Chicago White Sox: Four players that could breakout in 2020

The Chicago White Sox are going to be among the most active teams in baseball this offseason. But, in order to truly contend, the team will need to see some of their young players breakout in 2020. 

In 2019, White Sox fans got to see some of their best young talent on full display with Eloy Jimenez breaking camp with the club on his way to a 30-homer season.

Meanwhile, the team’s three best players were Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada, and Tim Anderson, all of which had not previously shown even close to as much success in the past.

While Yasmani Grandal and any other addition the team makes this offseason will help, the only way for the White Sox to contend in 2020 is if the players mentioned previously continue to play near or at the same level they did in 2019 and some more players breakout.

This is not giving the team a pass on spending money this offseason because they definitely need to add pieces for this team to succeed.

It is merely explaining that they can’t fix all of their problems through one offseason’s work and in order to become the team they want to be in 2020, they need some of their players to live up to previously held expectations.

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.

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.