Chicago White Sox: What the new starting lineup should actually look like
The Chicago White Sox have an interesting situation right now. They are one of the best teams in all of Major League Baseball despite having some serious injury issues. Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez are both going to be out for a few months which takes a lot of power out of the lineup. They are, in the meantime, finding ways to score runs despite being dead last in home runs. They also have some of the best starting pitchers in the league which really helps.
With all of those injury troubles, you need to maximize what you have left. That comes with putting together a good starting lineup. The White Sox don’t always do that despite having plenty of depth. It would be nice to see them start as the season goes along.
Having a perfect lineup is very important for the Chicago White Sox right now.
So what makes a great starting lineup? The easy answer is balance. The White Sox can provide that. Talent is another key component to a good lineup and the White Sox have that as well. There are some clear tweaks to the order that are needed. A perfect lineup might look something like this:
- Tim Anderson
- Yoan Moncada
- Yasmani Grandal
- Jose Abreu
- Yermin Mercedes
- Andrew Vaughn
- Leury Garcia
- Adam Eaton
- Nick Madrigal
In this lineup, Grandal was moved back up to the three-hole with Moncada ahead of him. He is walking a lot and right or wrong, he is getting on base. It is better to have sluggers like Jose Abreu, Yerin Mercedes, and Andrew Vaughn behind him.
You really don’t want Tim Anderson hitting anywhere else right now besides first. Moncada has power and can hit for contact so hitting second is perfect. Nick Madrigal proved he can hit up in the order but he is perfect as the nine-hitter where you are basically the “second leadoff man”. Having a guy like Adam Eaton batting eighth would show that the lineup is deep.
There is a lot of talent in this group. When you remove someone like Leury Garcia in favor of Eloy Jimenez or Luis Robert, the lineup becomes even more dangerous. Andrew Vaughn hasn’t even started to tap into his potential and he still looks great at times. Once he heats up along with a healthy Jimenez and Robert, it becomes a World Series level offense.
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Having the lineup set up like this would take advantage of the strength each player presents. Obviously, they are winning regardless right now but you can only hope it lasts. If Grandal’s walking starts to become a clear problem, this is a way to possibly take advantage of it. Regardless, this is a great lineup of players no matter the order (realistically speaking).