This is the perfect 2022 Chicago White Sox starting lineup
The Chicago White Sox are coming off of a year where they were very good. At 93-69, they won the American League Central with relative ease. That also came in a year where they had some serious injuries to some very impactful players.
They got through those tough times but it was clear that they were just a bit below the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros in terms of contender status. The MLB lockout is making it harder than usual to make upgrades but they should still be even better in 2022.
With everybody healthy and ready to go, it should be a year where they are able to have much more lineup continuity. Injuries are going to happen as they happen to everyone. However, multiple players that are the face of the franchise-type players missing months at a time isn’t likely.
We know for sure that Tony La Russa is going to be making the lineups for the White Sox in 2022 as he is back as the manager for another year. He did a pretty good job in year one but we all know that this team has another level to get to. It will be interesting to see if they can get there this year.
The Chicago White Sox is going to have a very potent starting lineup in 2022.
This team has a group of players that is capable of winning the World Series. A lot of the younger players haven’t even tapped into their potential yet which is scary for the rest of the American League. This is the most realistic perfect batting lineup for the 2022 season:
1. Tim Anderson – SS
Tim Anderson is the perfect leadoff man for the Chicago White Sox lineup.
We all know that on healthy days, Tim Anderson is going to be leading off for the Chicago White Sox. He is by far the perfect man for this role. At one point, we weren’t sure what Tim Anderson’s ceiling would be on this team but now we know.
He is one of the best pure hitters in all of Major League Baseball. He won the batting title in 2019, came in second in 2020, and still remained over .300 in 2021. Batting average isn’t the best stat anymore as we have better ones to evaluate players but having someone who can hit as well as Anderson at the top of the order is amazing.
Anderson can also provide a bit of power throughout the year as well. He has given the White Sox a 1-0 lead before the number two hitter even comes up to bat numerous times. He also sets the tone for the entire game with both his attitude and the way he plays the game. He should be sitting at the top of the order for a very long time.
Anderson will be the team’s primary shortstop on defense. He started off his MLB career as someone who played subpar defense while being an incredible hitter. He has worked hard at it and now he is very good at his position.
2. Luis Robert – CF
The Chicago White Sox might have their best overall player in Luis Robert.
Luis Robert is the perfect hitter in the two-hole. He has power but there are players on the team with more power. However, he is probably the best overall hitter on the team which is why he should be batting second. He would take advantage of Tim Anderson hitting ahead of him as well as anyone on the team could.
Batting Robert second would also guarantee him an extra at-bat in pretty much every game. He is not a rookie (or even a second-year player) anymore so it is time to take the training wheels off. They need him to be their best player so putting him in a position to do so will go a long way.
If Robert reaches his true potential and the White Sox keeps him in the two-spot, they will win a lot of baseball games because of his bat. His numbers in a limited amount of time (due to injury) suggest that he can be an MVP over a full season.
What makes Robert extra important is his outstanding play in the outfield. Defensively, he is one of the best centerfielders in all of baseball. He already has a Gold Glove from the 2020 season and he would have had a chance at another in 2021. It will be fun to see if he can win it again in 2022 along with some other awards. Either way, he is the perfect two-hitter.
3. Jose Abreu – 1B
Jose Abreu has been the most consistent Chicago White Sox hitter in recent years.
Jose Abreu has been the most consistent player in the Chicago White Sox organization since he arrived in 2014. It wasn’t easy to take over a first base which is a legendary position on this side of town. He replaced Paul Konerko who took over for Frank Thomas and they are the two best players in franchise history.
Since then, it is clear that Abreu is now in that conversation as well. He won the MVP of the America League in 2020 thanks to his incredible season at the plate. He is perfect for the role of the number three hitter, especially with studs like Tim Anderson and Luis Robert hitting ahead of him in the order.
Abreu is as clutch as any hitter that the team has ever had which makes him perfect in this slot. Having him get a guaranteed at-bat in the first inning is always nice along with the idea of him coming up to bat when the game is on the line late.
In addition to being the team’s best hitter (for now), he has evolved into an elite defensive first baseman as well. His play has helped this team win so many games and will continue into 2022 where he will make the perfect three-hitter.
4. Yasmani Grandal – C
When healthy, Yasmani Grandal has been amazing for the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox announced to the world that the rebuild was over when they signed Yasmani Grandal in free agency. Instead of trying to continue adding young talent, the team was clearly trying to win. Adding the best catcher in baseball was a great stepping stone towards that.
It wasn’t easy for Grandal upon his arrival to a new team. Halfway through his first spring training with the Sox, it was cut short due to COVID-19. Then, during the 60 game season, he shared time with James McCann who was also awesome. Grandal had a good year but we knew he could be even better.
In 2021, he came in and produced a lot of runs, got on base at an elite clip, and hit the ball very far. However, his batting average was very bad. That doesn’t mean much, however, because he helps the offense the most by drawing walks and hitting home runs.
He dealt with a bad injury in 2021 as well but when he came back, the power was even more fruitful and the average came up a lot. There were points where he was the best hitter on the entire team. Getting that level of production from your catcher is very nice.
He is perfect in the role of the four-hitter because he hits home runs at a very high pace. With some of the guys batting ahead of him, he should bat in the first inning more often than not which is very good. As the cleanup hitter, he will be put in a great position.
Defensively, he is okay. He is an outstanding pitch framer but he wasn’t awesome at much else on that side of the plate in 2021. With that in mind, you have to remember his knee injury that made things hard. 2022 should be an entirely different story.
5. Eloy Jimenez – LF
Eloy Jimenez is so much fun to watch play in a Chicago White Sox uniform.
Some people want Eloy Jimenez to be the designated hitter but that is a disaster of an idea. He can be coached out of running into walls and hurting himself. What can’t be coached is the ability to hit baseballs 500 feet and Jimenez can do that with regularity.
He has also admitted that he does a better job at the plate when he is in left field because he feels more involved in the game. That has to be taken into consideration when filling out a lineup card. He is a very young player that doesn’t want to play in less than half the game just yet.
It is also true that if Jimenez is betting fifth, you probably have an outstanding team and batting order. There are some great hitters hitting ahead of him that should give him RBI opportunities in this role on a regular basis.
He is going to make his money in this league by hitting well. He has shown that he can do that. He dealt with that injury in 2021 but came back from it and did well. However, in 2022, he is hoping to get back to the Eloy Jimenez that he was before that which was even better. The scary part is that he can get even better than that which could be MVP-like.
6. Yoan Moncada – 3B
The Chicago White Sox needs Yoan Moncada to keep doing what he’s doing.
The biggest debate on White Sox Twitter and beyond is the play of Yoan Moncada. People aren’t satisfied with a 4.5 WAR player which is crazy. He certainly could bring some more power to his game which would really help the White Sox win even more but he is a very good player.
In fact, similar to Jimenez batting fifth, you know you are an elite team if a player as good as Yoan Moncada is batting sixth. That means that the players ahead of him are even better and everyone is in a spot that can maximize their potential.
The crazy thing is the White Sox hardly had these top six of Anderson, Robert, Abreu, Grandal, Jimenez, and Moncada in the lineup at the same time in 2021. When they did, however, they only lost one time (in the regular season). If everybody plays most of the 2022 season, the White Sox are in outstanding shape.
Moncada will be the team’s third baseman for the fourth straight season following a move over from second. He has gone from being a below-average defensive second baseman to an elite defensive third baseman. The White Sox are set with him at the hot corner and batting sixth.
7. Andrew Vaughn/Gavin Sheets – DH
The Chicago White Sox needs to make sure they get production from the DH.
The Chicago White Sox has two young studs that they should have split the role of the designated hitter. There are a lot of good young players in the mix but Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets impressed the most amongst rookie hitters. They each demonstrated a lot of power on a regular basis.
The good news with these two is that they hit from opposite sides of the plate. They can be platooned as the team’s designated hitter based on the opposition’s starting pitcher. If a righty is n the mound, bat Sheets. If a lefty is on the mound, bat Vaughn. The team won’t be disappointed if they give each of them a lot of playing time.
Of course, a lot of games will see one or both of them in the field. However, neither of them will play first base over Jose Abreu with much regularity. The perfect (realistic) White Sox lineup has one of them in the role of the designated hitter.
Before last year, the DH was a major problem for the Sox. It is supposed to be a strength as an American League team to have someone whose job it is to just hit. Unless they are able to land someone significantly better, this is the way.
8. Adam Engel – RF
The Chicago White Sox just might be smart to use Adam Engel in right field.
With the lockout dooming the MLB at the present time, the White Sox might be smart to stick with an in-house option for right field. Addressing second base is much more important for this team because of the fact that Adam Engel is there to play right. He is a very good player that is often forgotten.
When Engel first came up, he was an elite defender that might have been the worst hitter in the organization. However, he really worked on that part of his game and he is now a very good hitter. He set a career-high in home runs despite barely playing in 2021 which tells you how good he can be.
If Adam Engel can hit the way that he did in 2021 over the course of 162 games in 2022, he is the perfect right fielder for this team. The fact that he would be batting eight makes this lineup even more dangerous. With the top of the lineup not far after, this could be really cool if it were to happen.
Defensively, Engel is one of the best outfielders on the team. He can play all three outfield positions at a high level but we obviously know that left and center are taken as of right now. If they ever land a legit star right fielder in the future, Engel will make an outstanding fourth outfielder but this is good for now.
9. Leury Garcia – 2B
Leury Garcia is back and ready to go for the Chicago White Sox in 2022.
The Chicago White Sox saw Leury Garcia as such an important player for them that they gave him a three-year extension following their exit from the 2021 postseason. He had the biggest moment in the playoffs with his big home run in game three. It was as cool of a moment that this team has had since winning the World Series in 2005.
Now, here in 2022, the team surely wants to upgrade the second base position. However, with the lockout currently going on, they can’t sign any Major League free agents or make any trades. With that in mind, Leury Garcia makes the most sense to bat ninth and play second.
He is best suited to be a true utility player but they need him in this role at this time. Nick Madrigal isn’t walking through those doors any time soon so Garcia might need to be the guy. Hitting one spot ahead of Tim Anderson and Luis Robert might prove to be extremely valuable.
Defensively, he plays a pretty good second base. He isn’t winning Gold Gloves but he is more than serviceable at pretty much every position. As the longest-tenured player in the organization, he also clearly loves playing for this team. Rounding out this awesome lineup is the perfect role for him with things as they currently stand.
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