ESPN gives Chicago White Sox modest letter grade for start in April

The Chicago White Sox have been one of the surprise teams this season, as they sit third in the American League Central with a 16-18 record. The American League Central is the worst division in baseball, with the Detroit Tigers (18-17) and the Cleveland Guardians (18-17) tied for the lead in the division and the only teams above .500.

The White Sox’s surge in the Central can be attributed to the success of their first baseman, Munetaka Murakami. Murakami has proven to be one of the most undervalued players coming over from the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization. The White Sox signed Murakami to a now bargain deal of two-years $34 million.

Murakami’s major league-leading 13 home runs have been matched with the White Sox continuing to supplement the roster with their talented young prospects. Left-hander Noah Schultz and infielder Sam Antonacci received call-ups in April to help give a boost to a stagnant team.

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The White Sox also called up outfielder Braden Montgomery to Triple-A, which is one step closer to joining the White Sox. Nevertheless, this talent should lead the White Sox to being successful at some point, but it has put them in a good spot to start, as they received a solid letter grade for their strong showing in April.

The Chicago White Sox received a high letter grade for April, despite being under .500

According to ESPN’s David Schoenfield, the White Sox received a B+ for how they performed in April. Schoenfield’s main reason was Murakami, who is making a strong case to be the American League Rookie of the Year.

“The big headline has been Munetaka Murakami, who is a threat to break the single-season record for strikeouts — which scared off many teams, despite his big power numbers in Japan — but nonetheless is hitting .231/.374/.564 with an MLB-leading 13 home runs. He’s as pure a three-true-outcomes guy as we’ll ever see: He hasn’t even hit a double yet. But Murakami isn’t the only story here. Top pitching prospect Noah Schultz has debuted and displayed strikeout stuff. Colson Montgomery is swatting home runs. Sam Antonacci looks like a fun player and Miguel Vargas has more walks than strikeouts. The White Sox probably don’t have the pitching or lineup depth to hang here all season, but they’ll avoid 100 losses — and maybe even make a run at .500.”

The White Sox lost over 100 games in each of the last three seasons. They lost a major league record 121 games in 2024. With the American League Central this bad the White Sox could have a chance to compete. However, this could be false hope and the White Sox.

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