Chicago White Sox: Five rookies who made heads turn in 2020

Dane Dunning was great in his short tenure with the Chicago White Sox.

Dane Dunning was a really nice “third piece” in the Adam Eaton trade. He came over with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in a trade that is going to impact the White Sox for the next decade or more. Dunning had Tommy John in 2019 and that pushed off his MLB impact but 2020 was good to him. He had a great rookie campaign with the White Sox in the year that he made his MLB debut.

He had a record of 2-0 in seven starts. The reason he didn’t have that many decisions is that he was on a short leash oftentimes. He is simply a young pitcher who throws strikes and does what is necessary for his team to win games. He had an ERA of 3.97 and a WHIP of 1.118. Those aren’t superstar numbers by any means but they are great for a pitcher coming off that surgery making his MLB debut in the middle of a pandemic.

Of course, Dane Dunning is no longer a member of the Chicago White Sox. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for their ace, Lance Lynn. Dunning had a great year in 2020 so he deserves to be on any list of great White Sox 2020 rookies but adding Lynn was a brilliant move. Dunning will be great for the Texas Rangers but they have more time to be patient than the White Sox do at this point. Hopefully, both teams get what they need from this trade going forward.