Chicago White Sox: 5 reasons they won the AL Central

Dominant Starting Rotation

The starting rotation has been the strongest part of the 2021 Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox had 40 percent of their starting rotation elected to the All-Star game this season. Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon earned a trip to Colorado to represent the American League after imposing their will on batters all season. Lynn is in the running for American League Cy Young with his sparkling 2.47 ERA. He also has 166 strikeouts and 10 wins under his belt.

Carlos Rodon threw a no-hitter in April and has posted a 2.47 ERA with 12 wins and 181 strikeouts. He also owns an impressive 0.98 WHIP and an absurd 12.64 strikeout per nine innings rate. Only two other pitchers have struck out 11 batters through five innings multiple times this season.

Rodón has done it three times while Jacob deGrom and Aaron Nola have each done it twice. Rodón also passed Billy Pierce for the third-most career double-digit strikeout efforts by a left-handed pitcher in White Sox franchise history.

Meanwhile, Lucas Giolito has been his usual reliable self. The former All-Star has a respectable 3.70 ERA and is second on the team in strikeouts with 192. Like Rodon and Lynn, he has also reached double-digits in the win column.

Dylan Cease is slowly starting to emerge as a future ace. He leads the team in strikeouts with 212. Cease hallowed three earned runs or less in 24 of his 30 starts this season. Dallas Keuchel has underperformed as the fifth starter this season but plenty of other names have stepped up.

Micheal Kopech has been money during his spot starts while Reynaldo Lopez has provided the entire rotation a shot in the arm. Even Jimmy Lambert picked up a win during a start in Oakland, which has been the White Sox house of horrors.

Starting pitching depth helped depth carried the White Sox to a division crown. Hopefully, they can continue their success during the postseason.