.

As of right now, the team only has Lucas Giolito established at the top of the rotation and in order to be successful, the team will need to hope that at least a couple of their other pitching options can prove they belong. Dylan Cease could be one of those arms.