2023 Chicago White Sox mid-season report cards with letter grades
The Chicago White Sox currently sit at 38-54 after losing a series to the St. Louis Cardinals heading into the all-star break.
The team has had a disappointing season through the first 90 games.
Here is the mid-season report card for the beloved South Siders:
Honorable Mentions: Zach Remillard and Oscar Colas
These two have not played enough games to give an accurate grade. Remillard has been playing extremely well in his short span in the MLB. Hopefully, the end-of-season report card will contain these two.
There are a few White Sox players deserving of A grades this year so far.
A+
Luis Robert
Luis Robert has been the lone bright spot for the White Sox during this substandard season. He is tied for 3rd in WAR with Tampa Bay Rays superstar Wander Franco and he ranks 9th in OPS.
Queue the meme of the Ferrari that is sitting under the roof of the torn-down trailer park home. Robert ranks 2nd in the MLB in home runs, single-handedly carrying the White Sox on offense during the recent stretch.
A
Lucas Giolito, Gregory Santos, and Keynan Middleton
Giolito has done exactly what the team needed him to do this season. If the team wanted to bounce back, he needed to pitch like he did from 2019-2021.
Also, if the team were to have a bad season, which is looking like the most probable outcome, The Sox hoped Giolito would have a good start to 2023 to raise his trade value.
He has done that and some. In a trade deadline market that seems to be lacking strong starting pitching options, Giolito has a 3.50 ERA and a SO/9 of 9.6 and could go for an extremely high price.
Considering the fact that Gregory Santos and Keynan Middleton combined to make $1.5 million and are the two most dependable arms out of the bullpen just goes to show you the incompetence of GM Rick Hahn.
Hahn has spent around $45 million on the Sox bullpen but the best two guys are bargain bin free agency signings that went under the radar.
These two guys would be the evidence Ethan Katz points to if he ever had to prove his contributions to the team. Santos has an ERA of 2.82 in a team-high 44.2 innings out of the pen. Middleton has a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings out of the pen with 2 saves.
There are a few Chicago White Sox players deserving of a solid B-grade.
B
Kendall Graveman, Andrew Benintendi, and Jake Burger
Kendall Graveman has also been mostly dependable this season. He had a rocky start and has blown 2 saves but he has a good 2.77 ERA and he has been the de-facto closer with Liam Hendriks sidelined. He also kept his value high in case the team wants to become sellers at the deadline.
A lot of people get upset when they hear that Andrew Benintendi is the largest contract in White Sox history, however, he is playing like someone who would be making 15 million dollars in the MLB. He is hitting .280 and has a .347 OBP, which is first on the team.
These stats are on par with his career averages, so to be angry that Benintendi isn’t playing like Luis Robert because of his contract is imprudent.
There can be a solid argument that can be made that Jake Burger deserves an A but there is also a compelling argument that he has trended downward the last few weeks. However, he has exceeded all expectations this year, so B is a fitting grade.
Plenty of players on the Chicago White Sox need a C-grade so far.
C+
Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease
Michael Kopech has a 4.08 ERA and already finds himself on the 15-day IL but he does have a SO/9 of 10.2 which is 2.3 higher than his first year starting last season.
Kopech is also leading the league in BB this season with 49 so he needs to find his control once again but he has shown signs of excellence.
Dylan Cease has had an up-and-down season so far. His ERA is 4.30 and his SO/9 is down from 11.1 to 10.8 this year. He also has 42 BB and ranks tied for 25th in IP. Ideally, Cease can take the next step and extend his outings but overall, he hasn’t been too bad this season.
C
Andrew Vaughn, Eloy Jimenez, Mike Clevinger, and Jesse Scholtens
Andrew Vaughn has not been the next Jose Abreu this season but his season has not been bad. He is leading the team in RBIs (53) and games played (88).
Eloy Jimenez has an OPS of .797 which is good but below his career average. He has also missed 33 games already this season.
Mike Clevinger was having a nice bounce-back season before his injury. He currently sits at a 3.88 ERA, which is probably good enough for a team to potentially be interested in him at the trade deadline.
Jesse Scholtens is another one of the sneaky under $1 million signings the White Sox had this season who has been playing well for the club. He has a 3.45 ERA and has been a spot starter for the team with Kopech and Clevinger sidelined.
The Chicago White Sox are loaded with players having D-type season.
D
Gavin Sheets, Yasmani Grandal, and Pedro Grifol
Both Gavin Sheets and Yasmani Grandal have been underwhelming this season. Sheets and Grandal are essentially DHs at this point in their careers and both players are slugging below .400.
The most unfortunate part about this grade is that Grandal makes $18.25 million and has 6 home runs and 21 RBIs. Not to mention the fact that he doesn’t play much defense any more.
The jury is still out on Pedro Grifol. However, the team’s record indicates that the Sox are in trouble when it comes to the manager position.
The energy was there but the execution has not been. His addiction to pitching Joe Kelly in big moments has cost the team multiple games and his refusal to move Tim Anderson lower in the order is a head-scratcher as well.
The only reason why he has not received an F is because the roster just may not be that good.
The Chicago White Sox are an organization loaded with failures.
F
Lance Lynn, Tim Anderson, Joe Kelly, Yoan Moncada, Seby Zavala, Elvis Andrus, and Clint Frazier
How do I put this nicely? Washed. Bust. Terrible. No trade value.
The Moncada experiment needs to end, he’s always hurt and doesn’t perform. His contract is not worth his production.
Lance Lynn has an ERA north of 6, Zavala is hitting below .200, Andrus should have been cut weeks ago, and thankfully Clint Frazier was optioned to Triple-A.
Unfortunately, Tim Anderson has been the most disappointing of the bunch. He was an All-Star last year but this year he is hitting .231 and has been subpar defensively.
Anderson deserves an F since his trade value has tanked to virtually zero. The White Sox are better off keeping him around to raise his value before trading him.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark