The Chicago White Sox are inching slowly closer to the start of the regular season after having a terrible Cactus League record.
The White Sox open their season on March 27 against the Los Angeles Angels, which should be an interesting series, being the Angels have two former White Sox players, Tim Anderson and Yoán Moncada, who are trying to make the Angels Major League roster.
The Sox have a few players on their Major League roster who had down years last season and will look to have a bounce-back year in 2025.
One of those players looking to bounce back from last year is Miguel Vargas, who has been on a tear this spring.
Vargas is tearing it up this spring
Vargas was traded over to the White Sox last season in the massive three-team trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, which sent Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to the Cardinals and Michael Kopech to the Dodgers for Vargas and two low-level prospects.
Since coming over to the South Siders, Vargas hasn't been the best hitter and struggled in the second half of last season. In 42 games with the Sox, Vargas hit an abysmal .104/.217/.170 for an OPS and OPS+ of .387 and 14.
In seven games this spring, Vargss has been hitting the cover off the ball, slashing .294/.368/.471 with an OPS of .839. These numbers could be a sign that Vargas has turned a corner.
Adjustments made in the offseason
These numbers Vargas is putting up this spring are a stark contrast to last season and his career overall. Vargas came into camp looking to have a better approach at the plate.
According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, Vargas's main point of emphasis this offseason was improving his bat speed, which will help him catch up to higher-velocity fastballs.
“Changes also occurred within his swing, with bat speed being very important. Vargas is trying to be better at the top of the zone against fastballs after posting a -6 run value with a .138 average and .275 slugging percentage against the four-seamer last season, according to Statcast.”
On top of changing his swing, Vargas added 20lbs of muscle and made it a point to eat healthier to improve his overall performance.
“Vargas arrived in camp with 20 more pounds of muscle mass across his 6-foot-2 frame.”
Making these adjustments should help Vargas during the regular season, and it seems like it's already paid off for him this spring.
Could Vargas reach his potential?
The White Sox need Vargas to reach his full potential if they're to turn things around. Will Venable has already named Vargas as the team's starting third baseman to start the season, which is an honor for Vargas to receive.
Vargas has the potential to be a 20+ home run hitter and hit somewhere around .270 if he can hit consistently.
These adjustments that Vargas has made over the offseason should help him reach his full potential and be one of the better players on the White Sox this season.
Hopefully, we will see a new and improved Vargas in 2025, and we will potentially be talking about how he is one of the core players the White Sox should build around instead of the bust he's looking like at the moment.