During their three-hour rain delay Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox received great news. Lucas Giolito, James McCann, and Jose Abreu were named to the All-Star game in Cleveland next week. It is the first time the team has had multiple players be named to the All-Star game since 2016, and it speaks volumes about their current rebuild.
Giolito has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season as he currently has an ERA of 2.87 and has a WHIP of 1.066. Last season he was one of the worst pitchers in the league as he led the league in walks with 90 for the season. On Sunday, he held one of the best offensives in the league scoreless and to just one hit over five innings pitched.
McCann’s season has been as equally impressive as he is batting .320 and is slugging .519 through 57 games. When the team signed him this past off-season, many believed him to be a backup for this season while Zack Collins developed in the minors. McCann now has put himself in a position where the team may look to keep him long-term especially with how well he has worked with Giolito this season.
Abreu will make his third All-Star appearance as he was the starting first baseman in last year’s game in Washington D.C. He currently leads the American League in RBIs with 60 and is on pace to have a career season.
His run production is attributed to the batting success of the players he has hitting in front of him. Leury Garcia, Yoan Moncada, and Tim Anderson have consistently gotten on base for Abreu to drive them in all year long.
The team having multiple All-stars shows that the front office knows what they are doing. Giolito’s turnaround and having McCann developing into a prominent player shows that the team is doing a tremendous job, scouting and developing their players. That point is highlighted even more by the fact that the team had two to three players that were snubbed for the game.
Moncada and Anderson are having their best season of their young careers. Both are batting above .300 as Moncada is on pace to hit over 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBIs.
Anderson, before his injury, was pushing for the 30/30 club of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. It could be argued that both deserved to be named All-Stars. Closer Alex Colome also warranted being named an All-Star as he has saved 18 games this season and could be one of the most sought after players at the trade deadline.
Having so many players be either named to the game or deserving of being named to the game shows that the rebuild is on the right track. Anderson, Moncada, Giolito all have either been drafted or traded for in hopes of helping the team build a contender.
Being able to find All-Star caliber players demonstrates that general manager Rick Hahn is doing his job the right way. Having players named to the All-Star game is always great, but it’s even better when it is young players who have the potential to win championships.
White Sox may have to trade their best relievers to replenish their pitching depth
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1 Comment
The Sox need to go get Puig from the reds. It will only cost a AA pitcher, he will gel with our Latin players. And then go get a starting pitcher like strohman or max scherzer to guide our young pitchers into the future don’t trade our strong bullpen away because that will say to fans and the team there is no loyalty and that would be a big mistake…colome and bummer are winners and they are showing the kids how to be tough and aggressive. We don’t need more prospects but more veterans who have fought in the playoffs.