With the All-Star break closing in, the Chicago White Sox have already cleared the halfway point of the 162-game schedule, and the bigger surprise is sitting right there in the standings: they’re in a playoff race. That alone makes the first-half MVP conversation worth having, especially because hardly anyone outside the clubhouse saw this coming.
The debate got rolling after White Sox postgame hosts Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen - the same Ozzie Guillen who managed the 2005 World Series champion Sox - made the case for third baseman Miguel Vargas as the team’s first-half MVP. That take makes plenty of sense.
Vargas has been excellent and, as of this writing, appears to be the club’s only All-Star selection. There’s still time for another White Sox player to be added to the American League roster, but Vargas has clearly put himself in the spotlight.
Still, he’s not the only name in the mix.
For me, the shortlist comes down to three players: Vargas, shortstop Colson Montgomery, and starting pitcher Davis Martin. Munetaka Murakami would have been in that group too if a hamstring injury hadn’t cost him significant time. Before the injury, he looked like a real front-runner.
Vargas has put together a strong first half across the board. In 88 games and 384 plate appearances, he’s hitting .247 with 20 home runs and 56 RBI.
His on-base percentage is .363, his slugging percentage is .494, and his OPS sits at .857. He’s also been valuable defensively, starting 68 games at third base, 13 at first base, and three at DH, while moving around within games as well.
He’s made just four errors, all at third, and owns a .975 fielding percentage there.
Montgomery has been right there too. His line reads .274/.309/.492 with 23 home runs, 53 RBI, and a 2.2 WAR across 82 games.
He’s started 62 games at shortstop, 18 at third base, and two at DH, and he’s made seven errors. His fielding percentage is .974 at shortstop and .975 at third.
He and Vargas have both delivered in the biggest moments, with key homers and game-winning hits, though Montgomery has not yet hit a walk-off homer.
Then there’s Martin, who has been the Sox’s staff ace. He’s 9-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 17 starts, along with a 3.2 WAR and a 1.256 WHIP.
He has thrown 96.1 innings and struck out 90. At Guaranteed Rate Field, he’s been dominant: 5-0 with a 0.88 ERA in home starts, and the White Sox have won every home game he’s started.
The road has been a different story lately. Martin was hit hard for nine earned runs at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees, then walked five in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians last week. That outing ended as a no-decision, since the Sox were walked off by Cleveland.
Even with those rough patches, Martin belongs in the discussion. His recent form matters, and his road numbers haven’t matched what he’s done at home, though some of that isn’t on him alone. The White Sox as a team have also struggled away from home.
After weighing it all, Vargas still gets the nod. Montgomery has been clutch and has the stronger raw home run total, but Vargas has been just a little better defensively and has the walk-off homer on his résumé. That’s enough to tip the scale.
So the initial reaction of “what about the other guys?” has turned into agreement with Garfien and Guillen.
Vargas has been the first-half MVP, even if the best part of this whole debate is that it’s a real one. More than one player has carried real weight, and that’s a big reason the White Sox are in first place halfway through the season.
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