Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn have both played a full season worth of games

Luis Robert played his 162nd career game for the White Sox on Sunday in a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. For Andrew Vaughn, it was his 163rd career game.

Both of these 24-year-old players have now played a full season's worth of games. In Robert's case, it's a little hard to believe it took him this long, because this is his third season with the Sox.

Robert played in 56 games in the 60-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Injuries limited him to 58 games last year, and he's appeared in 38 games this season after recently coming off the COVID-19 list.

Vaughn's path has been a little more conventional. He played in 127 games as a rookie in 2021. He spent some time on the injured list this season with a bruised wrist after being hit by a pitch, but he has appeared in 36 games this year.

So, how have the two players fared to this point? It looks pretty good. Here are the career numbers for both:

Robert: .294/.341/.494, 35 doubles, 1 triple, 30 home runs, 97 runs scored, 94 RBIs, 22 stolen bases

Vaughn: .250/.317/.420, 30 doubles, 21 home runs, 71 runs scored, 71 RBIs, 1 stolen base

Lately, manager Tony La Russa has been hitting Vaughn second in the lineup, and Robert third. And why not? Vaughn is hitting .298 with .839 OPS. Robert is hitting .296 with a .766 OPS. 

With Tim Anderson on the IL with a groin strain, Robert and Vaughn are the two best hitters on the team. And with both of them being 24 years old, I'm starting to believe they will be the centerpieces in the middle of the Sox lineup for the next few years.

For some time, we thought Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada would be those players. Alas, Jimenez can't stay on the field because of injuries, and Moncada has been a combination of injured and bad all season. It's hard to say what's in Moncada's heart, but his body language is as bad as his .135 batting average.

Fortunately, Vaughn has made steps forward during his second season, and Robert, while inconsistent, looks like he will become the game-breaking player the Sox hoped he would be.