This is the perfect Chicago White Sox lineup with Josh Harrison

7. Andrew Vaughn DH

Andrew Vaughn is going to be an elite Chicago White Sox hitter one day.

This slot can easily go to Gavin Sheets. There is a good chance the two platoon at DH in 2022 given Vaugh’s struggles against righties and Sheets struggles against lefties.

However, because Vaughn is a former third overall pick, he gets the nod in the Opening Day lineup. Heading into the 2021 season, he was the No. 1 overall power hitter in the White Sox farm system according to Baseball America.

There is a reason Vaughn was selected so high in the draft. He was named the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner in 2018 and then honored as a finalist in 2019. He is just the 17th athlete to ever accomplish this feat.

Vaughn had a difficult task last season. He only had 55 minor league games under his belt until he was thrust into the White Sox lineup. He was unable to play in a competitive game the year before due to COVID-19.

His job was made even tougher when Eloy Jimenez got injured late in Spring Training forcing Vaughn to learn an entirely new position while simultaneously learning how to adjust to major league pitching.

Vaughn did a respectable job overall. He batted just .235 but managed to hit 15 home runs. There is a reason for optimism heading into 2022. Vaughn averaged a 91.1 mph exit velocity. That was good enough for the 82nd percentile in the MLB.

His max exit velocity was 115 mph which ranked in the top six percentile in the MLB. His hard-hit percentage was 47.3 which once again placed him in the upper echelon of major league hitters. Look for Vaughn to have a breakout 2022 campaign.