The Chicago White Sox have a very good player in Jake Burger. We know he is an incredibly gifted hitter that has some things to work on with his defense. It remains to be seen if he will start the year with the MLB club or AAA Charlotte. This is a big spring training for him.
Burger is an incredibly nice guy with a wonderful story of perseverance and dedication to baseball. He has a lot to be proud of up to this point in his career. Hopefully, he can take it to the next level.
On Monday night, Burger went on the South Burbs Hitmen Podcast and had a few interesting things to say. One of the more interesting things that he touched on was the leadership of this team. With Jose Abreu gone, it is fair to wonder who is going to fill that void.
In fact, when Burger was asked about who is going to replace Abreu in that leadership role, one of his answers was very surprising. Of course, there is the mention from Burger of the obvious names like Tim Anderson and Lance Lynn but there is a different player to think about here as well.
Jake Burger has an interesting candidate for a leader on the White Sox.
South Burbs Hitmen: Guests - Jake & Ashlyn Burger https://t.co/OwuQChEZ87
— Barroom Network (@BarroomNetwork) February 7, 2023
Burger mentioned Andrew Vaughn as a guy that can be a leader like Abreu. He said that he helps players do what they need to do in order to be comfortable. He believes that he has the intangibles needed to become a legit leader on this team.
It is worth noting that Jake also mentioned that Vaughn is really good at playing through injury at a high level which is something his predecessor used to do. It sounds (from someone like Burger in the organization) like they have another first baseman that can lead.
In sports sometimes, talent and ability forces players into leadership roles. Well, Vaughn was a third-overall pick that has the ability to develop into an elite player so it is good to know that he is already showing the early signs of someone that can handle it.
Hopefully, Vaughn is able to fully take that on this year. He is now in year three and led the team in home runs last year so he doesn't have to worry about stepping on any toes anymore. He is clearly one of the guys they will rely on now.
We can only hope that guys like Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, and Lance Lynn will join forces with Andrew Vaughn and become a very good core of leaders this year.