We all remember December 6th, 2016. That was the day that the Chicago White Sox traded Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech along with two other prospects. Since then, players like Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn, and Lucas Giolito amongst others have come into the organization via trade, international free agency, or the draft. Now, they are all starting to pay off for Rick Hahn and the White Sox.
On Monday night, the White Sox won the game thanks to the rebuild moves. In the first at-bat of the game in the top of the first, Tim Anderson blasted one out of Target Field to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. Anderson was there before the rebuild started but he was a young player that was considered to be a part of the future.
Following that, Eloy Jimenez did his thing. He hit two total home runs in the game which is great but the one in the first inning was truly impressing. He hit that baseball so far that you wonder how far it may have gone if there was no wall out there to stop it. He has been amazing since coming back from injury and should be viewed as the team’s most valuable hitter.
This was also the first game for Luis Robert since his injury back in April. We all know Robert as the team’s five-tool player that legit might have an MVP or two in his future. In this game, he picked up right where he left off as he went 2-5 with an RBI. He also had an amazing diving catch out there in centerfield. It is great to see that this injury hasn’t impacted his play or the way that he thinks the game.
Yoan Moncada went 2-5 as well. One of his hits was a home run and he seems to be the secondary story because of the other players on this team. He is right there in the conversation for the most important White Sox players so seeing him have a big impact means a lot as well. On the defensive side of things, Moncada is one of the best third basemen in the business.
Pitching has also been a point of emphasis for the Chicago White Sox during the rebuild.
One of the most important players of the rebuild has been Lucas Giolito. He was also the most important player in Monday’s win. All of the other previously rebuild players that contributed to this win were huge but Giolito was enchanted on the mound. He went 8.0 innings and only gave up 2 hits and one run.
The one run was a solo shot by Miguel Sano in the 8th inning so he went most of the game only giving up one hit. That one previous hit was a comebacker off Giolito that stung him. Obviously, he was good enough to stay in the game at that point. It was a great game from a big piece of the White Sox going forward.
The rebuild was pretty much over when they drafted Garrett Crochet but keeping the young kids flowing in is always important. He came in and took care of business in the 9th and the White Sox won the game 11-1. It was a phenomenal game for the team as a whole and it would be nice to see them keep it going. The rebuild was long and painful but it is clearly paying off now.