The Chicago White Sox, the powerhouse of the American League Central, which has a number of Cuban stars, and the Milwaukee Brewers, a new generation of young forced-throwing processing plants, both won the championship of their divisions last season, but they also broke in the first round of the playoffs. After a one-off season of reinforcement, can the two division overlords go one step further? Let's take a look!
2021 Season Review
The 2021 season of the Chicago White Sox is hard not to nod its head in praise, but it also leaves a lot of regrets. However, this makes their goals clearer in the offseason and in 2022. The White Sox finished at the top of the Midtown Midway Last Year, winning their first division title since 2008.
Although their playoffs came to an abrupt end in the American League Division, it was remarkable that all of these results were achieved in the face of more serious injuries. Eloy Jimenez's injury during spring training seemed to be a subtle sign, and since then more than half of the top ten players in the squad with a winning contribution have been absent from the squad to varying degrees. Fortunately, at every critical moment, someone always stands up and carries the team forward, the best example of which is Yermin Mercedes in the first month of the season. Overall, the White Sox's playing line was steadily output last year, and the team's batting percentage, home run number, and hit points were all in the top ten of the major leagues.
The White Sox's starting rotation was excellent, with the top four starting pitchers all season below 4, with Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon ranking third and fifth in the League. In the cowshed, Liam Hendriks remained in excellent form, while the breakthroughs of Reynaldo Lopez and Ryan Tepera were also gratifying, and the barn had a few more available soldiers.
Personnel changes
In the off-season, facing Kimbrel and Hernandez, who did not perform well after coming to the team, the White Sox rejected the latter's contract option, executed the former's contract option and then sent him to the Dodgers to exchange him for AJ Pollock. Pollock, who handed in his career-high .892 offensive index last season, will add depth to the White Sox' outfield.
In the free market, the White Sox sent Carlos Rodon, who had been good last season, Billy Hamilton, who often delivered "Spider-Man" skills, and the aforementioned cowshed big man Tepera. Among the team's free agents, the White Sox only chose to renew Leury Garcia, who is also about to enter his tenth year in the White Sox.
Joe Kelly joins White Sox Source: White Sox Social Media
The White Sox signings focused on the cowshed, winning back-to-back successions to former Mariner Terminator Kendall Graveman and former Dodgers veteran Joe Kelly. In addition to this, they also reinforced star tool man Josh Harrison.
Josh Harrison joins White Sox Image source: White Socks Social Media
Key star: Tim Anderson, a shortstop
Anderson, who made his mark on the cover of a well-known baseball game, maintained his form in 2021 and was named to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. Last year, he paid 0.309/0.338/0.469 to hit the three-time range, although there were some fluctuations in the long play, but he was still fully healthy and still gave people higher expectations. It is worth noting that In 2021, Anderson has the lowest guarantee rate among qualified hitters in the major leagues, only 4%, which also highlights his batting style.
Dark Horse Candidate: Michael Kopech, pitcher
Kopec will play mainly as a backup pitcher in 2021, but he will return to the starting rotation in the new season. In 2021, his performance was somewhat ups and downs, with the self-responsibility score rate as low as 1.53 in the first half of the season and 5.56 in the second half. However, his qualities have always been excellent, with speedball speed, revs and overall three-strike rate all in the top 5% of the league, and leading the league in some expected stats. In the new season, Kopec will undoubtedly become the living force of the White Sox rotation.
Recruit Registration: Jake Burger, third baseman
As one of the best power batters in the 2017 draft, "Brother Hamburg" missed three seasons of training time due to the epidemic and injuries. However, last year's healthy attack finally showed his performance as a first-round show, playing a beautiful number of 0.274/0.332/0.513 with 18 bombs in 82 games at the AAA level, which also promoted to the major league. Although the white sox line of the new season is still crowded, if Berg can continue to output good performances, then his bat can naturally play a position for him.
2022 season outlook
The White Sox failed to reach the other side of their dreams last season, but they have achieved fruitful stage results. After an offseason adjustment, a healthy white socks is undoubtedly frightening. Judging from the contract and the player's control period, the main members of this white Sox can remain for at least two years. All they need to do now is to set their sights on the highest stage and the greatest honor without distraction.
The brewers had an extremely impressive record last season, and there are also areas that need to be strengthened urgently. How did they get to the division in a "partial" situation, and can they improve next season?
The Brewers finished last year with 95 wins and 67 losses, the second-highest number of wins in history, behind the team's all-time record of 96 games set in 2011 and 2018. The brewers, who were crowned again in the League Central after three years, did not face much resistance, and the only challenge was the Cardinals' 17-game winning streak at the end of the season. But they lost to the Warriors in the League of Nations division and eventually saw their opponents win the championship.
The Brewers had a starter rotation that terrified the major leagues last season. The top three starting pitchers Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta have 2.43, 2.56 and 2.81, respectively.
Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer were followed by 3.22 and 3.19. Even brett Anderson, a non-traditional "sixth starter", scored a 4.22 ERA on a 96-inning pitch. Burns finished out to beat the Philadelphiaman's Zack Wheeler with the National League Young Award.
The winemaker's line is the opposite. Overall, the Brewers' level of blows was only at the bottom of the league last season. Among them, the 2018 League of Nations MVP Christian Yelich is no longer brave. After winning the MVP votes first and second respectively in 2018 and 2019, Yerich began to decline in 2020, and in 2021 he paid a shocking 0.248/0.362/0.373 hit three, obviously with knee and back injuries that had a great impact on him.
The highlight of the playing line was willy Adames, who traded from the Rays in the mid-season, who hit 20 hits in 99 appearances for the Brewers. The team's starting right outfielder, Avisail Garcia, also hit the team's most 29 home runs.
The Brewers' cowshed is inferior to the starting pitcher, but they still have josh Hader, one of the best finishers in the major leagues. Head played 60 games in the regular season, taking 34 rescue points and failing only one. The good news is that Head has a significant increase in his helpers, and he will also be a strict first-game finisher next season, with a relatively lighter bowling task.
Among those who became free agents offseason, the Brewers chose to re-sign backup pitcher Brad Boxberger, while several other free agents chose not to renew their contracts, such as home run champion Avisail Garcia, mid-season fielder Eduardo Escobar, who traded from the Diamondbacks, and second-placer Manny Pi a) and victory group back-up pitcher Hunter Strickland and others.
The incoming accounts mainly include four counter-reinforcements led by Andrew McCutchen, all of which are short one-year contracts. One of the trades that was praised was for the Brewers swapping Jackie Bradley Jr and two farm rookies from Red Sox back right outfielder Hunter Renfroe. This saves pay space and upgrades strike capabilities without sacrificing garrisons. Together with McCarthyn, Renfer will bring new firepower to the brewers of the new season.
Key star: Corbin Burnes, pitcher
The Brewers had too many excellent pitchers last season, and Burns is undoubtedly one of them. Since the start of the season, Burns has delivered 58 strikeouts before throwing his first dropout, a major league pitcher record. On August 12 last year, Burns went on a 10-game wicket against the Cubs, drawing a major league record. On September 11, Burns and Josh Head teamed up to complete a no-hit, with Burns taking eight innings. After setting a series of major league and team records, a Cy young award became the best summary of Burns' wonderful season.
Dark Horse Candidate: Aaron Ashby, pitcher
The brewers' dark horses followed: Brandon Woodruff in 2019, Burns in 2020 and Freddy Peralta in 2021. The Brewers' ability to adjust pitchers is there for all to see, most recently Eric Lauer. The mantle that is expected to take over is Aaron Ashby.
Despite Ashby's poor performance in last year's playoffs, his 95-mile-long stretch ball and extremely displacement sliding ball, paired with a shift ball, gave him the potential to wreak havoc on his batters. Ashby, who made his major league debut last year, soared 39 strikeouts in a 31.2-inning pitch in the season, and although his positioning in the new season is unclear, he has already raised a lot of expectations.
Recruit Registration: Ethan Small, starting pitcher
The 2019 debut show delivered a 1.98 ERA last season across three minor league tiers, and 92 strikeouts in 77.1 innings also proved his prowess. Small's speedball + variable ball combination is estimated to make many opponents suffer, although Smore's fastball is not particularly prominent because of his arm injury history, but his possession and body advantages make this speedball still a great threat, combined with the almost identical shot but the speed difference of nearly 20 miles of variable ball, Small is likely to become the next terrible existence of the Brewers' rotation.
The total salary of the brewers in the new season will not unexpectedly set a team record. The window of the championship continues to open, and if the brewers' lines and other skills are restored in the new season, with the starting rotation and a large number of young strong shots on the farm, perhaps this year's brewers can go further than last year.
Source: Brewers' official social media
With the mighty White Sox and the strong-throwing Brewers, whose playoff prospects are you more optimistic about? Hurry up and discuss with us!