The Chicago White Sox became the first team to clinch a postseason berth after they beat the Twins last Thursday. This year will be the first year the White Sox have reached the postseason since 2008, when they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. What makes the White Sox a threat this year? Let’s take a look at the White Sox Playoff Profile for 2020.
Impact White Sox Hitters
Jose Abreu
The White Sox best and most dangerous hitter is Jose Abreu, who has been with the team since 2014. He’s had a great career so far, and this year is no different.
Abreu is leading the league in hits (72 so far), and is second in the league in home runs (18). He’s also 5th in the league with a 1.032 OPS, and is a MVP candidate.
Abreu hits the ball hard. In fact, 52% of all of his hits are considered “hard hit”, which means the exit velocity was greater than 95 mph. Average hard hit percentage for a MLB player is 35%.
While he favors the left side, he is capable of hitting all over the field. Opposing teams only shift against him 15% of the time. Check out his 2020 spray chart below from Baseball Savant.
Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson is the White Sox’s leadoff hitter. He’s fast and a consistent hitter. Anderson’s name has also been tossed around in discussions for AL MVP.
Most notably, Anderson has the third best batting AVG in the league at .366. Breaking down his batting AVG into zones, we can see that he is capable of hitting pretty much anywhere in the strike zone. His weakest spot is high and inside.
Anderson is day-to-day with a hamstring cramp, which the White Sox are hoping is not a big deal. Losing Anderson would be a big blow to their offense.
Eloy Jiminez
Eloy Jiminez is often overlooked due to the success of Abreu and Anderson, but he is also a threat at the plate. Jiminez is 4th in the league in terms of hard hit percentage, at 56.8%. He has 25 extra base hits and a slugging percentage of .545.
Tying into his elite hard hit percentage, Jiminez also is top 4% in the league in terms of barrel percentage. Looking at the chart below from Baseball Savant, we can see that most of Jiminez’s contact has a launch angle between 0 and 45 degrees. Balls hit at an angle between 8 and 50 degrees have a significantly better chance to end up as a home run or extra base hit.
*The illustration above from Baseball Savant includes data from 2019, it has not yet been updated for 2020.
Yoan Moncada
Yoan Moncada was a major piece of the Chris Sale trade with the Red Sox three years ago. He hits the ball really hard, with a 47% hard hit rate in 2019.
Moncada had COVID earlier this year, which may be an attributing factor to his recent offensive performance. He has been having a down year, but with a limited sample size it’s tough to make any concrete judgements. Hopefully he’ll be back to full strength soon.
Prospect Power: Defensive Gem
Number 1 prospect for Chicago Luis Robert made his MLB debut this year and has played incredible defense. His sprint speed is top 4% in the league and he has 6 outs above average. He is tied with Fernando Tatis Jr. for the most outs above average in the league.
Robert is particularly talented at fielding balls laterally, and has above average jumps and routes.
The clip below shows Robert grabbing a fly ball with a catch probability of only 15%.
His offense is pretty solid too, with the 4th highest SLG on the team. He’ll be an exciting player to watch this postseason for sure.
Impact White Sox Starting Pitchers
Lucas Giolito
Lucas Giolito made the news earlier this season when he recorded the first no hitter of the year, striking out 13 against the Padres. He leads the team in strikeouts, with 86 on the year so far. Giolito’s strikeout rate is about 33%, top 9% in the league.
He throws a fourseam, change-up, and slider. His fourseam is his best pitch, it has above average spin and vertical movement. Giolito does a great job at limiting damage, maintaining a SLG below .300 against both his fourseam and change-up.
Dallas Keuchel
Dallas Keuchel leads the team with a 2.04 ERA. He’s above average in terms of limiting hard hit balls, and has reduced his walk rate from last year to 6%. His change-up is his best pitch, it has an opponent SLG of only .182. It also have above average vertical and horizontal movement.
Something interesting I found about Keuchel is his pitch locations. His three pitches (change-up, cutter, and sinker) each target a very specific location on the edge of the zone. This makes sense because Keuchel is a contact pitcher. He limits hard contact and get ground balls, using the corners of the zone to do so.
Keuchel was injured (back spasms) and placed on the 10-day IL, but the White Sox activated him on 9/19.
Notable White Sox Relief Pitchers
- Evan Marshall is one of the best relievers in terms of limiting barrel percentage, and has an above average strikeout rate (32%) and whiff rate.
- Alex Colome is tied for third in the league for most saves (12)
Injury Notes
The White Sox Playoff Profile is so variable because of all the recent injuries the club has experienced.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal left Monday’s game (9/21) with a hand injury, but x-rays were negative. He is considered day to day.
Evan Marhall has shoulder inflammation. The White Sox are hoping he can return before the playoffs begin, as he has been one of their best relievers this season.
Aaron Bummer was leading the team in K/9 with 14.7 strikeouts per 9 innings before he suffered a bicep/nerve issue in his left arm and was transferred to the 45 day injured list. He made a simulated appearance Monday (9/21), and the team is hopeful for his return before the playoffs.
12 Years after their last postseason appearance, the White Sox are a real threat this October. They will need to stay healthy and overcome their injuries in order to continue their success. They are a young, talented group and White Sox fans should be excited. Based on the White Sox Playoff Profile, how far do you think the White Sox will get this year?