The White Sox have more expectations this year, as they have had a very solid off-season. This will allow the White Sox to build on the promising starts from a lot of their young players last season. If the White Sox are able to replicate their second half from last year, they will be in a good spot.
One of the players that had a very promising 2025 season was Miguel Vargas. Vargas came over to the White Sox at the 2024 trade deadline, as he was apart of the three team trade that sent Tommy Pham and Erick Fedde to the Cardinals and Michael Kopech to the Dodgers.
After a rough 2024, he bounced back in 2025. On the season, Vargas hit .234 with a .316 OBP and a .717 OPS. He added 16 homeruns and 60 RBIs. This was a very solid first full season for Vargas and he looked like a completely different player from 2024.
This improvement was due to a swing change in late April. After that change, Vargas played like a future all-star. According to FanGraphs, from April 23rd to the end of the season, Vargas hit .254 with all 16 of his homeruns and 54 RBIs. He had a .331 OBP and a very good 10% walk percentage to just a 16% strikeout percentage. This is exactly what the White Sox wanted to see out of Vargas last year.
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Vargas’ patience at the plate is exactly what Chris Getz looks for in a player, as he is able to avoid swinging at pitches outside the zone and get on base via the walk. He also has 20+ homer power potential, as he had 16 homers despite a stint on the IL and having a rough start to the year.
Now, heading into 2026 with his roster spot fully locked up, he looks to show everybody why he was a former top-50 prospect in baseball. With his adjustments, expectations for Vargas should be pretty high, especially with a ton of infield prospects getting close to the major leagues. However, with his start to Spring Training, he may be able to back up those expectations.
So far in the spring, he’s played in five games. In those five games, he is 6 for 14, which is good for an amazing .429 average. He also has a very solid .460 on base percentage, and an elite 1.038 OPS.
Miguel Vargas follows Antonacci with a line drive double to the LF wall. pic.twitter.com/huiTpCpDkR
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) February 28, 2026
It seems like Miguel Vargas has been getting hits every game, as today he added two doubles. Vargas has been hard to get out this Spring and he should be able to continue that into the regular season.
I have high expectations for Vargas this year and I believe that he can be the best hitter on the White Sox. There is a strong probability that he hits .270 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs this season, and if he does, that may propel him to an all-star appearance.
