Chicago White Sox: Three bounce back candidates for 2020
The Chicago White Sox are expected to be improved. They could be even better if these three players have bounce-back seasons.
The Chicago White Sox did take a major step in 2019. A lot of players improved immensely over their 2018 seasons, including guys like Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson, and Lucas Giolito. It is good to see guys come out and improve over one offseason, especially when they were pretty bad the year before. The White Sox are clearly a team that gives their guys the tools to be able to do that right now.
Now, there has to be some hope that they are able to do it again with some other guys. Not everyone took a step forward in 2019. Some guys even took a step back a little bit. This is a great opportunity for guys to improve after having below-average years last year. This team is going to be a lot better around them so there is way less pressure on certain individuals. There is more pressure on the team as a whole but some of the guys can have some weight lifted off of their shoulders.
It is always very important for guys who have off years to come back strong the next season. If everyone who didn’t live up to the hype in 2019 were to come in and be awesome in 2020, that would go a long way in this team taking that next step. They are already expected to do so, so that might mean they are even better than people thought. There is a good window opening up for this team so everyone who wants to be a part of it needs to prove themselves quickly. These three guys are the three biggest bounce-back candidates:
128. . SP. Chicago White Sox. Reynaldo Lopez. 1. player
Reynaldo Lopez was probably the best pitcher on the White Sox staff in 2018. He took a pretty big step that season and looked like he was a lock to be on this staff for a long time. Then in 209, he struggled mightily. It looked like he might be the ace of the staff going into the season before Giolito really elevated into an elite pitcher. Lopez was okay the first time through the order, but then he struggled as guys started to figure him out.
If that is going to be the case with Lopez, he might be better served for the bullpen. The White Sox would probably be okay with him become a top-quality bullpen option, but he would probably prefer to be a big-time starter. 2020 is his chance to prove he can do that. He is a good pitcher that just needs to get back to what made him successful in 2018. The team wasn’t very good so he didn’t get the support he needed, but there should be plenty of that in 2020.
Lopez is a bounce-back candidate because of what we have seen him do in the past. It is not like he is an unknown commodity as he has been successful before. If he could be a good bottom of the rotation pitcher for the Sox, their staff will look even nicer. There are a lot of options for this staff this year, so he is going to need to be on top of his game to stick.
Nomar Mazara. 2. player. 128. . OF. Chicago White Sox
Nomar Mazara was acquired this offseason by the Chicago White Sox during the 2019 Winter Meetings. He is going to likely be the guy who is the opening day starting right fielder. Barring some sort of trade for a better play or an injury, the job is his to lose. He has had okay numbers throughout his career with the Texas Rangers, but there seems to be a lot of people who believe he hasn’t lived up to his potential yet.
He is only 24 years old so it is pretty clear that he has plenty of room to grow. There is plenty of opportunity for him here in Chicago. They don’t have a sure-fire right fielder right now so Mazara is their guy. It is possible that they platoon him with someone or make a move at some point this season but for now, they will see if he can have a bounce-back season.
He clearly has some potential if you look at his numbers. He slashed .268/.318/.469 last season with Texas. He had 19 home runs and 66 RBIs along with 69 runs scored. In his previous three years before last, he had 20 home runs on the dot all three times. So his totals in that department go 20, 20, 20, 19. If he can give the White Sox 20 home runs and perhaps even improve on those totals, this will be a smart move for the White Sox.
3. player. 128. . RP. Chicago White Sox. Kelvin Herrera
The White Sox have the potential to have a really good bullpen in 2020. It wasn’t half bad in 2019 considering they were a team that was under .500. They obviously could be a little better but they are in good shape as they try to turn the tables this season. With players like Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer, Alex Colome, and Steve Cishek in place, they are in a good position to close out most ballgames that they have a lead going into the bullpen.
One reliever that could use a bounce-back season is Kelvin Herrera. He did not have a good year last year in the Sox bullpen. He was credited with a record of 3-3 as a reliever, but he had a 6.14 ERA along with a .1617 WHIP in 51.1 innings pitched. He was given one save on the season. He was bad enough to have a negative war at -0.4. He needs to have a bounce-back season in order to stick with this team for a while.
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Herrera playing well would be a perfect addition to a bullpen loaded with some significant names. The thing is about all of these bounce-back candidates, is that there is no guarantee that they will. We hope they will as fans, but part of what makes a good team is being able to handle when guys don’t perform to expectations. The White Sox are building that. This is a big year for these three guys, or other players will pass them bye.