Chicago White Sox: 2021 grade for Jake Burger

The Chicago White Sox was loaded with outstanding stories in 2021. They were a very fun baseball team that had a lot of great players that all came from different places. One of those amazing stories came from Jake Burger.

He had had a lot of different injuries threaten his MLB career but he made it through. The kid did everything he could to be back playing baseball and he was successful. He made his MLB debut with the White Sox in 2021 and did a very good job.

Jake Burger didn’t stick with the club for the entire season because all of the positions that he can play are blocked by current White Sox players. They had a lot of injuries as an organization, however, and he made the most of his opportunity.

He found his way in 15 games where he slashed .263/.333/.472 for an OPS of .807. He hit one home run, had three RBIs, and had five runs scored. It was a great start for him in his career which was great to see after his incredible comeback from multiple terrible injuries.

It seemed like Burger really enjoyed his time in the Major Leagues. He came up around the same times Gavin Sheets and the two of them really showed that they can be MLB players in the long term. At this point, it is fair to hope that they stick with the Chicago White Sox.

2021 Final Grade: A

Jake Burger deserves nothing short of an A. He was brilliant in AAA ahead of his call-up. Once he reached Major League Baseball, he was great there as well. He deserved to stay longer but as mentioned before, there wasn’t much room on the roster.

As the team got healthier, the space became more limited. It wasn’t fun to see Burger be the odd man out but it is the sign of a strong organization. They have some things to figure out but it is a deep team if there isn’t enough room for Burger. A lot of teams would have this guy on their Major League roster for an entire season.

2022 Expectations:

We don’t know whether or not the White Sox will bring in other players after the lockout but you can probably expect them to. With that, it could become even harder to make the roster. With that in mind, injuries always happen and Burger should get another chance this year.

They could also trade him for areas of need but he is going to be an MLB player. When that happens, you can truly expect him to be a good player. The ceiling and floor are hard to project but thinking he will be a good player is a safe bet.