The Chicago White Sox are in the middle of spring training and things are starting to come together for them. They have had some good games and a handful of bad ones but overall, this team is starting to shape up and look better as the spring goes on.
Every player starts out a little bit rusty in spring training with a few exceptions. Oscar Colas is having a pretty good spring training whereas Yoan Moncada, who is heading to the World Baseball Classic, is not.
There are other guys that we are keeping a close eye on in spring training including Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal, and Andrew Vaughn.
Vaughn is making an important move on the field this season. Due to the team losing long-time first baseman Jose Abreu, Vaughn is going to play in his natural spot at first base and not in the outfield.
The Chicago White Sox are expecting a lot from Jose Abreu this season.
Playing in the outfield last season wore him down a bit and may have affected his hitting. This season, he doesn’t have to do all the running around that he was doing in the outfield. He can fix himself at first base and flourish.
As far as his hitting goes so far in spring training, through the White Sox first few weeks, Vaughn’s stats are looking decent. He has had 15 at-bats with two runs, four hits, and one homer. Vaughan has three RBIs and a batting average of .333.
Not too shabby to start spring training. But remember, this is only spring training. The pitching isn't what he is going to see all year and the batters have an edge. But that doesn’t take away from what Vaughn has been able to do so far this season. He’s doing well and that’s huge.
Vaughn had his second full season in the major leagues last season and put together a decent year. He was known as one of the hardest-hitting players in Major League Baseball finishing the season with a hard-hit rate of 48.6 percent.
His exit velocity sat right around 90 miles per hour. Vaughn could really hit the ball, hit it hard, and give opponents fits.
When it comes to fielding in spring training, Vaughn has been handling his move to first base well. He seems to have adjusted and this adjustment was easy for him to make since he has played the position in the past and it’s his natural spot. Vaughn will continue to get better.
Remember folks, Vaughn is still young and still has a lot of room to grow which could be scary for the rest of the League.
He promises to be one of the top first basemen in the Majors and should be a fine replacement for Abreu. Hopefully Vaughn can make it so the team doesn’t miss Abreu as much as everyone thinks that they will.
I would expect Vaughn to have a huge season and make up for some of what the White Sox lost with Jose Abreu.