It’s a new era for the Chicago White Sox. New management and an offseason that saw many core players like Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, and Liam Hendricks, to name a few, leave the organization shows that the White Sox are looking for a fresh start.
Chicago White Sox: Jiménez & Moncada
With a fresh start, manager Pedro Grifol is looking towards his veteran leaders to be role models for all the new faces. Eloy Jiménez and Yoan Moncada have jumped out to that captain-like role as they both have had a tremendous start to the 2024 spring training games.
The 2023 season was not kind to either Jiménez or Moncada. Although Jiménez played 100-plus games for the first time since 2019, his numbers were not up to par. 18 HRs, 64 RBIs, and an OPS under .800 is far from what the White Sox organization expects out of Jiménez.
Eloy Looking For Bounce Back Year:
In the 2019-2020 campaign, Jiménez hit 31 HRs in his rookie year in 2019 and a silver slugger in 2020. It looked like Jiménez was gonna be the next big thing for the White Sox. Due to many injuries that led to him playing only 139 games from 2021-2022, his once-electric bat has gone quiet in these past couple of years.
Looking to put his past behind him, Jiménez has played at a superstar level so far. Although he’s played in five out of the nine games, he has been the best hitter for the Sox. In 14 at bats he has 6 RBIs, 2 doubles, 10 total bases, a .572 average, and an OPS of 1.285. So, not only is Jiménez hitting again, but his power seems to be coming back as well. If Jiménez can continue this trend all the way through spring training, there’s no doubt he could be one of the MLB’s best power hitters this year.
New Year, New Yoan?:
Yoan Moncada had an improved year in 2023 boosting his batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage from 2022. However, he has still not played at the level he was advertised for.
The former number one overall prospect has only one season under his belt where he hit over .300, had more than 20 HRs, and tallied more than 70 RBIs. All of those came in 2019. It looked as if Yoan was on the rise to live up to that top prospect height. Unfortunately for Sox fans that has not been the case.
Many Sox fans have wondered whether his offensive skills will ever match his defensive skills. He’s an elite defender at the 3B position. His 2024 spring training campaign is showing glimpses of what could be Moncada’s offensive resurgence. In four spring training games, Moncada has tallied 4 hits, 6 total bases, 2 doubles, a .400 average, and an OPS of 1.000. So, very much like Jiménez, his bat has come back to life both for contact and for power.
With how well Jiménez and Moncada are swinging the bat and the threat that all-star Luis Robert Jr. brings to the plate, expect these three players to lead the way for the Chicago White Sox in 2024.
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