White Sox: An early look at the 2020 starting rotation options

The Chicago White Sox added in some extra help to their rotation and it is looking like a formidable group going into 2020.

The Chicago White Sox have made a flurry of moves this offseason. They have added a lot of talent across the entire baseball diamond. You can argue that they have an average or above-average player at every position which is something that not every team in the league can say. It is something that they haven’t been able to say in a long time either. It is an exciting time to be a White Sox fan for sure.

The biggest key to winning in Major League Baseball is pitching. The White Sox have used some free agency money to address that need. There have been some additions to both the starting rotation and the bullpen. The focus is going to be the starting pitching here because the bullpen was okay in 2019. Yes, it still needs a few more arms but if their rotation hits its stride then they will win some more baseball games. They have the horses on offense to score a lot of runs so if their pitching supplements that, 2020 will be a really good year.

The rotation now has more than five options throughout the 2020 season. There are some players who had some injuries that they had to deal with over the 2019 season so the key for them will be to make sure they come back completely healthy. There is a good mix of youth and veteran experience here as well. These are the pitchers that the White Sox will have available for their starting rotation staff in 2020:

Lucas Giolito is likely going to be the opening day starter. He took a major step forward for the White Sox in 2019. He went from one of the very worst pitchers in all of baseball to one of the best. He was so good that he came in 6th place in the vote for the American League Cy Young Award. It was a major step in Giolito’s career so if he can replicate that in 2019 it would be amazing.

He is going to likely be the ace of the staff. This is going to be a much-improved pitching rotation for the White Sox in 2020. They haven’t had a rotation that was five arms deep since 2020 and that could absolutely be the case this year. This is significant for Giolito because although he is the ace, he won’t be fully relied on to be the only good pitcher. He is going to lead the staff but he is much better protected than he has been in his career.

It is exciting to think about what Giolito can follow 2019 up with during the 2020 season. It has been fun watching him develop. It wasn’t easy but he has arrived in full force now. He is the classic case of a young pitcher with all of the talents in the world struggling before making it big. This is going to be a big year for Giolito on the mound. It would be awesome to see him lead this team to the playoffs.

One of the biggest free-agent splashes the White Sox have made in recent memory was bringing in Dallas Keuchel to pitch for them. He is for sure going to be a big part of this rotation going forward. The bottom end of the rotation might need some figuring out but the top is certainly set. Keuchel should slot right in there at the top right behind Lucas Giolito.

Keuchel has had a tremendous career. It is now controversial but he was a member of the 2017 Houston Astros World Series team. He was also a Cy Young award winner in 2015 so there is no doubt that this guy brings some experience to this young group. He can bring some knowledge on how to be successful in a squad that doesn’t have that much experience in meaningful games.

You shouldn’t expect Keuchel to bring that Cy Young level of play to the White Sox because that might not be realistic. What you can expect, is a great pitcher who is a serious upgrade over what they have had over the last few seasons. This is going to be a good staff and Keuchel is going to be right in the middle of it.

The White Sox had a major trade that changed the route of their franchise for a long time. They were in a good spot anyway but trading Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs for Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease has propelled their rebuild to new heights. We all know about the power and hitting ability that Jimenez brings to the table but now it is time for Dylan Cease to shine. He made his first career start during the 2019 season.

He was up and down during his time with the White Sox last year but he showed signs of brilliance. He always seemed to be in trouble early but then would settle in nicely. He could be a case like Giolito where one day he just figures it out. He was also not straight-up bad like Giolito was in his first year so that could also be a great sign. His development is very important to this team going forward.

He is for sure going to be a part of the rotation full time if healthy in 2020. He has an extremely high ceiling as a former top pitching prospect. If he does turn the corner in 2020 then this is a very dangerous rotation. He has the stuff but it is just a matter of putting it together. Cease has as high of a ceiling as any pitcher in the organization so it would be nice to see him reach that potential.

The White Sox might not have a more electric starter than Michael Kopech. When he made his first career MLB start at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2018, it felt like a playoff game. The electricity in the air was like nothing that the White Sox fans have had there in many years. He can hit triple-digits which makes things that much more fun to watch.

The not so fun part was the fact that he had Tommy John Surgery which ended his 2018 season and all of his 2019 season. It was a horrible thing for White Sox fans to swallow but it was what it was. He spent the entire 2019 season recovering before he started throwing again. Now, he is looking to make a strong comeback for the White Sox in 2020.

Spring training will be the test on whether or not he is ready to make a return to the MLB right away. He might have to spend some time in AAA Charlotte before coming back to shake off the rust. Either way, he is going to make some starts for the White Sox in 2020 at some point. The hope is that his production is as electric as his stuff. The movement he able to get on a fastball is unlike most people in the world. If he is able to come in and make an impact, it would be extremely good for this team’s chances.

One of the most intriguing players in the White Sox organization is Carlos Rodon. He is one of the few players left over from before the team decided to rebuild. He was at one point a very solid third arm behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. Those two were gone for a while and at one point Rodon was the most tenured good starter on the staff. He was the starter on Opening Day in 2019 which tells a lot about what they thought of him.

The only problem with Rodon is his injury history. He, like Kopech, is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The difference is that he had it in the middle of last season. He is not going to be ready for the start of this 2020 season in all likelihood but he could be an option at some point in 2020. It would be nice to see him get back to a really good level and contribute to this team’s success.

He has been good with this team during a not so fun era. It would also be fun to see him be able to see this rebuild through. He has only been with bad White Sox teams despite being a good player. He deserves the chance to be pitching in big meaningful games. Rodon might end up being a trade piece as well but he is certainly an option for this rotation at some point as well.

The Chicago White Sox could use Reynaldo Lopez in a multitude of different ways. He could be a starting pitcher but he could also end up being a very good reliever. He came over to the White Sox with Giolito in the Adam Eaton trade. He was probably the best White Sox pitcher in 2018 but he sort of struggled in 2019. There isn’t much room for error on this team right now as it continues to add and get better. Lopez needs to show something right away this year or he will be in the bullpen.

We have seen him be very good in the past so it would be nice to see this guy come in and be good again. This is a starting lineup that should be able to give their starters plenty of run support so maybe that will help him. He has never played for a White Sox team that was confident in its ability to score runs so hopefully, this year is different for him.

He will certainly get his opportunity at the beginning of the season if Rodon and Kopech need a little bit more time recovering or in the minors. That will be his opportunity to take a stranglehold on a rotation spot. It wouldn’t be all bad if he comes in and shows he would be a better reliever either. Having a good bullpen is important to winning baseball teams. Lopez has always been good his first time through the opponent’s order so maybe the bullpen could be good for him.

Either way, there are seven options for the White Sox to throw out there at any given time. That is way more quality options than this team has had in a really long time. It is sort of underrated how good they can be because of how dangerous their starting lineup is. Everyone talks about how many runs they’re going to be able to produce but the pitching staff could end up being very good as well.