The Chicago White Sox are a team with many solid individual players. They just haven’t put things together as a “team.” When they do that, they will be one of the better units in the league. It may not happen this year, but it’s bound to happen at some point. Of course, that depends on many factors, like injuries and trades.
The Meteoric Rise Of This White Sox Player
The Sox found themselves someone who is consistent and leads by example. This player was not “grown” within the organization but came from somewhere else to step in and become one of the top players on the team.
That player is Tommy Pham.
Before Pham
The White Sox were still reeling on offense before Pham arrived in the majors from his minor league assignment. The White Sox signed Pham in the middle of April and had him get up to speed in AAA Charlotte with the Knights for four games. He joined the Sox on the 26th of April and has been a lightning rod for them ever since. You can tell the difference in this team before he arrived instead of now that he’s a full-time major league player.
Interestingly, no one else in Major League Baseball picked him up before the White Sox signed him.
The Stats
The White Sox have enjoyed having Pham in the lineup; it’s easy to see from the stats that he has put up. Through their series with the Toronto Blue Jays, Pham has 30 hits, three home runs, and 11 RBI. His average is .316, and he has stolen three bases. He’s racking up the hits and padding his stats in every game he plays. He’s easily one of the top players in the White Sox lineup.
The Future
There is speculation that the White Sox will trade a lot of their existing talent for prospects to help them build for the future. Pham is one of those guys who could quickly bring a handful of prime prospects to the Sox. He’s performing well and is undoubtedly attractive to some team looking for a guy who can hit the ball, steal a base or two, and play strong defense.
Pham may be the best signing the White Sox have made in years. Chicago has had some strong players come through its system. Guys like Andrew Vaughn have been pretty strong starters who were homegrown in its system (although Vaughn went straight to the big leagues and skipped minor league ball altogether). But when it comes to signing free agents, with Andrew Benintendi as an example, it has struggled.
Should the Sox choose to trade Pham, they should get a decent return for him. However, keeping Pham would be their best bet if they are in win-now mode. He adds a lot to the offense and the defense. But if they are looking to build up their farm system and get some additional talent, Pham could be traded.
Main Photo Credits: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
