Athlon Sports picks White Sox to earn AL wild card spot

Every season since 1995, there has always been at least one team that makes the playoffs after having a losing record the year before.

Last year, that club was the Minnesota Twins, who went 78-84 in 2018 before making a 23-game improvement to go 101-61 and claim the American League Central Division championship last summer.

It seems as though many prognosticators, much to my surprise, believe the White Sox can be that team to go from losing record to playoffs in 2020. The Sox, of course, were 72-89 in 2019, and they probably would need about a 20-game improvement to get into the playoffs in the American League this year.

As we noted in a previous blog, Lindy's Sports picked the Sox to win the AL Central. I recently received the Athlon Sports season preview in the mail, and while Athlon selects Minnesota to repeat as division champion, it has the Sox finishing second in the division and claiming an AL wild card spot.

The magazine notes that the AL Central is ripe for a surprise contender to emerge, and well, why not the Sox? The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are rebuilding, and in Athlon's words, the Cleveland Indians are "counting nickels."

Fellow Sox fans, if you want to get a copy of this magazine, I recommend visiting athlonsports.com and ordering online. On newsstands around here, this magazine features Javier Baez as the bigger photo, not Yoan Moncada.

Me personally, I think Baez gets enough publicity both locally and nationally, so I wanted a copy with my favorite team featured on the cover. So, I ordered the Moncada edition online, and I'm pleased that I did.

The irony in all this: I've received two preview mags in the mail thus far, and both have predicted a playoff season for the Sox, and a non-playoff season for the Cubs. Maybe the Cubs are featured more prominently on covers because their fans buy more magazines that us Sox fans? Not sure ...

Today's fun fact about White Sox history (Mark Buehrle edition)

Mark Buehrle

If you don't follow the White Sox History page on Facebook, you should. Every now and then, I learn something I didn't know about the team's history, or baseball history.

Take this fun fact that was mentioned last week: Mark Buehrle is the only pitcher in Major League history to face the minimum 27 batters three times.

All Sox fans are aware that Buehrle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23, 2009.

Buehrle also faced the minimum 27 batters in his other no-hitter, April 18, 2007, against the Texas Rangers. In that game, Buehrle issued one walk (to Sammy Sosa), but he picked Sosa off and faced only three batters in that inning. (Fun fact about me: This game against Texas remains the only time I've witnessed a no-hitter in person.)

But here's the thing I didn't know: Buehrle also faced the minimum 27 batters on July 21, 2004, when he tossed a two-hitter in a 14-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Both hits were singles, and both runners were erased on double plays.

Interesting and remarkable. You learn something new every day.

Everyone else has a top 10 White Sox prospects list -- why shouldn't I?

Luis Robert

This is the time of year when we see a lot of publications updating their prospects lists, both for individual teams and the league in general.

The White Sox have a top-heavy farm system, and the higher-end guys figure to graduate to the majors sometime in 2020. No. 1 to No. 4 on their prospect list seems obvious to most people. It's those spots from No. 5 to No. 10 that are the subject of debate.

Since everyone else seems to be taking a kick at the can at how these guys should rate, why shouldn't I throw my two cents in? Here are my top 10 Sox prospects going into the 2020 season:

1. Luis Robert, CF. Duh, right? Robert will not be on these lists much longer. He will start the season as the Opening Day center fielder in Chicago. He's the consensus top prospect in the organization, and he ranks anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6 when you see rankings of the top prospects in all of baseball.

I wish Robert would have been called to the majors last season. His tools are insane -- power, speed, defense, throwing arm -- there's nothing to complain about in any of those areas. The main problem for Robert is he remains a bit of a wild swinger, and I expect MLB pitchers to exploit that early in his career. Eventually, he'll make the adjustment, but I wanted that learning curve to start in 2019, during games that were inconsequential in the standings.

Now, Robert will have to learn in the 2020 season, during which the Sox have expectations of being much more competitive. We'll see how he holds up. Certainly, there's nothing left to prove in minor-league levels. Robert hit .328/.376/.624 with 32 home runs and 36 steals across three levels last year. Yep, he's ready for his shot.

2. Michael Kopech, RHP. Kopech is a year and a half removed from elbow surgery. His fastball is back where it should be, sitting between 95 and 100 mph. Will the command be there after such a long layoff from competitive ball? Maybe not, but given Kopech's big fastball and his quality secondary pitches -- including a slider and a change -- I don't have any doubt he's one of the five best starting pitchers the Sox have.

But, the Sox will show "an abundance of caution" with Kopech. He's going to start the year in Triple-A Charlotte, but I don't expect him to be there for long. I'd be stunned if he isn't in Chicago by June 1, assuming good health. Even though the Sox insist that Kopech isn't on an innings limit this season, we know they aren't going to overtax him, so I just assume he throw his innings with the Sox later in the season, as opposed to early in the cold, rainy weather in April.

3. Andrew Vaughn, 1B. The third overall pick in the 2019 draft hit his first spring training home run on Friday, and he appears slated to start the season in Double-A Birmingham. Vaughn put up monstrous numbers over three collegiate seasons at California; his career slash line there was .374/.495/.688.

Unlike some other Sox prospects, Vaughn seems willing to take a walk. He had a .384 OBP in 55 games in the Sox's minor-league system in 2019. He has a simple swing and a disciplined approach that will make pitchers work. Obviously, as someone who is limited to first base as a defender, he'll have to hit to stick in the majors. But there's no reason to believe he won't. Maybe we'll see him at the end of 2020, or in 2021.

4. Nick Madrigal, 2B. He won't hit for power, no, but I'm not sure why I should be concerned about that. In a projected lineup that includes Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez, Robert, Edwin Encarnacion, Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, do the Sox need Madrigal to hit balls off the wall and over it? Not in my world.

I'd make Madrigal the starting second baseman from Opening Day on this season. He can field the position at an elite level, and he almost never strikes out -- you may have heard he only struck out 16 times in 532 plate appearances in 2019. He hit .311/.377/.414 across three levels last season, so I don't think there's a whole heckuva lot for him to prove in the minors. I hope the Sox don't send him back to the minors for service time reasons. We should be past that point in the rebuild.

5. Jonathan Stiever, RHP. I'm always wary of hyping guys over 10 or 12 good starts, but I ended up putting Stiever at No. 5 on this list mostly because his good health (knock on wood) separates him from other Sox prospects. Stiever had a rough start to 2019 at Class-A Kannapolis, where he went 4-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 14 starts.

But something clicked when Stiever got promoted to High-A Winston-Salem, where he went 6-4 with a 2.15 ERA across 12 starts. Stiever's fastball sits in the low 90s, and he's got a good curve. His slider and change are just average, so can he develop a third pitch? And are the gains he made last season sustainable? Stiever figures to start the season in Double-A Birmingham.

6. Dane Dunning, RHP. I had thoughts of putting Dunning at No. 5 on this list, because I'm reasonable certain he'll contribute at the MLB level once he gets healthy. I don't think he has the upside Stiever has, however, and these lists often are about upside. Dunning is recovering from Tommy John surgery and hopes to return to affiliated ball by about June 1.

We could see Dunning in Chicago by the second half of this season. While he's not going to overpower anybody, he has three pitches he can throw for strikes, and well, that's something. A lot of times, guys can stick at the back of the rotation if they can consistently pound the zone with multiple pitches.

7. Luis Alexander Basabe, OF. Basabe's breakout 2018 that saw him hit 15 home runs and earn a spot in the Futures Game has not been forgotten, despite an injury-plagued 2019 season. A broken hamate bone robbed him of his power last season, when he hit only three home runs.

Basabe's slash line last year was .246/.324/.336, and certainly, Birmingham is not a good place for hitters. But, other Sox prospects have produced for the Barons on their way to the majors, and Basabe needs to do the same. The key is lowering his strikeout rate, which was hovering about 30 percent throughout much of last season. Basabe has speed and good defensive tools, so the question is whether the bat comes around.

8. Zack Collins, C. Collins has to get some points because he made it to the majors last season, although his questionable defensive skills behind the plate are likely to send him back to Triple-A to start 2020. Collins received two opportunities in Chicago in 2019, and the first was a disaster. He went 2 for 26 in nine games and got sent back down.

When he came back in September, he had made some adjustments, and it looked better. He slashed .233/.343/.417 with two homers, three doubles, a triple, nine RBIs and nine walks in 71 plate appearances. He also struck out 25 times, which remains a concern, but you figure the Sox will be slow to give up on a left-handed bat and a former first-round draft pick.

9. Blake Rutherford, OF. Hey, let's go wishcasting here. I asked about Rutherford at SoxFest, and director of player development Chris Getz expressed optimism that Rutherford started to turn a corner the second half of last season at Double-A Birmingham. He hit .307/.364/.404 over the last three months of 2019.

That wasn't enough to erase the hideous .185/.226/.291 line he had going into June. We'll keep an eye on Rutherford early in the season to see if he can hold onto his second-half gains. One big problem: He lacks the defensive skill set to play anything other than a corner outfield spot, and he has little power -- only seven home runs last season. He's added 10 to 12 pounds over the offseason, and we'll see if that makes a difference.

10. Matt Thompson, RHP. Just for grins, let's throw a high school pitcher in here, if for no other reason that I'm not high on anybody else. Thompson was the Sox's second-round pick in 2019, and some struggles during his senior season allegedly caused him to take a tumble out of the first round. He's an athletic pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, so we'll see where that goes in the coming years. Realistically, a guy drafted out of high school needs at least four years to make the majors.

Yermin Mercedes again ... and Andrew Vaughn's first home run

For the first time this spring, White Sox baseball was on the radio Friday. It was nice to hear a ballgame on the ride home from work, even if it was just the last three innings of a meaningless exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians.

Looking at the box score, Nomar Mazara may have been the only player in the starting lineup who will actually be with the Sox when the season starts -- unless Nick Madrigal makes the club out of camp.

The Sox won the game, 8-3, and the story once again was ... Yermin Mercedes. I joined the broadcast in the top of the seventh inning, and I apparently just missed Mercedes hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth that turned a 3-0 Sox deficit into a 4-3 lead.

Mercedes is now 4 for 9 with two homers this spring in his quest to earn the job as the 26th man on the Sox's roster.

In other news from the game, Andrew Vaughn, the Sox's top pick in the 2019 draft, made two plate appearances. He walked his first time up, then added a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Vaughn is probably going to start the season at Double-A Birmingham, and he'll be one of the guys in the system to keep a close eye on throughout the year. Most likely, he'll be in the minors for all of 2020, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he were knocking on the door of coming to Chicago by the time September gets here.

Edwin Encarnacion, the incumbent DH, is on a one-year contract with an option year. The guess here is Encarnacion will be a member of the Sox until Vaughn is ready to take his spot. Will that be in 2021 or 2022? We'll find out.

Dallas Keuchel feels 'phenomenal.' Jace Fry, not so much.

Dallas Keuchel

Dylan Cease is the only member of the White Sox's projected starting rotation to appear in a spring training game thus far.

Reynaldo Lopez had his start Feb. 22 against the Los Angeles Angels rained out. Lucas Giolito is nursing a minor chest strain, and Gio Gonzalez is being held back because of shoulder discomfort.

Free agent acquisition Dallas Keuchel? Well, he's feeling "phenomenal," according to this report from MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Keuchel's day to pitch was Wednesday, but the Sox were scheduled to face an American League Central rival in the Kansas City Royals. Rather than allow the Royals to get a live look at Keuchel before the actual games begin, the Sox started organizational pitcher Matt Tomshaw and had Keuchel throw a live bullpen session on the back fields at Camelback Ranch.

The report says Keuchel "got up and down three times," which is a fancy way to say he threw the equivalent of three innings. Keuchel says he's throwing his breaking ball more now than he has at this same time in previous years.

Frankly, I'm wishing for some televised games, so we could get a look at some of these guys ourselves.

Fry dealing with back strain

Jace Fry, projected to be the second left-hander in the Sox's bullpen, is sidelined by back soreness. The issue is said to be minor.

If that injury ends up lingering, it could open the door for nonroster invitee Adalberto Mejia to make the roster. Mejia tossed a scoreless inning Thursday in a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Mejia has 62 games of MLB experience, including 25 starts, all with the Minnesota Twins. Actually, Mejia may be a candidate for the eighth spot in the bullpen, even if Fry is healthy. The Sox need a guy who can work multiple innings in long relief, and well, Mejia may be able to do that job better than Carson Fulmer.

That's one of the roster battles playing out as the spring progresses.

American League news: Yankees dealing with early injuries

Luis Severino

The New York Yankees are among the favorites in the American League this season, but they have had some bad news on the injury front during the first couple weeks of spring training.

The Yankees on Tuesday announced that starting pitcher Luis Severino has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The two-time All-Star needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2020 season.

New York already is without left-hander James Paxton, who will be out through at least April after having something called microscopic lumbar surgery. Right-hander Domingo German will not be eligible to return to the roster until June 5, as he must serve 63 more games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.

Don't cry for the Yankees too much, as they have the game's best pitcher, Gerrit Cole, at the front of their rotation. They also have veterans Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ to help hold things down until Paxton and German return.

But in the meantime, New York has two gaps in its rotation. Candidates to fill those roles include left-hander Jordan Montgomery and right-handers Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa.

In news that broke Wednesday, Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton's ability to start the season is in question because of a Grade 1 strain in his right calf. Manager Aaron Boone says Stanton will miss "a couple of weeks," which could make it difficult for him to be ready by March 26. Injuries limited Stanton to only 18 games in 2019.

Even with these injuries, New York is still the favorite in the AL East. That said, the Yankees could be vulnerable early in the season, and it would behoove the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox to get off to quick starts.

Could Nicky Delmonico or Yermin Mercedes be the 26th man?

Nicky Delmonico

It's hard to say much about early preseason games. The White Sox have played four of them, and they've gone 2-1-1. None of the games have been on the radio, and the only televised game was a 2-2 tie Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Interestingly, the stars of that televised game were two guys on the fringes of the roster -- outfielder Nicky Delmonico and catcher Yermin Mercedes.

Delmonico went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles, and Mercedes went 2 for 2 with a long solo home run. Neither man has much defensive utility, but if the Sox want a bench bat when the season starts, these two players would be among the candidates for the 26th and final spot on the roster.

Mercedes would be a more popular choice among fans, because he's never had a chance in the majors before. Therefore, he has never failed. (Delmonico has.)

Reports indicate that Mercedes doesn't have much mobility as a catcher, even though he's a decent receiver. If he's going to stick in pro ball, he has to hit, and last season, he hit. He posted a .317/.388/.581 slash line with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs in 95 games across two levels -- 53 at Triple-A Charlotte and 42 at Double-A Birmingham.

Typically, Sox hitting prospects are judged by how well they do in the pitcher-friendly ballpark at Birmingham. Mercedes hit .327 at that level, so it was a test he passed. We'll keep an eye on him as camp progresses.

Ditto Delmonico, who the Sox released last season and brought back on a minor-league deal this offseason. The 27-year-old appeared in only 21 games in 2019, batting .206/.265/.286, before a shoulder injury ended his season. Because he was hurt, the Sox couldn't outright him off the roster, so they had to let him go.

Delmonico is a popular player in the organization, and the team probably didn't want his career to end like that, so he's getting another kick at the can this spring. He was decent for the Sox in 2017, when he batted .262/.373/.482 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs in 43 games.

If he can somehow regain that form, he has a chance at a roster spot. His left-handedness is a bonus, and while he's not a good fielder, you can have him stand in left field or at first base.

Most fans probably don't want to see him again because of his failings in 2018 and 2019, but the good news is, if he earns a spot on the club, he won't be overexposed as a regular player this time. Regardless, he's a long shot. Mercedes probably has a better chance.