Watching the 2020 White Sox has been like riding a rollercoaster. They can either drop two games of a doubleheader against a team that hasn’t played in 17 days, or mash six home runs off poor pitching. Such is the life of a .500 team that can’t seem to find any consistency.
In this week’s power rankings, the Sox mainly sit somewhere in the Top 15, though some media members dropped the team just a bit below the threshold due to their struggles. Here’s a complete look at where the major outlets ranked the club.
MLB.com: 16
Previous Ranking: 13
Conducted by Alyson Footer.
Released on Monday, August 17th.
ESPN: 12
Previous Ranking: 13
“The Sox were supposed to score runs but are averaging just 4.36 per game, below the AL average of 4.65. Veteran DH Edwin Encarnacion looks lost with a .149 average and a walk rate that has plummeted from 11.9% in 2019 to just 2.0%.” – ESPN.com staff
Released on Monday, August 17th.
CBS Sports: 12
Previous Ranking: 12
“Man, it comes and goes, but when they get hot it’s a joy to watch. That poor Cardinals pitcher making his MLB debut Sunday found out quickly. They homered four straight times.” – Matt Snyder
Released on Monday, August 17th.
The Athletic: 12
Previous Ranking: 18
Conducted by Levi Weaver and staff. If you are subscribed to The Athletic, click here for further reasoning.
Released on Monday, August 17th.
USA Today: 19
Previous Ranking: 15
“Luis Robert had all four of the team’s stolen bases through 21 games.” – Jesse Yomtov
Released on Monday, August 17th.
Bleacher Report: 17
Previous Ranking: 14
“The White Sox have scored three or fewer runs eight times in their last 12 games, undermining a pitching staff that has largely done its part to keep the team competitive. An offensive explosion on Sunday that featured four consecutive home runs could be a turning point. Eloy Jimenez went 9-for-23 with four home runs and nine RBI last week.” – Joel Reuter
Released on Monday, August 17th.
The Ringer: 12
Previous Ranking: 12
“Sort of an underwhelming start for a team that has the potential to be spectacular, or to be a spectacular disaster. Chicago has too much talent to stay around .500 for long, and I’m both intrigued and encouraged by Dallas Keuchel coming out and saying so after a loss to the Tigers last week. Keuchel earned a $55.5 million contract this past offseason because he has a long track record of reliability and quality performance, not because he’s a rah-rah guy. But while the Proven Winner trope is mostly hokum, players like Keuchel, Edwin Encarnación, and Gio González can have an impact. Those guys aren’t merely on-field producers, they’re veterans with immense amounts of playoff experience. On a young team with lots of personality but no track record of big league success, having a player of Keuchel’s stature stand up and say, “We’re better than this” has a very real motivational effect. Whether that results in the Sox climbing the standings remains to be seen, but this team ought to have high expectations—and there’s nothing wrong with Keuchel saying so.” – Michael Baumann
Released on Tuesday, August 18th.
NBC Sports: 13
“They’re a nice blend of old and young, and first baseman Jose Abreu is showing why you keep veterans around during a rebuild. He has four homers and 13 RBI for an up-and-coming team.” – Alex Pavlovic
Released on Monday, August 17th.
Sports Illustrated: 12
Previous Ranking: 12
“While the White Sox bullpen deserves recognition—Chicago relievers rank seventh in total innings pitched and sixth in fWAR—the team’s biggest unsung hero is utility man Leury García. García filled in at shortstop while Tim Anderson was on the injured list, and hit .306/.342/.417 in the nine games Anderson missed.” – Will Laws and Nick Selbe
Released on Friday, August 14th.
The Sox no doubt have to make the most of the remaining three games against the Tigers. A trip to the North Side this weekend proves to be a challenge and will test this team before the next round of rankins are released.
Check back early next week as we’ll provide another update on where the team stands.
Follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more updates!
Featured Photo: White Sox/Twitter