Chicago White Sox: This is the perfect lineup for the 2021 season

The Chicago White Sox are going to have an elite starting lineup in 2021.

The Chicago White Sox had a fantastic lineup in 2020. It was amazing even though there were some players who didn’t carry their own weight a lot of the time. Players like Nomar Mazara and Edwin Encarnacion weren’t what the White Sox expected and someone like Nicky Delmonico had too many at-bats as well. In 2021, the hope is that they are able to fill those holes with guys who are much better. If that happens, they are going to be one of the best offenses in the league.

Of course, when you have an offense that good, you need to supplement it by playing defense and getting good pitching. The White Sox have gotten that to some degree but it needs to get better. There are the two studs at the top of the rotation in Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel. The hope is that they add one more legit starter to help them.

Beyond those guys, there are a bunch of young pitchers that want to help. Michael Kopech, Dane Dunning, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dylan Cease are all guys who may be given a chance to be in the rotation. A few of them might even find their way into the bullpen.

The defensive side was much improved in 2020 as well after it was a disaster in 2019. That came with development as most of these guys are turning into superstars. If they can hit their stride to their full potential in 2021, they are going to be one of the best teams in the American League. This is what the perfect starting lineup would look like:

2. Yoan Moncada – 3B

2020 was rather tough for Yoan Moncada. He was one of the few White Sox players that actually came down with COVID-19 ahead of the 60 game season. He never really seemed to get his full strength back and it showed at times. He also still managed to be brilliant at other times which makes the 2021 outlook look that much better. He was one of the very best players in all of baseball during the 2019 season so there is a major hope for him.

Despite his struggles offensively during the 2020 season, he was magnificent as a defensive third baseman. He was so good that he was nominated for an American League Gold Glove. This is a guy who can be one of the best third basemen in the league if he is able to get his offense back to where it was in 2019, the White Sox will be cooking.

Of course, there is more power lower in the lineup but batting second is exactly where you want a hitter like Moncada. He is a guy who can bring some power but he will also hit for contact when needed. Whatever the situation calls for, Moncada is willing and capable of doing it. He is perfect to potentially have Tim Anderson on base with some big power coming up behind him.

3. Jose Abreu – 1B

Jose Abreu was one of the best players in all of Major League Baseball for 2020. It showed as he was the recipient of the Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger, and MVP of the American League. Those are all amazing accomplishments that only the best of the best earn. It was amazing for him and he is looking to build on that success as we move into 2021. Abreu has known nothing but personal success with the White Sox so now it is time to see some team success.

Abreu finally got to play in the playoffs for the first time in his career this year. He was just as brilliant then and everyone should be so excited to see what he does as an encore. He will be best suited to be doing that from the three-spot of the 2021 White Sox lineup. With Anderson and Moncada hitting ahead of him, it would be great to see what he can do with a full season of them.

There are some amazing hitters that will be protecting Abeu in the lineup as well. That will surely be able to help him get more pitches to hit and we know what can happen if Abreu is given pitches to hit. He will begin what is the power part of the White Sox lineup.

4. Yasmani Grandal – C

In any given year, Yasmani Grandal can be the best catcher in Major League Baseball. The reason people say that is because of the fact that he can do everything well. He can hit very well and he plays great defensive catcher. His power is as good as any catcher in the league which makes him a good person to have in the middle of your lineup. That makes him a great option to protect Jose Abreu who will be right ahead of him.

Grandal is also elite at drawing walks. You don’t see as many power bats drawing the walks at the rate that he does but it is nice to have. He can get on base which would allow some of the great talent (big power) that hits behind him to take advantage. In a full 162 game season, Grandal has the potential to be one of the White Sox best hitters.

The White Sox won’t have James McCann in 2021. McCann has been a part of the organization for the past two seasons and was brilliant in both of them. He was an All-Star in year one and was even better in year two. He will no longer be there to relieve Grandal at times so there is a good chance that Grandal plays in a lot of baseball games. There are a few options within the organization to be his backup but he will get lots of playing time.

5. Eloy Jimenez – LF

Eloy Jimenez might be going into 2021 with the highest potential at the plate. Of course, Jose Abreu is still there coming off an MVP caliber season and Tim Anderson wasn’t far behind him. With that said, Jimenez has the tools to be just as good, if not better, than these guys. He is a great power hitter that also hits for contact very well. Coming out of the Minor Leagues. he was one of the most polished hitting rookies the team has ever had.

In 2019, it took about a month for Jimenez to click but when he did he really took off. You can see him learning and getting better with every game he has played so far. It will be really exciting to see him play in the middle of this lineup next year.

Jimenez isn’t going to win a Gold Glove or anything like that for his defensive play but he did win himself a Silver Slugger for American League left-field. Going into year three, he should really be able to take yet another step. This guy could really bloom into one of the best players in baseball if he really hits his stride in 2021. The fact that he has already been as good as he has, and hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential, is really telling of how good he is going to be. It will be awesome having him bat fifth in 2021.

6. Luis Robert – CF

Luis Robert’s spot in the batting order is the hardest to predict. He is so good at baseball that you can justify putting him at any spot in the lineup. He can hit for power and contact and is also extremely fast. However, this is only going to be his second MLB season and his first full season so he is best suited for the six-spot. When he reaches his ceiling, he is going to be the best player on the White Sox and probably a bit higher in the order but sixth is good for now.

Robert is amazing in centerfield which adds to his premier player status but his offense is what will really be noted throughout his career. He was brilliant in the first half of the 2020 short season. He did slump down the stretch but was amazing again in the playoffs. His efforts earned him a second-place finish in the rookie of the year voting. He also earned a Gold Glove as a rookie so you know how special he is out there in centerfield.

Robert will be hitting behind guys like Jimenez, Grandal, and Abreu which should bode well for him. It is going to be interesting to see how he comes out in year two but other teams in the American League are probably less excited. Rober hitting sixth may not last very long, but it is the perfect spot for him going into 2021.

7. Michael Brantley – DH

Michael Brantley is not currently a member of the Chicago White Sox. However, if he were batting seventh for them in 2021, it would be a perfect batting order. He is currently looking for a contract with a Major League team and the White Sox would be a perfect fit. At first, before the White Sox made any moves, it was thought that if the White Sox landed him he would be their new right fielder. Well, now it sounds like if they landed him, he would be their new designated hitter.

The designated hitter spot has been an issue for the White Sox for a long time now. They signed Edwin Encarnacion last winter but things didn’t work out with him. He didn’t hit as well as he had his entire career so the White Sox let him go. They were well off splitting James McCann and Yasmani Grandal between the DH and catching roles but McCann is most likely gone. Having Branley come in would be awesome.

He was a very good player for the Houston Astros over the past two seasons. Before that, he spent 10 years with the Cleveland Indians. He knows the AL Central well and would fit right in on the White Sox. His .300/.364/.476 with an OPS of .840 was amazing in 2020. Before that COVID-19 shortened season, Brantley was an All-Star in three straight years. If they can add him now, he would be perfect in the seven-hole.

8. Adam Eaton – RF

The Chicago White Sox and Adam Eaton are having a strange reunion. They traded him to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning a few years ago. He has gone on and won the World Series with the Nationals and the White Sox have themselves an ace now. They also traded Dunning to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Lance Lynn who will be a phenomenal pitcher for them in 2021.

Eaton is going to bring some experience with him that he would not have had otherwise had they never traded him. He is going to bring that experience of a deep playoff run to this young White Sox team. A lot of people don’t really like the signing but he is an upgrade over everything they’ve had playing that position in the past. He didn’t have a good year in 2020 but was awesome for them in 2019 when they won the World Series.

He is going to be the full-time right-fielder so the White Sox have that locked in for the time being. An outfield of Jimenez, Robert, and Eaton should be good enough defensively and very good offensively. If Eaton has a repeat of his awful 2020 season, the White Sox have the option to let him go after a year. A lot of people think he will be a leadoff hitter like he was in his first White Sox stint but that likely isn’t going to happen. The perfect spot for him on this team is the eight spot.

9. Nick Madrigal – 2B

The Chicago White Sox are in a good spot with their lineup if a hitter like Nick Madrigal is batting ninth. He made his Major League debut in 2020 and was awesome. He is one of the most unique hitters in the history of the White Sox as he is simply is just good at contact hitting. He slashed .340/.376/.369 in his first season. For a player with an average as good as Madrigal had, the rest of the slash line doesn’t really match.

He has little to no power in his game and likely never will. He will never hit a crazy amount of home runs but you can always count on him to get on base with a good amount of regularity. The good part about this is that if he does bat ninth in this perfect lineup, Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, and Yoan Moncada are great players to be protecting him.

If Madrigal is able to get on base the way we know he can, he should be able to score a lot of runs with those guys hitting behind him. Late in the game, the number nine hitter coming up might be annoying to some teams but the White Sox won’t mind it at all.

The guys at the top of the order will love having a guy like Madrigal hitting down there. That means they will have a lot of great opportunities to cash in. It is a great lineup constructed as it is here. They are going to be such a great team in 2021 and this lineup is going to put up a lot of runs. If the lineup card was as perfect as it is in this post, people won’t do much complaining about the way Tony La Russa does it.