Chicago White Sox: 1 Tampa Bay Rays hitter to be extra afraid of

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 29: Yandy Diaz #2 and Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after Meadows hit a 2-run home run off of Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Tropicana Field on May 29, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 29: Yandy Diaz #2 and Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after Meadows hit a 2-run home run off of Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Tropicana Field on May 29, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago White Sox are getting ready to face off with the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set. Each of these teams is in first place of their respective divisions and has the two best records in Major League Baseball. Both of them have outstanding pitching and a balanced lineup that lead to their dominance on the field. When they meet, it will put both squads to the test.

Of course, the big story to open the series is the pitching matchup. The White Sox are going to use Lance Lynn who has been their best pitcher so far this season. His 1.23 ERA leads the American League and only trails Jacob deGrom for the best in the entire league.

He will face Tampa Bay’s ace, Tyler Glasnow who ranks sixth in the American League with a 2.57 ERA. The battle of the aces is going to make for a very good matchup. With that said, with a pitching matchup like this, whoever’s offense comes to play the most should be on the team that ends up winning the ball game.

There is one Tampa Bay Rays hitter for the Chicago White Sox to be extra cautious with.

The White Sox and Rays both have lots of players that can mash baseballs. Look for Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, and Yasmani Grandal amongst others to lead the offensive charge for the Sox in this series. For the Rays, they don’t have any superstars like that but their lineup is just loaded with great players. Of course, one name that sticks out as someone to be extra careful with is Ji-man Choi.

There are other good names in the lineup like Randy Arozarena, Austin Meadows, and Joey Wendle but Choi might be the most dangerous right now. In fact, he has a slash line of .304/.448/.522. He has two home runs and 11 RBIs. The catch for Choi is that he has only played in 15 games so far this season as he is just now coming back from his second IL stint of the season.

This is someone that the White Sox needs to contain as his return makes the Rays even more dangerous. They are 12-3 in games that he plays for them so far this season so it is pretty clear that he makes a significant impact. Choi is going to hit third and play first base for the Rays in the first game. Facing Lance Lynn isn’t the most fun way to return from an injury but that is the reality for him.

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Lynn needs to make sure he doesn’t give Choi anything good to hit because he will take advantage. For the sake of winning this series, the White Sox need to hope that his return sees him be a little bit rusty. Either way, the pitching will be the key but Choi is certainly someone to be extra afraid of in terms of Tampa Bay’s offense.