Chicago White Sox: 2021 grade for Romy Gonzalez

The Chicago White Sox had some depth tested in 2021. There were some bad injuries throughout the organization that caused certain players to get chances at the MLB level that they probably would not have otherwise. One of those people that was given a shot was Romy Gonzalez.

He wasn’t someone that was on anyone’s radar to play in the MLB this season but he was given his shot. It is always cool to hear about these stories as he played well enough in AAA to be called up and get his chance in Major League Baseball. It is certainly an accomplishment that he should be proud of.

He was not very productive at the plate for the White Sox. He slashed .250/.273/.344 for an OPS of .616. Those are not the most impressive numbers at all. He didn’t hit a home run and only had two RBIs and four runs scored. All of this accumulated a -0.1 WAR in ten games played.

The sample size isn’t that big at all which is why you can’t really hold it against him. He might even get another chance to play more in the future but he was lucky to get his feet wet in 2021. He didn’t make the impact that some other White Sox rookies made in 2021 but the fact that he was called up at all is certainly noteworthy for him this year.

2021 Final Grade: C

Grades are relative. Romy Gonzalez doesn’t get an F like his MLB stats would warrant if he were an everyday player. He doesn’t get an A either because he wasn’t as impactful of a player as he probably would have liked.

However, he gets a C because of the fact that he was so impactful in the Minor Leagues and managed to get called up. He started the year in AA where he was brilliant and then got even better in AAA. This is amazing for his surprising development as the team hopes it is a sign of things to come.

2022 Expectations:

The Chicago White Sox are going to give Romy some more chances. He started in AA and dominated his way to AAA in 2021. Once he got to AAA, it was clear that he deserved more. Expect him to get more opportunities like that in the MLB in 2022 and beyond.

The White Sox has so many options with him. They could use him in a trade for something they need more or they can continue to develop him in their system. Hopefully, he is able to take that next step and hit in the MLB almost as well as he did in AA/AAA one day.