Chicago White Sox: Moved up in our All-Star break power rankings

The Chicago White Sox finished the first half of their season 54-35, the best winning percentage in the AL at .607. With that said, where do the Sox rank in our power rankings?

The Chicago White Sox have moved back to fourth in the latest MLB power rankings.

1. Giants – It’s time to stop sleeping on the Giants and give them their due. They’ve played like the best team in baseball all season so they deserve to be regarded as such. There’s no guarantee of a World Championship with the AL being superior and them being in an unlucky (for them) odd year but we’ll see what happens.
2.  LA Dodgers – Though many experts still consider them the best team in baseball, they suddenly find themselves with a thin pitching rotation due to losing their players for a variety of reasons.
3. Red Sox – The addition of Chris Sale will really help the resurgent Red Sox in the second half. The Red Sox have 9 World Series wins to the White Sox mere 3 so hopefully, our Sox get further in the playoffs than they do. Recent success might make the Red Sox the favorites though.
4.  White Sox – The Astros swept the White Sox the last time they played each other, but Houston was at home and the Sox have played without much of their core lineup and the Astros haven’t proven they can win with their main guy’s missing. Expect a different result next series. Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, and the White Sox have finished the first half with the best record in the American League. Because of this, Tony La Russa is the front-runner for Manger of the Year.
5. Astros – Having made the ALCS in the last four seasons, I don’t see any reason why that trend won’t continue. It’s sad that they cheated because they probably never needed to.
6. Rays – With the dominance of the Red Sox and Astros, it’s pretty likely that the Rays won’t be repeating last year’s AL pennant. They still are a threat to do some damage in the playoffs so it’s a shame they can never afford to keep anyone.
7. Padres – The Padres have four all-stars, 2 of whom are ex-Chicago organization players (Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yu Darvish).
8. Brewers – One of the best teams in baseball, a White Sox-Brewers World Series would be an intriguing match-up. Hopefully, it doesn’t go the way that Bears-Packers usually goes.
9. A’s – Chris Bassitt made his first all-star team as the Jeff Samardjiza trade continues to kill the White Sox to this day. If only they had known what they had.
10. Mets – The Mets are an overrated baseball team that is winning their weak division due to Jacob DeGrom’s dominance and their rivals being banged up. They’ll likely win the division now but they don’t really deserve to be in the playoffs.
11. Reds – The red hot Reds have been playing some great baseball but it’s probably not enough to overtake the Brewers.
12. Blue Jays  – Despite all the talent they just don’t have the experience to make the playoffs yet.
13. Phillies – Things are finally starting to come together for the Phillies as they finally get over .500 to finish out the first half. They have enough star power to compete with the Mets but they most likely won’t overtake them.
14. Yankees – Baseball is better off with the Yankees and Twins not making the playoffs, as the result of matchups between the two were always so boring and predictable as the Yankees would take their lunch only to be eliminated by the Astros in the next round.
15. Braves – It’s been a rough year for the Braves. Beginning with finishing the first half 44-45, they also had the all-star game taken away from them, lost Marcel Ozuna, and now Ronald Acuna Jr. due to injury. While they’re still in contention it’s going to be hard to recover from all their bad luck.
16. Indians – Good pitching keeps the Indians a contender for a playoff spot.
17. Mariners – Despite having one of baseball’s worst run differentials, they have a winning record. I think they will collapse in the second half, but they have the potential to be a serious contender as soon as next year.
18. Angels – The fact that the Angels have been better without Mike Trout than they have with him really hurts their credibility.
19. Nationals – Injuries have pushed the Nationals towards seller mode but they probably aren’t ready to give up just yet.
20. Cardinals – This team isn’t good.  Yadier Molina was named to his 10th all-star appearance, an honor he statistically did not deserve. Despite being proclaimed a future Hall of Famer by sports media, he has a lower career bWAR and hit total than Jason Kendall who fell off his first year on the ballot. With this likely being Molina’s last season, he may not end up surpassing those totals.
21. Marlins – The Marlins are the Mariners in reverse, despite having a good run differential, they have a really bad record.
22. Cubs – The Cubs have had a terrible past few weeks but their low rankings are really due to how they will be once they start trading away pieces.
23. Twins – With a four-game win streak, things have may have finally started to come together for this underperforming Twins team. Fortunately, it’s too little too late.
24. Rockies – It doesn’t make sense to trade Nolan Arenado without also trading Trevor Story. He should be gone before the deadline.
25. Tigers – Give them credit. Under AJ Hinch’s leadership, they have been getting better. Although many Detroit fans were critical of this year’s first-round draft pick, they might be the White Sox’s biggest rival in the years to come. Plus Justin Verlander may return next year.
26. Rangers – Dane Dunning has been okay but the White Sox probably don’t regret the trade just yet. Speaking of trades, Joey Gallo would be a great fit for a team looking for a powerful left-handed bat that can play outfield.
27. Royals – After people overreacted to their 16-9 start, the Royals went 20-44 to close out the first half. That’s kind of amazing.
28. Pirates – Adam Frazier is mentioned in a lot of trades but it would be smarter for the Pirates to wait until the offseason to trade him so they can get the best possible offer. They’ll be able to add top prospects to their already highly-ranked farm system, as well as the likely #3 overall pick in next year’s draft. Contention in the weak NL Central may only be a few years away.
29. Orioles – The fact that they swept the Astros proves that any team can play with any other team in the MLB.
30. Diamondbacks – Baseball’s worst team has one all-star, former White Sock Eduardo Escobar. Though it would be nice to re-acquire him, the White Sox shouldn’t give up too much for him, at least they’ll be making the same mistake when they traded him away in the first place.