The Chicago White Sox have been one of the worst teams in the league over the last two seasons. These were supposed to be two of the best years in the competitive window too which makes it even worse.
One player that did live up to the hype, however, is Jake Burger. He even did so with two major injuries stunting his development early in his career. He has bounced all the way back to become an elite hitter in the game.
Unfortunately, Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams (right before they were fired) made the decision to trade Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for a pitching prospect. To be honest, that was a terrible idea. Only Luis Robert Jr. had a better year for the Chicago White Sox.
As a member of the White Sox, Burger had a slash of .214/.279/.527 for an OPS of .806. He hit 25 home runs, had 52 RBIs, and had 44 runs scored. It was truly an amazing year for him in every way.
Jake Burger was an incredible Chicago White Sox player in 2023.
Those stats also only come in a limited role because they decided he wasn't an everyday starter for whatever reason.
They did him a solid by sending him to Miami because he managed to get even better there. Pretty much all of his statistics got even better playing down on that good team.
At least Burger, who is an incredibly awesome human being, got to play with a solid organization and taste the playoffs. None of that would have been even close to possible if he stayed with the lowly White Sox.
2023 Final Grade: A
Jake Burger was great. He isn't the best defender but nobody even should care about that because he is best served as a designated hitter. He is an outstanding player with his bat and that is all he should be focused on. Very few White Sox players had a good year and he was one of them.
2024 Outlook:
The Miami Marlins traded for a great young player who still has plenty of control left on his deal. You can expect him to play for that Marlins team again in 2024. There is a good chance that he will be even better now that he is there from the beginning. They will use him right and surround him with what he needs to succeed.