Encouraged by '19, White Sox eager for '20

CHICAGO -- Rick Renteria surveyed the results from the 2019 White Sox and had one thought concerning where his team should be at this point in '20.

“I sincerely wish we were not going home after today,” the White Sox manager said. “But we can take care of that as we continue to move forward.”

Renteria and White Sox general manager Rick Hahn talked this weekend about how much there is to be excited about concerning this current version of the team. There’s Lucas Giolito and Aaron Bummer on the pitching side, not to mention a year of learning experiences on the mound for Dylan Cease.

But take a look at the September offense for another prime example. Yoán Moncada (1st, 41), Tim Anderson (tied for 2nd, 37) and Eloy Jiménez (10th, 33) entered Sunday ranked among Major League hits leaders for the month. Jiménez ranks second in the Majors with 24 RBIs, and José Abreu is tied for seventh with 21.

Moncada (.414) leads baseball in September average. Anderson (.381) ranks fourth and Jiménez is tied for 13th (.348). There still will be development across the board for the White Sox as they enter Year 4 of the rebuild, but as Renteria has stressed, the time has come to take the next step in 2020.

“Our future's bright. And it's now,” Renteria said. “It's time for us to now take the next step.

“I've been saying that all year long, that we're at a point now where I make no bones about it, it's going to be incumbent about myself and our staff and everybody to continue to push us to the next phase, the next level. I don't want to be on the [negative] side of wins and losses anymore. I want to be on the other side of it in a positive way.”

Coaching decisions coming soon

Hahn said Friday decisions concerning Renteria’s 2020 coaching staff will not be discussed or finalized until after the season is done. Renteria believes those decisions will come shortly after Sunday’s finale.

“I'm sure it will be here within the next few days,” Renteria said. “That will all be resolved as the week goes on. Should not be long.

“Listen, all these guys have worked their tails off and continue to provide for growth for our guys. Hopefully all of our discussions are good.”

Giolito has a friendly playoff connection

Giolito has more than a casual interest in the upcoming Major League playoffs. Max Fried and Jack Flaherty, his good friends and former teammates at Harvard Westlake in California, will be pitching for the Braves and Cardinals, respectively, in the postseason.

As the layout stands now, the Braves and Cardinals would match up in the National League Division Series.

“Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it,” Giolito said. “Ideally, I would like to see them pitch against each other in the same game. That would be a lot of fun, especially their ABs against each other. I’m excited. They are both doing well. I’ll be rooting for them.”

Giolito has a sense of school pride pushing him but also the bond of friendship and the growth they have gone through together to become Major League successes.

“All that comes into play,” Giolito said. “I’ve been seeing first-hand how hard those two guys work since we were kids, and this is the kind of stuff that we were talking about then.

“Now it’s become reality. I’m very excited for both of them. And I can’t wait until we are in the same boat, and I can see those guys in the World Series one day maybe.”

Fulmer hopes to become Gray-like

Look for Carson Fulmer to continue his offseason work with Driveline Baseball near Seattle, as he did to his benefit during the past offseason. He also plans to travel to Nashville, Tenn., to work with fellow Vanderbilt standout Sonny Gray.

Fulmer, who is out of options, has had mechanics issues that hinder his ability to control his lift leg when it comes down, causing him to kick out, which makes him rotational and allows the ball to get away in the zone. He’s looked at videos of Gray, who he’s been compared to, and felt better about those mechanics in his past few outings.

“Being able to lift and drive that front leg toward home plate, it felt a little foreign to me at first,” Fulmer said. “I’m starting to get the hang of it, and I’m throwing a lot more strikes due to that.

“He’s a pretty good source to talk to and run stuff through. I’ll work with him hopefully a little bit this offseason and kind of fine-tune those mechanics.”