Chicago White Sox: 5 reasons they won the AL Central
Depth
The Chicago White Sox has had a lot of different players step up this year.
The Chicago White Sox truly goes 40-men deep. They would not be where they are today without some major contributions from players throughout the organization. When Eloy Jimenez went down during Spring Training, Yermin Mercedes filled in at designated hitter and carried the offense through April.
When Luis Robert hit the IL, Brain Goodwin joined the team and provided outfield versatility and a spark from the left side of the plate. When Nick Madrigal suffered a season-ending injury, Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia provided a nice bridge until the White Sox could find a full-time replacement.
When Yasmani Grandal had to undergo knee surgery midway through the season, Seby Zavala didn’t miss a beat when he was called up from Charlotte. He did a fantastic job handling the pitching staff and holding down the starting catcher role until Grandal returned.
Billy Hamilton turned himself from bench player into fan favorite with his spectacular defense and game-changing speed. Andrew Vaughn has spent his rookie season playing all over the diamond. He has done an admirable job playing left field despite never playing there before. He has also seen time in right field, first base, third base, and second base all while trying to adjust to major league pitching.
Gavin Sheets showed off his raw power upon being called up. In his first major league game, he recorded two hits and his first career RBI. The next night he hit his first career home run. A few weeks later he sent an entire stadium home happy with a walk-off home run against the Twins.
Jake Burger got called up to fill in for the injured Yoan Moncada and battened down the hatches in the hot corner. Burger made some nifty plays with his glove and hit his first big league home run before he left.
Jake Lamb made his way into the lineup and hit six home runs in 43 games with the team. There are a lot of fingers prints all over the success of this team. Without the depth Rick Hahn provided this team, a division title would not have been possible.