Chicago White Sox: Trading Andrew Vaughn would be a disaster

The Chicago White Sox are now one of Major League Baseball’s premier teams. They believe they can win the World Series at least once over the next few years. They also want to keep their pipeline loaded during the run so they can have sustained success. However, in order to fill holes from time to time, they may need to trade away some prospects here and there.

One player they should avoid trading is Andrew Vaughn. He isn’t considered a prospect anymore but he is coming off his first year where he was excellent. Trading him now would really make the team look foolish down the road as he has the potential to become one of the league’s best power hitters.

When the White Sox selected him 3rd overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, he was the best college power bat in the country. He demonstrated a bit of that in his rookie year as he slashed .235/.309/.396 for an OPS of .705. He hit 15 home runs and had 48 RBIs with 56 runs scored.

Those are outstanding numbers for a rookie that was forced to have little to no Minor League experience. He was surrounded by many great players which helped him see some good pitches to hit and he took advantage. He had ups and downs which are typical for a rookie power hitter. He showed at times that he has the potential to be a superstar.

There was also a wrinkle to his season defensively. We went into 2021 thinking that he would have a chance to be the full-time DH. That was before Eloy Jimenez hurt himself playing left field in spring training. They asked Vaughn to try left field and he welcomed the opportunity. Not only was he a replacement-level player out there, but he was also above average.

Andrew Vaugh has a very bright future ahead of him with the Chicago White Sox.

Vaughn is a first baseman by trade but he played some outstanding outfield throughout the year. He even played some right field and was just fine. No matter where Tony La Russa wanted to use him, Vaughn was ready. It was outstanding to see for the rookie as he begins his MLB career.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons to be very excited about this player. He has a chance to be a big part of the core for a long time. There are some really talented position players in this organization and Vaughn is one near the top. Trading him would be a big mistake unless they are getting an all-world-level player in return.