31-year old righty swinging outfielder Alex Rios finished in 15th place in the A.L. MVP voting in 2012. Rios played in 157 games for the White Sox last year and he was 184 of 605 (.304 avg, .850 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 25 homers, 91 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He has now played in 490 games in his first four years with the White Sox and he is 496 of 1,855 (.267 avg, .738 OPS) with 257 runs scored, 62 homers, 232 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. Rios has been up and down for the White Sox in his four years with the team, but they are hoping for him to have another big year in 2013.

23-year old lefty starting pitcher Chris Sale finished in 6th place in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award in 2012. He pitched in 30 games (29 starts) for the Pale Hose last year and he was 17-8 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He gave up 167 hits and 51 walks while whiffing 192 batters in his 192 innings last year, which shows his dominance. If he didn’t fade a little late in the year, he might have snagged the trophy. Sale has now pitched in 109 games (29 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 21-11 with 12 saves, a 2.89 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The future looks really bright for Chris Sale as he is downright nasty on the mound.

45-year old manager Robin Ventura finished in 3rd place in the A.L. Manager of the Year voting. The White Sox weren’t expected to really compete for an A.L Central title in 2012, but they led most of the way before folding late to the Tigers. The White Sox were 85-77 (52.5%) in Ventura’s first year in charge. He looked like a manager who had a lot of experience as he almost made all of the right moves in his rookie year in the dugout. I look for good things out of the White Sox in the next few years with Ventura in charge of things.

35-year old righty swinging 1B Paul Konerko finished 13th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award in 2011. Konerko played in 149 games for the Pale Hose in 2011 and he was 163 of 543 (.300 avg, .906 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 31 homers, 105 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,998 games in his first 15 years in the majors and he is 2,024 of 7,185 (.282 avg, .858 OPS) with 1,040 runs scored, 396 homers, 1,261 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Konerko would have finished a little higher in the voting if he had some help in the lineup.

34-year old righty swinging 1B Paul Konerko finished 5th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Konerko played in 149 games for the White Sox last season and he was 171 of 548 (.312 avg, .977 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 39 homers and 111 RBIs. Konerko has now played in 1,849 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,861 of 6,642 (.280 avg, .854 OPS) with 971 runs scored, 365 homers, 1,156 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The White Sox would like to bring back Konerko who is a free agent but he’s fielding a lot of calls right now.

33-year old lefty reliever Matt Thornton will be the White Sox’ lone representative unless Paul Konerko wins the vote for the last man in. Thornton has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) this season for the White Sox and he is 2-3 with 5 saves, a 2.86 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Thornton only has given up 23 hits in 34 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 48 batters showing just how nasty he has been this year. Thornton was likely picked for the All-Star team because he is one of the very best lefty relievers in the game so I think he deserves the honor.

23-year old righty swinging 3B Gordon Beckham finished in fifth place in the official voting for the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League. Beckham played in 103 games last season for the White Sox and he was 102 for 378 (.270 avg, .808 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 14 homers, 63 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Beckham will slide to second base this season for the White Sox where his offensive numbers could really stand out.