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.

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.