White Sox: An early 26 man Opening Day 2021 roster prediction

The Chicago White Sox are going into this season with lofty expectations. It is going to be a fun group to watch because of all the great personalities that are there. In addition to some fun personalities is some elite baseball talent. There is a good mix of every skill that is needed for a team to win the World Series. They have a long way to go before that is something to worry about but it is a realistic expectation for this team.

The Chicago White Sox has a roster that is loaded with talent and is ready to win.

When you start to think about how good this team can be, you have to wonder if the leadership is there to get them there. Well, it seems like the support for Tony La Russa as the new manager grows every day. It was a questionable hire for a lot of reasons and La Russa has acknowledged all of those questions as valid reasons to be concerned. Hopefully, La Russa has what it takes to do good things for this team and the community.

Another thing that seems to be a positive surrounding the team is the Ethan Katz hires. We have heard so many stories about how good he was at turning pitchers around and that seems to be working in Chicago as well. Of course, we haven’t seen anything on the field yet but a lot of people are excited about what they are seeing from Katz and some of his projects.

If all of these things come together outside the lines, then the roster is good enough to go far in the playoffs. There are going to be some cuts or additions when it comes to the bottom of the roster but there might be some players who are in or out based on injury. This is an early look at what the roster might look like on Opening Day:

Catchers

• Yasmani Grandal
• Zack Collins

The Chicago White Sox had a mostly good offseason. The only thing they took a hit on was their backup catcher position. They had the best duo in the league for the 2020 season when they had Yasmani Grandal and James McCann. Grandal is a top-three catcher every year and has even been the best catcher on many occasions. McCann was consistently a top-ten guy so it was quite a nice duo to have as the backstop. When one wasn’t playing, the other would be the designated hitter. It was quite a luxury for one year.

Unfortunately, they won’t have that luxury this year. McCann took a well-deserved lucrative contract with the New York Mets this offseason. He wanted to be someone’s number one guy which he will do over there in New York. He earned that opportunity by playing so well and the White Sox chose Grandal instead. It isn’t a bad decision because Grandal is better but McCann’s absence will be noticed.

To replace McCann, there are a few different options. Zack Collins, however, feels like the guy who is going to get the first crack at being on the roster. He should be the Opening Day backup catcher with the way things are going right now. Someone like Jonathan Lucroy, Yermin Mercedes, or Seby Zavala may step up along the way but for right now Collins is the best bet to be the backup.

Infielders

• Jose Abreu
• Nick Madrigal
• Tim Anderson
• Yoan Moncada
• Danny Mendick

The Chicago White Sox has the potential to run out the best infield in Major League Baseball. Jose Abreu will be the first baseman after winning the American League MVP in 2020. His offensive numbers were through the roof and his defense seems to be getting better with age. He is one of the best first baseman (and hitters in general) going right now so having him out there is already an advantage.

Nick Madrigal is still rehabbing from an offseason surgery but he seems to be on track to be ready. Projecting him to be on the Opening Day roster may be risky but he seems like he has the spunk to do so. This is a guy who may hit less than five home runs a season but he will be one of your team leaders in batting average thanks to a bunch of singles and he will play great defense.

Tim Anderson is, like Abreu, going to be an MVP candidate once again. He is one of the best hitters in the league and had a top-ten finish for the award last season as well. His game on the defensive side is also improving drastically so he is going to be looked at as one of the best shortstops in the game. On top of all that, he is the vocal leader on this team and the face of the franchise.

This is one great infield as is and then you think about Yoan Moncada. Moncada has the potential to be the best player on this team and pretty much was in 2019. A bad COVID-19 experience hurt his offensive production in 2020 but he was still a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. If he has a bounce-back year at the plate, he will round out one of the best infield units in all of baseball.

Andrew Vaughn was left off because he doesn’t have that pre-career contract extension like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert had. The pandemic probably has a lot to do with that because we weren’t able to see him soar up the ranks last year. Danny Mendick is in as the utility infielder and part-time DH but expect to see Vaughn up at some point. As of right now, it is just hard to have him on the Opening Day roster for that reason.

Outfielders

• Adam Eaton
• Luis Robert
• Eloy Jimenez
• Leury Garcia
• Adam Engel

The outfield has incredible potential but there is work to do. We know that Adam Eaton has proven he can be a good two-way outfielder in the past but he did not have a good year in 2020. It shouldn’t define him as a player but it is certainly a reason to take a step back and evaluate. He just as easily could come back to his old team and look somewhat like his old self which would be so great for this team’s chances. RF has been an issue for a while and it would be cool to see him fix it.

Luis Robert is a superstar. As of right now, people would say that Jose Abreu or Tim Anderson are the best position players on the squad but Robert might actually be the right answer. He was just a rookie last year so there was the typical rookie slump at the end but he has all the tools. He has the potential to be one of the best all-around baseball players in the world. We know he can hit baseballs to Pluto but he is also a Gold Glove-winning centerfielder. That is right, he won a Gold Glove as a rookie at a premier position (over Mike Trout).

Eloy Jimenez was one of the worst (and borderline funniest) defensive left fielders saw last season. It is laughable now because there is no way that it wasn’t addressed over the offseason. He doesn’t have to turn into Luis Robert out there but he just needs to be able to make routine plays regularly. We know he has an electric bat and could be an MVP based on that alone. A 40 home run, 100 RBI, .300 season could be on the horizon for him. He believes he can be an MVP and so do we. 

Leury Garcia and Adam Engel should be the two reserves in the outfield to start the year. Leury could also see some time in the infield based on how things go but for now, he is listed as an outfielder. Each of them could see time as a DH until Vaughn is ready. Engel specifically has a good chance to make an impact on this team offensively. He had some moments last year. Micker Adolfo and Blake Rutherford are prospects you could see get their chance at some point as well.

Rotation

• Lucas Giolito
• Dallas Keuchel
• Lance Lynn
• Dylan Cease
• Carlos Rodon
• Michael Kopech

All offseason long, you have heard about the White Sox three-headed monster. Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, and Lance Lynn are all guys who had top-seven finishes for the American League Cy Young in 2020. They are all going to give the White Sox quality pitching at the top of the rotation and there is really no debate about their spots at the top. Below them is where it gets interesting.

Based on everything we have seen so far, it seems fair to assume that Dylan Cease is going to be one of the final two starters. It seems fair to give him that fourth spot but you never know who below him may impress. He has electric stuff but he needs to be able to command it better. Once that happens, they are going to have a stud on the mound when he goes.

Michael Kopech is one of the biggest question marks on the team. He has the arm to be the best pitcher in the organization. He can make 102 miles per hour fastballs move across the strike zone in a way that nobody else can. Injuries and off-the-field things have led to him not playing for a while but his return is highly anticipated. Some people might want him in AAA to start but having him with the big clubs getting starts is the best idea.

Carlos Rodon signed back with the White Sox late in the offseason. There is a chance that he is the fifth starter over Kopech but we know who they see as the future. It is nice to have Rodon there to try and improve his stuff because we once thought very highly of his potential as well. It is comforting to have extra starters as well in case of injury or performance issues. There are also some starters that will see time in the bullpen to open the year.