There was lots to love about the 2019 White Sox.
And there was lots to make you turn away.
In many ways, shortstop Tim Anderson captured the essence of a 72-89 team by making a 95-point leap from 2018 and leading the major leagues with a .335 batting average.
He also led the majors with 26 errors in 122 games.
The same thumbs-up/thumbs down gesture can be made for left fielder Eloy Jimenez, who led AL rookies with 31 homers and finished strong with a .340/383/.710 with nine homers, eight of his 18 doubles and 25 RBI this month.
On Monday, a day after Jose Abreu won the AL RBI title with 123, Jimenez’ September numbers netted him the AL Rookie of the Month honor.
Jimenez’ defense left a lot to be desired, though, and by going on the disabled list twice – once after crashing into the wall chasing a ball that sailed well over it -- he stayed true to his minor league health history.
So it goes with the young and talented. Ceilings are high, expectations are created, dreams are dreamt, lessons are learned and fingers are crossed.
There was a lot of that last season when Yoan Moncada led the majors with 217 strikeouts. Moncada flashed the tools that had made him baseball’s No. 1 prospect while putting up good, not great, numbers.
This season, he eased everyone’s concerns about trading Chris Sale by being the Sox’ best all-around player. Moncada trimmed 63 strikeouts off his total and batting .315/.367/.548 with 25 homers, 34 doubles and 79 RBI. He also transitioned well from second base and played a strong third base.
Anderson led the majors in hitting and Abreu led the AL in RBI but Moncada, who was third in average, led Sox hitters in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS (.915).
But back to more mixed results. Catcher James McCann, while grading well for handling the pitching staff and throwing from beginning to end of his first season with the Sox, had an All-Star first half but batted .226/.281/.413 in the second half (while posting nine homers and 30 RBI in each one).
On the pitching side, Lucas Giolito went from being the worst starter in baseball last season to a possible top five finisher in AL Cy Young Award voting, but other starters moved the needle for a rotation filled with 41 combined starts from Dylan Covey, Ross Detwiler, Manny Banuelos, Odrisamer Despaigne, Ervin Santana, Carson Fulmer and Hector Santiago.
Reynaldo Lopez had two or three of the most dominant Sox starts of the season (including his last one) and several of their worst. His 5.38 ERA ranked 60th among 61 qualifying pitchers in the AL.
Injuries to Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon exposed a shortage of depth, and when top prospect Dylan Cease was promoted from Class AAA Charlotte, he showed hints of promise but pitched to a 5.79 ERA in 14 starts.
The bullpen, while trumpeted as a strength on the backs of left-hander Aaron Bummer and righties Alex Colome, Evan Marshall and Jimmy Cordero, ranked 14th in ERA (4.31), 21st in WHIP (1.40) and 29th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.48).
A pitching staff ranking in the bottom third in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings would have been better served by a better defense behind it, but the Sox ranked tied for fourth with 111 errors and 25th in defensive runs saved.
When it all shook out, it added up to 17 games below .500.
“We still have to improve,” manager Rick Renteria said at the conclusion of year 3 of the Sox rebuild. “I know there are things that we will hammer away at, both individually and collectively. But our future’s bright. And it’s now. It’s time for us to now take the next step.
“I don’t want to be on the [negative] side of wins and losses anymore.”
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