2022 Sox Machine Staff Predictions
Time again to put our Opening Day predictions on to paper. Last year, in light of Eloy Jimenez’s injury, we expected the White Sox to still have a winning record and be in the running to win AL Central. In the end, the 2021 White Sox squad exceeded our Regular Season expectations winning 93 games.
However, the White Sox did not reach the ALCS and they are 2-5 in postseason games during this contention window. Expectations coming into 2022 haven’t been this high since 2006.
Joining the Sox Machine staff in making picks is Kevin Kaduk, Head of Content at CHGO. He hosts The Chicago Sports Podcast where you can listen or watch on allchgo.com.
Kevin Kaduk, Head of Content – CHGO
2022 Best Case Scenario: First-round bye. Luis Robert wins AL MVP, the lineup stays healthy and both Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn make the jumps the Sox wouldn’t pay for on the free-agent market.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: The rotation doesn’t pull its weight, injuries expose the roster’s shortcomings and someone in the AL Central makes a surprising jump to stun the Sox into the wild card ranks.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 90-72
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Michael Kopech
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
NL MVP: Juan Soto
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki
| American League | National League | |
| East | Yankees | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Brewers |
| West | Astros | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Blue Jays | Giants |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Mariners | Padres |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Rays | Phillies |
World Series Prediction: Padres over Yankees
Jim Margalus
2022 Best Case Scenario: World Series title, which justifies everything the Rick Hahn did or didn’t do before this point.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: One of those Jerry Manuel seasons — not the good one — where the offense hits a ton, but the pitching staff dissolves quickly.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 92-70
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Jake Burger
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
NL MVP: Mookie Betts
AL Cy Young: Shane Bieber
NL Cy Young: Zack Wheeler
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki
| American League | National League | |
| East | Blue Jays | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Cardinals |
| West | Astros | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Rays | Brewers |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Yankees | Giants |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Mariners | Mets |
World Series Prediction: Dodgers over Blue Jays
Josh Nelson
2022 Best Case Scenario: The Chicago White Sox not just weather the storm in May and June, but they excel. Rick Hahn makes a bold move to trade for Luis Castillo before the trade deadline, and the White Sox win 2022 World Series.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: The difficulty of May and June is too much to bear. July 1 rolls around, and the White Sox are below .500. Rick Hahn doesn’t have the prospects to pull off a significant move as the team stumbles to an 83-79 record.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 93-69
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Kyle Crick
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Luis Robert
NL MVP: Trea Turner
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito
NL Cy Young: Logan Webb
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki
| American League | National League | |
| East | Blue Jays | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Brewers |
| West | Mariners | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Astros | Padres |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Yankees | Mets |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Rays | Phillies |
World Series Prediction: White Sox over Padres
James Fox
2022 Best Case Scenario: Win the World Series.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: Injury-riddled season where they miss the playoffs entirely.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 99-63
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Andrew Vaughn
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr.
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole
NL Cy Young: Corbin Burnes
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Seiya Suzuki
| American League | National League | |
| East | Blue Jays | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Brewers |
| West | Astros | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Rays | Giants |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Yankees | Mets |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Angels | Marlins |
World Series Prediction: White Sox over Mets
Greg Nix
2022 Best Case Scenario: Luis Robert wins the MVP, Michel Kopech impressively steps into the rotation void left by Carlos Rodon, and the Sox storm to the best record in the AL. AJ Pollock homers off Craig Kimbrel to clinch the World Series.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: Injuries eat away at front-line talent, exposing some questionable depth pieces. The Twins bounce back thanks to the big acquisitions of Carlos Correa and Sonny Gray, leaving the Sox to compete with superior AL East teams for the Wild Card spots.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 93-69
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Andrew Vaughn
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Luis Robert
NL MVP: Mookie Betts
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL Rookie of the Year: Hunter Greene
| American League | National League | |
| East | Blue Jays | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Brewers |
| West | Astros | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Rays | Padres |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Yankees | Phillies |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Mariners | Mets |
World Series Prediction: Dodgers over White Sox
Ted Mulvey
2022 Best Case Scenario: Let’s celebrate a World Series title! The White Sox finally take the next step, not only winning one playoff series but the whole dang thing, led by American League MVP Luis Robert. Concerns surrounding the starting pitching (beyond Lance Lynn) never materialize, and the offense and pitching are in lockstep the entire season.
2022 Worst Case Scenario: Count the White Sox among the numerous teams plagued by injury bugs to their pitching staff. Multiple starters lose significant time to various ailments and a lack of starting depth leads to an overworked and, ultimately, exhausted bullpen. While the offense pounds, it’s not enough to overcome large deficits on a nightly basis. The White Sox lose the division crown to an upstart Tigers squad and a strong AL East grabs all the Wild Card spots.
2022 W/L Record Prediction: 95-67
White Sox Most Valuable Player: Luis Robert
White Sox Breakout Player: Gavin Sheets
2022 MLB Awards
AL MVP: Vlad Guerrero Jr.
NL MVP: Juan Soto
AL Cy Young: Shohei Ohtani
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler
AL Rookie of the Year: Julio Rodriguez
NL Rookie of the Year: Oneil Cruz
| American League | National League | |
| East | Rays | Braves |
| Central | White Sox | Brewers |
| West | Astros | Dodgers |
| Wild Card (4 Seed) | Blue Jays | Mets |
| Wild Card (5 Seed) | Yankees | Cardinals |
| Wild Card (6 Seed) | Tigers | Padres |
World Series Prediction: Rays over Dodgers
Author
I’ll add a bold prediction: Michael Kopech makes the All-Star team.
Jim’s pick for Jake Burger to be White Sox Breakout Player is off to a good start.
Not so much for Yoan Moncada.
https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1512100359543701506
So what is happening to Moncada? KenWo is gonna throw a fit.
He had an oblique injury. On the IL retroactive to 4/5. The 15 day IL is back this year, so he won’t be back for some time.
I was going to pick him as my team MVP. Now, nah.
is it true vaughn was the one actually taking grounders at 3rd and may get the start there tomorrow or is that some internet trolling???
merkin says pollock leading off and burger batting 9th tomorrow…
I would imagine Burger was still on his way from
CharlotteNorfolk. He played in the Knights opener on Tuesday.He played last night and left the game early because of an awkward slide or something. He must be OK I guess, will be good to see him get some at bats even if it’s not great circumstances.
Josh and James have the best predictions. The other ones are not fans of this team.
TLR
Moncada had a rough spring. 37% K rate, 3% walk rate, no extra base hits. Wonder if he was hurt for a while.
I think every team is going to struggle with injuries to an unusual degree, but the White Sox are one of the teams who won’t have the minor league assets to plug holes through trade, so they’ll be forced to lean on their upper minors prospects whether they’re ready or not. So prepare for a heaping helping of Burger, Popeye, Yolbert, and Cespedes.
I’m here for it.
I hope the bullish predictions on Kopech pan out. He was fantastic in April and May last year and pretty poor (ERA over 5) after. There probably is not a more important player that could make strides that could affect their postseason than Kopech.
Feels like we’ve been waiting for this guy to take the training wheels off for a decade.
I’ll just lay this out here so it’s part of the public record.
AL division winners – Blue Jays, Sox, Mariners
wild cards – Rays, Astros, Yankees
ALCS – Sox over Blue Jays
MVP – Robert
Cy Young – Cease
Rookie – Witt
NL division winners – Braves, Brewers, Dodgers
wild cards – Padres, Mets, Cardinals
NLCS – Padres over Braves
MVP – Soto
Cy Young – Musgrove
Rookie – Suzuki
World Series – Sox over Padres. James Shields throws out the first pitch of Game 6 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
If you make a lot of money, please remember me.
My pick for breakout player is Michael Kopech, betting he will find the move to the rotation to his liking, the catcher tandem of Grandal and McGuire effective at framing his pitches, and the result being a very effective 150 innings pitched for the AL Central champs.