The White Sox closed out the mathematical first half of their season with a victory over the Diamondbacks, putting them on a 52-win pace if they simply replicate their 26-55 record over the second half. Chris Getz took his sweet time vowing that the White Sox would win more games than they did during their wrong-kind-of-record-setting 2024 season, but unless you think this team is capable of going 16-55 the rest of the way, he won't be punished for going out on a very short limb.
Double the numbers in other areas, and you'll see similarly modest improvements. After scoring the fewest runs by any team in more than half a century with 507 runs last year, they're out of the cellar with 560 (which also clears the All-Getz simulation I ran two Opening Days ago). They're also on pace to allow nearly 100 fewer runs with 724, after surrending a league-worst 810 last time around. Four teams have a worse run differential in 2025, so barring the kind of collapse that precedent says is possible, they're back to being the ordinary kind of awful, with the Rockies assuming the mantle of laughingstock.
But when you drill down to the individual level, you'll see why 52-110 doesn't really count as progress. There's only one hitter on pace to have an above-average season, and while some of the average individual seasons are victories for where they are in their development, nothing truly bankable has emerged. There's a little bit more going for them on the pitching side, with the caveat that a number of starting pitchers have dealt with injuries or will be setting professional highs for innings pitched, which could reduce Will Venable's options further. At least the bullpen appears to be in better shape, but as always, leads to protect could be in short supply.
As we do at this point every season, let's take the first half numbers and double them to get a better idea of what a full season's output looks like.
White Sox hitters
| Player | WAR | G | PA | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB/CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edgar Quero | 0.4 | 104 | 362 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0/2 | 30 | 70 | .264 | .331 | .307 | 83 |
| Lenyn Sosa | 1.6 | 132 | 478 | 44 | 24 | 2 | 12 | 42 | 2/2 | 14 | 114 | .277 | .298 | .416 | 99 |
| Chase Meidroth | 1.8 | 114 | 472 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 18/6 | 54 | 68 | .264 | .347 | .317 | 90 |
| Miguel Vargas | 3.6 | 156 | 644 | 80 | 40 | 4 | 20 | 68 | 4/0 | 60 | 110 | .233 | .314 | .422 | 106 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 0.4 | 106 | 426 | 48 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 60 | 0/0 | 32 | 72 | .236 | .297 | .445 | 106 |
| Luis Robert Jr. | 0.0 | 146 | 570 | 54 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 64 | 44/12 | 58 | 176 | .185 | .270 | .313 | 65 |
| Michael A. Taylor | 0.4 | 140 | 390 | 42 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 34 | 14/4 | 30 | 120 | .207 | .280 | .366 | 81 |
| Brooks Baldwin | -2.6 | 94 | 290 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 4/0 | 14 | 82 | .211 | .252 | .323 | 61 |
| Josh Rojas | -1.0 | 86 | 270 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8/2 | 26 | 72 | .183 | .261 | .233 | 42 |
| Mike Tauchman | 1.6 | 60 | 246 | 34 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 28 | 0/0 | 34 | 54 | .276 | .374 | .476 | 139 |
| Austin Slater | 0.2 | 68 | 166 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0/0 | 18 | 52 | .219 | .305 | .370 | 90 |
| Kyle Teel | 1.2 | 28 | 98 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2/2 | 16 | 30 | .282 | .408 | .359 | 120 |
| Vinny Capra | 0.0 | 42 | 80 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2/0 | 2 | 16 | .162 | .179 | .216 | 11 |
Takeaways
No. 1: The White Sox finished the first half with a replacement-level offense -- 0.0 WAR. Again, that represents a major improvement over the -6.7 WAR they accrued in 2024, but it's weird that of the 11 players who positively contributed to breaking even, four of them are catchers. Besides Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel listed above, Matt Thaiss (0.9 WAR) is now giving his unusually shaped production to the Rays, while Korey Lee (0.2) is in Charlotte.
No. 2: One area where the White Sox are behind their 2024 selves? Home runs. They're only on pace for 128, which is five fewer than their total from the previous year. Benintendi led last year's team with 20, and it was only a few years ago that Andrew Vaughn led the way with 17, so Luis Robert Jr.'s struggles lay the whole problem bare.
No. 3: I was hoping that Robert would set his career high in walks and steals before the half ended, but he's one short of each.
No. 4: Miguel Vargas is on track for the team's first 40-double season since José Abreu in 2022.
No. 5: Vargas' 68 RBIs would be the lowest total to lead a White Sox team since the Year of the Pitcher, when Pete Ward and Tommy Davis tied for the team league with 50 apiece.
White Sox pitchers
| Player | WAR | W-L | ERA | G | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Martin | 2.4 | 4-14 | 3.79 | 28 | 0 | 161.1 | 160 | 76 | 68 | 24 | 38 | 106 | 110 |
| Sean Burke | 1.0 | 8-14 | 4.22 | 32 | 0 | 162 | 156 | 92 | 76 | 24 | 74 | 136 | 92 |
| Shane Smith | 2.4 | 6-10 | 3.38 | 30 | 0 | 149.1 | 126 | 72 | 56 | 10 | 64 | 136 | 123 |
| Jonathan Cannon | 1.0 | 4-14 | 4.66 | 24 | 0 | 127.1 | 136 | 68 | 66 | 21 | 42 | 102 | 89 |
| Adrian Houser | 3.0 | 4-4 | 2.27 | 12 | 0 | 71.1 | 64 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 26 | 52 | 184 |
| Brandon Eisert | 0.4 | 4-2 | 4.46 | 70 | 4 | 68.1 | 76 | 34 | 34 | 8 | 16 | 78 | 94 |
| Jordan Leasure | 0.0 | 4-8 | 4.40 | 66 | 2 | 57.1 | 56 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 30 | 70 | 95 |
| Steven Wilson | 2.6 | 4-2 | 1.73 | 54 | 2 | 52 | 34 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 28 | 50 | 233 |
| Cam Booser | -0.6 | 2-8 | 5.11 | 60 | 2 | 49.1 | 42 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 28 | 54 | 82 |
| Mike Vasil | 2.8 | 6-6 | 2.82 | 44 | 2 | 108.2 | 84 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 54 | 78 | 148 |
| Bryse Wilson | -1.8 | 0-4 | 6.95 | 38 | 0 | 91.1 | 134 | 74 | 70 | 22 | 38 | 54 | 60 |
| Martín Pérez | 1.2 | 2-2 | 3.15 | 8 | 0 | 40 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 36 | 134 |
| Tyler Gilbert | 0.8 | 2-2 | 3.26 | 34 | 0 | 38.2 | 24 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 40 | 129 |
| Jared Shuster | -0.8 | 0-0 | 8.04 | 24 | 0 | 31.1 | 34 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 10 | 24 | 53 |
| Dan Altavilla | 0.8 | 0-2 | 2.19 | 22 | 2 | 24.2 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 195 |
| Aaron Civale | 0.0 | 2-8 | 5.03 | 14 | 0 | 68 | 76 | 38 | 38 | 14 | 24 | 50 | 82 |
| Tyler Alexander | -1.8 | 8-14 | 5.25 | 50 | 2 | 96 | 112 | 70 | 56 | 6 | 32 | 74 | 78 |
| Fraser Ellard | -0.4 | 0-4 | 6.75 | 14 | 0 | 13.1 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 65 |
| Grant Taylor | 0.4 | 0-0 | 3.00 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 147 |
| Wikelman González | 0.0 | 0-0 | 4.50 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 101 |
Takeaways
No. 1: While it's terrific news for the individuals in question, it's not great for the team that the pitchers leading the staff in bWAR are a guy they signed off a Triple-A roster a month ago, and the Rule 5 pick they didn't intend on carrying until the last days of spring training.
No. 2: Even setting aside the good luck in getting what they've gotten from Shane Smith and Adrian Houser, it was a successful first half for the other starters. Martín Pérez is the only starter who isn't running ahead of his preseason ZiPS projection, and if he comes back in late July, he still has a chance.
No. 3: Steven Wilson is on pace for the goofiest 2.6 WAR season. He's barely on pace for 50 innings because he was DFA'd before the season, and his 4.00 FIP explains why he's not an automatic option in high leverage. FanGraphs only has him at 0.3 WAR, which is probably more like it.
No. 4: The White Sox are on pace for 16 saves, which would be the lowest total by any team in a full season since the Red Sox saved 16 games in 1987. The last time four saves was good enough to lead a White Sox team in saves was 1956, with Dixie Howell accounting for four of the team's 13.
No. 5: Tyler Alexander's damage was incurred with the 6.19 ERA he sported in Milwaukee, which is why he's here in the first place. Isolate his work with the White Sox, and he's on pace for 0.8 WAR, at least as a pitcher.
