MLB The Show 19: Chicago White Sox Player Ratings, Roster, Lineups, & Farm System

Established in 1888 as the Sioux City Cornhuskers, the Chicago White Sox finally settled on their well-known name in 1904, just in time to claim their first World Series title in 1906. They claimed a second World Series in 1917 before the Black Sox Scandal overshadowed their upset loss in the 1919 World Series. They didn't win another AL Pennant for 40 years, and in 1959 they lost the World Series 4-2 to the LA Dodgers.

The White Sox would once again disappear from the postseason, failing to make the playoffs until 1983, when they lost in the ALCS, something that would happen again in 1993. At this point their World Series drought was a legitimate curse, a generation had been born and died without seeing the White Sox lift the World Series. After Boston broke their curse in 2004 it was Chicago's turn in 2005. A team led by Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, and Mark Buehrle won 99 games and went on to pummel the Angels 4-1 in the ALCS and then sweep the Astros to claim their first World Series in nearly a century.

Since that glorious season the White Sox have made the playoffs just once. They haven't had a winning season since 2012 and even racked up their first 100-loss season since 1970 last year. Can you take over this franchise and bring it back to the top of the baseball mountain?

*All stats correct at time of writing

Team Rating

There is no single team OVR in MLB The Show 19. Instead, you get a ranking from 1st to 30th that shows you exactly where each team sits in the hierarchy of baseball. The problem with this is that you can’t see the gap between the 6th placed team and those either side of them.

The Chicago White Sox start franchise mode ranked 25th. That is not great, and the only strength the team really has is its 9th ranked speed. After that things get bleak, their pitching and contact are ranked 20th, their power 21st, and their defense 23rd.

Financially the White Sox are in a relatively healthy state. Their team budget of $129 million is enough to build a solid roster, and even a strong one if you invest wisely. However, you won't just able to throw money at big-name free agents and put together a super team. Who are the pieces on the current roster you should be looking to build around?

Nate Jones, Relief Pitcher (84 OVR)

Age: 33

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$4.7 million

Pitches: Slider, Sinker, 2-Seam Fastball, Changeup

Best Stats: Velocity (99), Break (99), H/9 (86), K/9 (82), Clutch (77), Control (67)

Nate Jones was a fifth-round pick for the Chicago White Sox in 2007 and got his MLB debut for them in 2012, pitching 71.2 innings with a 2.39 ERA and 65 strikeouts. He quickly became a reliable and consistent part of the bullpen and has pitched 281 innings for them with a 3.11 ERA through to the end of the 2018 season.

In The Show 19 Jones is a sensational player. He has elite velocity (99) and break (99) as well as good clutch (77) performance and nice control (67). He can avoid hits (86) and rack up strikeouts too (82).

Jose Abreu, First Base (84 OVR)

Age: 32

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$16 million

Secondary Position: None

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Clutch (90), Contact vs L (87), Power vs L (79), Durability (78), Contact vs R (76), Vision (70)

Jose Abreu defected from Cuba in 2013 and signed a big six-year deal with the Chicago White Sox. He was an immediate everyday starter in 2014 and mashed 36 homers with a .317 average and ran away with the AL Rookie of the Year. He was consistent with his performance through 2015-2017 too, before some injuries slowed him down a touch in 2018.

In The Show 19 Abreu is superb in the clutch (90) and brings good contact skill (76/87) and nice power (62/79) to the plate. He has solid vision (70), though his discipline (50) is poor for a top hitter. Abreu brings solid fielding (62) and relatively good speed for a first baseman (43).

Kelvin Herrera, Closing Pitcher (81 OVR)

Age: 29

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$9 million

Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, 2-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider

Best Stats: Velocity (98), Break (89), BB/9 (77), Control (76), Clutch (73), K/9 (71), H/9 (70)

Kelvin Herrera signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in December 2006 and got his MLB debut with them in 2011, but pitched just 2 innings. In 2012 he became a real part of the bullpen, pitching 84.1 innings with 77 strikeouts and a 2.35 ERA. By 2015 Herrera earned an All-Star appearance and was one of the best setup men around as he helped the Royals win the World Series. In 2016 he moved into the closer role and in 2018 he got a mid-season trade to Washington before moving to Chicago in the offseason.

In The Show 19 Herrera is an excellent bullpen arm. His combination of elite velocity (98) and terrific break (89) is deadly, but that is combined with solid control (76) and ok performance in the clutch (73). Herrera doesn't have the stamina (24) to go beyond 1 inning but that's just fine.

Chicago White Sox MLB Roster

There can be fluctuations in player OVR from save to save in The Show 19, but even when there is the underlying stats for the player are consistent. We will start our look at the White Sox MLB roster with the position players and then move on to the pitchers.

The White Sox MLB roster is made up of 13 position players and 12 pitchers. That gives you your 9-man starting lineup and a 4-man bench along with the 5-man starting rotation and a 7-man bullpen including your closer.

The bulk of the White Sox offense will come from Jose Abreu (contact L 87, power L 79), Daniel Palka (power R 89, power L 77), and Welington Castillo (contact L 80, power L 72). They will be supported by Yoan Moncada (power R 71, contact R 57), Leury Garcia (contact L 76, contact R 60), and Tim Anderson (contact L 88, contact R 55).

In the field the White Sox don't have many stars. Ryan Goins (fielding 75, arm accuracy 75) and Yolmer Sanchez (arm accuracy 76, fielding 72) are the best defenders with James McCann the best defensive catcher (fielding 68).

The starting rotation is a mix of solid veterans and interesting young pitchers. Ervin Santana (stamina 90, break 88) and Ivan Nova (stamina 81, break 76) are the known quantities of this staff and take the #1 and #3 spots respectively. Carlos Rodon (break 90, stamina 85) is the #2 arm in the rotation with Reynaldo Lopez (velocity 81, stamina 80) in the #4 spot. The #5 slot is held by young starlet Michael Kopech (velocity 97, stamina 72) who could become a real ace.

The White Sox bullpen is probably the strength of the roster. Nate Jones (velocity 99, break 99) and Alex Colome (break 87, velocity 86) are elite setup options for Kelvin Herrera (velocity 98, break 89). Behind that trio you have Jace Fry (break 99, K/9 86) who is a strong option, as is Randall Delgado (break 81, velocity 73). Juan Minaya (break 79, velocity 78) can take some innings up if your starter struggles and Aaron Bummer (velocity 66, break 58) is your long man.

Lineups

The Show 19 has 4 lineups for you to set. These are against right-handed starters with and without the DH and against left-handed starters with and without the DH. The game does preset these lineups for you. As the White Sox are in the American League most of their games are played with the DH.

Against righties with the DH CF Leury Garcia leads off with 2B Yolmer Sanchez, and 1B Jose Abreu next. LF Daniel Palka hits #4 followed by DH Yonder Alonso, C Welington Castillo, 3B Yoan Moncada, SS Tim Anderson, and RF Brandon Guyer. Without the DH Alonso drops to the bench.

Against lefties with the DH the top 4 remains the same but with Garcia playing LF Palka taking the DH spot. Castillo hits #5 followed by Anderson, Guyer, Moncada, and CF Ryan Cordell. Without the DH Palka drops to the bench.

These lineups are ok, but we can improve on them.

What we have done is to get contact skill at the top of each lineup, followed by power. Against righties that means leading off with Yolmer Sanchez and promoting Jose Abreu and Daniel Palka to #2 & #3. Yonder Alonso is next followed by Leury Garcia, Yoan Moncada, Welington Castillo, Tim Anderson, and finally Brandon Guyer, with Alonso dropping out without the DH.

Against lefties Anderson leads off followed by Garcia and Abreu. Castillo is next at DH with Palka hitting #5, followed by Guyer, C James McCann, Moncada, and 2B Ryan Goins. Without the DH Castillo moves behind the plate and McCann heads to the bench.

Farm System

The farm system in MLB The Show 19 can be difficult to deal with. The fluctuation in OVR effect potential too, which makes scouting prospects hard. Their underlying stats are the same so we can use those as a guide but there is also a lack of some real life prospects that means you can’t just google a list and work off that. There are some useful players within the White Sox farm system though.

Joaquin Ferreira, Catcher (75 OVR)



Age: 25

Potential: C

Throws/Bats: R/R

Secondary Position: None

Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter

Best Stats: Durability (83), Fielding (77), Blocking (74), Power vs L (70), Arm Accuracy (70), Power vs R (67)

Joaquin Ferreira can bring solid power (67/70) to the lineup and has good durability (83). He provides an upgrade behind the plate for the White Sox (fielding 77, blocking 74) and has outstanding speed (50) and stealing (57) for the position. His contact skill is poor (39/40) but the rest of his game makes up for that. If you are set on rebuilding then trading Welington Castillo and giving games to Ferreira is not a bad way to go.

Lucas Giolito, Starting Pitcher (66 OVR)

Age: 24

Potential: B

Throws/Bats: R/R

Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, 2-Seam Fastball, Circle Change, Slider, 12-6 Curve

Best Stats: Break (84), Stamina (78), Velocity (72), H/9 (68), Arm Strength (68)

Lucas Giolito was a first-round pick for the Washington Nationals in 2012 and got his MLB debut with them in 2016 before being traded to the White Sox ahead of the 2017 season. He made 7 starts in 2017 for Chicago and posted a 2.38 ERA with 34 strikeouts. In 2018 he was a full-time member of the rotation, making 32 starts with a harrowing 6.13 ERA.

In The Show 19 Giolito has impressive break (84) and good stamina (78). His control (51) is shaky but he has nice velocity (72) and a 5-pitch repertoire to keep hitters off balance including a slider and 12-6 curve that play off his high break stat.

Chris Lopez, Starting Pitcher (63 OVR)

Age: 19

Potential: D

Throws/Bats: R/L

Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, 2-Seam Fastball, Changeup

Best Stats: Stamina (83), Velocity (73), Break (66), H/9 (63), Control (57)

Lopez is just a teenager but comes in with impressive stamina (83) and solid velocity (73). His break (66) is fine and even his control (57) is strong for someone so young. With a season or two maturing in the minors he has a shot at being a useful piece of the White Sox rotation.