Chicago White Sox: 3 players that are pivotal to success

The Chicago White Sox are slowly starting to heat up again following a June which saw them cool off a little bit. They did, however, have another winning month. With the second half of the Major League Baseball season slowly starting to creep up upon us, the White Sox must start having players step up and play better.

It is time for 3 Chicago White Sox players to step up their game and help the team.

Who are those three players that need to step up? The first one is obvious. The heart and soul of this team is Jose Abreu. He is the main driver behind what this team does. His leadership and inspiration are highly valued and he is clearly their most important player. When he isn’t in the lineup or hitting well, this team seems to suffer. His lack of hitting in June had a direct impact on the team and how they played.

Abreu is a little banged up and that might be why he’s not been able to hit consistently. He may be trying too hard as well. It’s tough to tell. If he can start putting together a string of hits, White Sox opponents will be put on notice. The offense should start to click and play better.

Another one of the “big three” for the White Sox is Yermin Mercedes. Now why might a utility player, a designated hitter, and a guy that might be replaced in the lineup be the type of player that could be a “generator” for good things to happen on the White Sox? It’s all due to his effort and his ability.

Mercedes has the ability to change games by hitting the long ball. Granted, he’s in a bit of a slump right now but when he gets out of that slump, the Sox will catch fire and things will be much better than they have been. Expect him to come out of his slump soon (he may already be out of it).

Finally, the third player that composes the triple threat of the Chicago White Sox is Yasmani Grandal. What’s funny is that there were comments about how bad he was just a few weeks ago. Now, he is one of the better players on the White Sox roster and could easily be considered one of the three best players on the team.

Grandal’s defensive capabilities may be a little rocky at times but his offense has been solid. Grandal is one of the best at getting on base even if it means he takes a walk to get there. And his ability to hit home runs is beyond spectacular. He’s doing it at a pretty impressive clip lately and it’s helped the White Sox win games.

It’s important that Grandal continues his pace and keep getting on base. He’s got a keen eye for the difference between what is going to be a strike and what will be a ball. If other players were like Grandal, the White Sox might just have a few more wins in the win column.

The “triple threat” of Abreu, Mercedes, and Grandal is joined by other elite players such as Yoan Moncada, Andrew Vaughan, and Tim Anderson. Along with a handful of others, this team is trying to stay ahead of the Cleveland Indians and continue on their path towards the playoffs.

If these three guys, in particular, can stay healthy, I would expect some big things out of this team by the end of the season. If the guys that have missed time like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert make it back with time to spare, this team will be deadly.