Sox On 35th Staff Predictions for 2026 White Sox

Well, it’s about that time of year again! The White Sox are set to begin a new season after showing promising signs in the second half of 2025. Can they continue to build on that momentum?

Here is how our crew thinks the 2026 campaign will play out!

What will be the record of the 2026 White Sox?

Joe Binder: 70-92
Jordan Lazowski: 68-94
Brett Haffner: 73-89. They finally escape the 90-Loss column.
Nik Gaur: 68-94
Michael Suareo: 78-84
Tim Moran: 74-88
Brandon Anderson: 71-91
Brendan Gallian: 69-93. I think it would be great if the Sox could win 70, so naturally, they’ll finish one short.
Carson Kass: 85-77
Tommy Gross: 81-81
Andy Ho: 89-73

What place will the White Sox finish in the AL Central?

Joe Binder: 4th
Jordan Lazowski: 4th
Brett Haffner: 3rd
Nik Gaur: 4th
Michael Suareo: 3rd
Tim Moran: 4th
Brandon Anderson: 4th
Brendan Gallian: 4th, above only the Twins
Carson Kass: 4th
Tommy Gross: 3rd
Andy Ho: 2nd

Who will be the MVP of the 2026 White Sox?

Joe Binder: Munetaka Murakami
Jordan Lazowski: Kyle Teel. I still think he’s the best of this young group.
Brett Haffner: Munetaka Murakami. He will make people pay attention to the Southside.
Nik Gaur: Colson Montgomery
Michael Suareo: Munetaka Murakami
Tim Moran: Colson Montgomery
Brandon Anderson: Munetaka Murakami
Brendan Gallian: Miguel Vargas. Sure, I’m as high on Montgomery, Murakami, and the catchers as the next guy, but I wanted to go with a more interesting pick.
Carson Kass: Austin Hays
Tommy Gross: Colson Montgomery
Andy Ho: Colson Montgomery

Who will be the Cy Young of the 2026 White Sox?

Joe Binder: Grant Taylor
Jordan Lazowski: Davis Martin. Let’s have some fun with this one.
Brett Haffner: Anthony Kay. He’ll give you 170 innings of quality ball.
Nik Gaur: Shane Smith
Michael Suareo: Shane Smith
Tim Moran: Grant Taylor
Brandon Anderson: Grant Taylor
Brendan Gallian: Anthony Kay. He turns in an Erick Fedde-redux season right in front of Fedde’s own eyes.
Carson Kass: Shane Smith
Tommy Gross: Davis Martin
Andy Ho: Grant Taylor

Which White Sox player will have the best breakout season?

Joe Binder: Grant Taylor
Jordan Lazowski: Brooks Baldwin. He establishes himself as an above-average utility player for the future of this team.
Brett Haffner: Miguel Vargas. He’ll lead the team in XBH for the second year in a row.
Nik Gaur: Chase Meidroth
Michael Suareo: Miguel Vargas
Tim Moran: Anthony Kay
Brandon Anderson: Grant Taylor
Brendan Gallian: Luisangel Acuña. He’s able to capitalize on the Sox’s willingness to give him at-bats (or perhaps, their necessity for him to play every day). He posts the Sox’s first 35+ steal season since Juan Pierre swiped 68 in 2010.
Carson Kass: Miguel Vargas
Tommy Gross: Jordan Leasure
Andy Ho: Grant Taylor

Which White Sox prospect will have the biggest impact on the 2026 season?

Joe Binder: Sam Antonacci
Jordan Lazowski: Tanner McDougal.
Brett Haffner: Braden Montgomery. He’ll come up quicker than we all expect.
Nik Gaur: Tanner McDougal
Michael Suareo: Tanner McDougal
Tim Moran: Tanner McDougal
Brandon Anderson: Hagen Smith
Brendan Gallian: Sam Antonacci. After watching him in the WBC and Spring Training, I’m confident we’ll see him very soon on the South Side. His high-motor play style will keep him in the lineup after he debuts and endears him to fans.
Carson Kass: William Bergolla Jr.
Tommy Gross: [Tommy wrote Colson Montgomery, notably not a prospect]
Andy Ho: Sam Antonacci 🤌

How many All-Stars will the White Sox have? Who will they be?

Joe Binder: 2 – Munetaka Murakami & Grant Taylor
Jordan Lazowski: 3 – Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Munetaka Murakami
Brett Haffner: 2 – Munetaka Murakami & Grant Taylor
Nik Gaur: 2 – Chase Meidroth & Shane Smith (injury replacement)
Michael Suareo: 3 – Munetaka Murakami, Grant Taylor, & Kyle Teel
Tim Moran: 2 – Colson Montgomery & Grant Taylor
Brandon Anderson: 1 – Lenyn Sosa
Brendan Gallian: 2 – Munetaka Murakami & Grant Taylor
Carson Kass: 2 – Grant Taylor & Shane Smith
Tommy Gross: 2 – Munetaka Murakami & Jordan Leasure
Andy Ho: 3 – Shane Smith, Grant Taylor, & Munetaka Murakami

Who will hit more Home Runs: Colson Montgomery or Munetaka Murakami?

Joe Binder: Munetaka Murakami 30, Montgomery 26
Jordan Lazowski: Murakami 28, Montgomery 24
Brett Haffner: Murakami 34, Montgomery 31
Nik Gaur: Murakami 33, Montgomery 25 (but Montgomery with a better season)
Michael Suareo: Murkami 31, Montgomery 26
Tim Moran: Montgomery 29, Murakami 22
Brandon Anderson: Montgomery 27, Murakami 22
Brendan Gallian: Murakami 33, Montgomery 29
Carson Kass: Murakami 36, Montgomery 28
Tommy Gross: Murakami 32 [did not list Montgomery’s total]
Andy Ho: Murakami 37, Montgomery 31

Give us one Hot Take about the 2026 White Sox:

Joe Binder: Mune winning Rookie of the Year is a medium take for me, so let’s up the ante. The bringer of bidets will receive AL MVP votes.
Jordan Lazowski: Kyle Teel finishes Top 5 in AL MVP voting.
Brett Haffner: Munetaka Murakami winning Rookie of the Year is a medium take, according to Joe, so I’ll say that Miguel Vargas leads the team in WAR.
Nik Gaur: Both Teel and Quero will be viewed as top-15 catchers in baseball by the end of the season
Michael Suareo: The Sox will have a top-10 bullpen in 2026
Tim Moran: Lenyn Sosa plays well enough to merit being an everyday starter over other infield talent.
Brandon Anderson: I think there’s a chance they will be playing in meaningful games in August/September, but eventually will just run out of gas towards the end.
Brendan Gallian: Jedixson Paez sticks around all season.
Carson Kass: The White Sox can be a playoff-caliber team this season, but a lot of it will depend on how good the AL Central is. At worst, I think they find a way to hang around .500 all season.
Tommy Gross: Jordan Leasure is going to have a breakout year and will be the closer by the end of the season
Andy Ho: Kyle Teel will have the fastest pop time in 2026

Finally, who will win the Alumni Home Run Derby?

Joe Binder: Jim Thome
Jordan Lazowski: Jermaine Dye
Brett Haffner: Todd Frazier
Nik Gaur: Todd Frazier
Michael Suareo: Jose Abreu
Tim Moran: Jose Abreu
Brandon Anderson: Paul Konerko
Brendan Gallian: Carlos Quentin
Carson Kass: Harold Baines
Tommy Gross: Paul Konerko
Andy Ho: Manny Ramirez

What are your predictions for the 2026 season? Let us know in the comments below!

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Featured Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images