Part of the reason that the Chicago White Sox are such a bad team is the people in charge. From ownership down, this management team, past and present, has been horrible.
The players also deserve a lot of blame. We've seen them make changes over the last 24 months and it is going to continue well into this upcoming season.
However, there are a few players that this team wildly overrates. They think they are going to be the savior when they are very much not.
Believing in the wrong people this much is the reason the White Sox are in the position that they are in. These are the three players that they overate the most:
Andrew Vaughn is a player that they think too highly of on the field
Andrew Vaughn is a good player. He is far from the biggest problem on this team. However, it is fair to say that you expected a bit more from the third overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.
He didn't have a traditional rise to Major League Baseball because of the COVID-19 pandemic but he is in the league now. He is a very average player all around.
Some people thought that switching from the outfield to his natural position of first base following the departure of Jose Abreu would turn him into a superstar. Newsflash, it hasn't.
In 2023, playing first base full-time, he slashed .258/.314/.429 for an OPS of .743. He also hit 21 home runs and had 80 RBIs.
Again, those are all decent numbers but they aren't leading a World Series contender anytime soon. His 0.9 WAR reflects his value to the team. He can still get better as he is entering his age 26 season but he certainly shouldn't be untouchable.