Chicago White Sox: Yoan Moncada is the best player in Chicago
The Chicago White Sox are very lucky to have the best player in Chicago right now. Yoan Moncada bloomed into an elite superstar in 2019.
The Chicago White Sox saw a lot of high-ceiling players start to scratch the surface of those ceilings in 2019. Yoan Moncada was one of those players. He had the third-best batting average in the American League which also meant he was a top-ten hitter in all of baseball. He also made the switch from a below-average second baseman to a very good third baseman defensively. It was a great year for Moncada and he made it so exciting to think about what might be next.
Moncada is lucky to be surrounded by some great players in the organization. Tim Anderson won the MLB batting title, Eloy Jimenez had an elite rookie year, and Jose Abreu won the RBI title in the American League. Then there is a legit five-tool player on the way in Luis Robert. We don’t know yet how good Robert is going to be when he reaches the MLB but as of right now, Moncada is the best player on the team.
On the other side of town is another pretty good team. The Chicago Cubs not even close to what they were in 2016 but there is still some talent. They lack a true leadoff man, a bullpen, and David Ross has never made a single decision as a manager in a game that counts yet. With all that, they have some awesome players like Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Willson Contreras.
As good as all of those players mentioned on both teams are, Moncada is the best of the bunch. When the White Sox acquired him in the trade with the Boston Red Sox for Chris Sale, he was the number one prospect in all of baseball for a reason. Chris Sale was a Hall of Fame talent in his prime when they traded him so Moncada reaching his ceiling was very important in terms of it being a good trade for the White Sox.
According to WAR on Fangraphs, Moncada was the best player in Chicago in 2019. He is very young so it is expected that he is only going to get better. We know how good Javier Baez and Kris Bryant can be as they have both had top-two finishes in MVP races before but Moncada is right there now. Yoan Moncada’s WAR in 2019 was 5.7 which led all Chicago baseball players. Lucas Giolito, who was an All-Star pitcher, was next amongst the two teams with a 5.1 WAR.
light. Hot. Remembering how great Bobby Jenks was for the Chicago White Sox in 2005
The highest Cubs player on the list was Bryant with a 4.8 WAR. Javier Baez wasn’t far behind him with a 4.4 WAR. Both of those guys are superstars but if 2019 was a sign, Moncada is right there and perhaps a bit better. Now, those Cubs stars have strung together a few elite years together in a row now so Moncada needs to do the same. If 2019 was any indication of the future, he is clearly going to maintain that title of the best baseball player playing for a Chicago team.