This episode is presented by Ankin Law - Injury Law Made Personal.
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Episode Summary
With the Chicago White Sox starting better than expected, and the AL Central faring worse than expected, how does ZiPS project the rest of 2026 season?
Episode Notes
Sox Machine 20th Anniversary Group Tickets
Saturday, August 8th - 6:10 PM CT: Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox
Ticket link: https://www.gofevo.com/event/2026SoxMachineMeetup
Tickets are $39.51 per person
Rundown
- [Intro] Latest Chicago White Sox news as they optioned RHP Jordan Leasure to make room for veteran reliever Trevor Richards. Keith Law is mocking Grady Emerson first overall and why Roch Cholowsky's hitting against Big Ten pitching might be a reason, and a Sox Machine PSA with group tickets now available for purchase on August 8 which is also Ozzie Guillen's number retirement ceremony.
- [5:21] Best friend, Dan Szymborski of Fangraphs.com, joins the show to share how ZiPS is thinking about the Chicago White Sox start to 2026.
- [7:18] What is the outlook for the AL Central? On average, how many wins will it take to win the division?
- [12:31] What does Dan need to see from the White Sox to consider them a serious dark horse contender to make the postseason?
- [15:03] In what ways has Munetaka Murakami exceeded ZiPS projections, and what could a future contract extension look like?
- [20:38] How Davis Martin is surprising everyone with his performance
- [23:13] First impressions of Noah Schultz, who is struggling to figure out what his strikeout pitch will be
- [26:37] If the White Sox do hang around in the playoff race, how aggressive should they be with promotions?
- [29:08] What kind of impact does ZiPS project Kyle Teel will have with the current White Sox?
- [32:03] Fan Question: With home run totals surging in the minor leagues, how does ZiPS take that into consideration with current projections for prospects?
