Five White Sox who need to up their game if team is going to turn season around

The White Sox have been pretty good in May.

But if they're aiming to recover from one of the worst April records in franchise history, they'll have to be much better in June and maintain that level over the second half of the season.

It's a difficult ask, but not impossible.

"We know we can win this division (AL Central)," starting pitcher Michael Kopech said.

Kopech is a big reason why the Sox are 14-12 in May following a 7-20 April. But Baseball Reference calculated they have a scant 3% chance of winning the division, so knowing isn't nearly the same as actually going out and doing it.

Fortunately for the White Sox, the rest of the AL Central is far from imposing. They have the talent to make a move, but the Sox need more from most of the roster, particularly the following five players:

Tim Anderson

The all-star shortstop missed the final three weeks of April and the White Sox were 3-15 when he was recovering from a sprained left knee.

"We go as he goes," manager Pedro Grifol said. "He's a table setter, he's a leader. He's Tim Anderson. He's a big part of what we do here, a big part of who we are."

The Sox have been markedly better with Anderson back in the lineup, but he's looked nowhere near like the hitter that won the 2019 AL batting title with a .335 batting average.

In 25 games since coming back, Anderson is hitting .255 and he's still looking for his first home run of the season. He's also been below average on the defensive side.

Andrew Benintendi

He's a solid baseball player that does just about everything right, and the White Sox need more players like Benintendi on their roster.

Here's the problem - where is the power?

Like Anderson, Benintendi has zero home runs this year.

The Sox knew they weren't getting a bona fide slugger when they signed him to a five-year, $75 million contract in early January.

But they were expecting a little pop from the left fielder, who hit 66 homers over a four-year stretch with the Red Sox and Royals.

Lance Lynn

There have been some flashes of the starting pitcher that was 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 2021, his first season with the White Sox.

But for the most part, his cut fastball has been lacking the old bite and Lynn's usual pinpoint control has been abysmal.

Last year, the right-hander issued just 19 walks in 121⅔ innings. This season, the 36-year-old Lynn has walked 24 in 63⅓ innings while going 4-5 with a 5.83 ERA.

Yasmani Grandal

The Sox's 34-year-old catcher stayed in Chicago over the winter to work on his legs, which have been beaten and battered over his 12-year career.

Grandal has already dealt with a hamstring issue this month, but he's managed to play in 44 games.

If he can stay healthy, the White Sox need the switch-hitter to show more power and up his .333 on-base percentage.

Reynaldo Lopez

He was Grifol's early choice to replace Liam Hendriks in the closer's role, and Lopez fared pretty well with some big help from his 100-mph fastball.

When the heat wilted, Lopez started getting hit hard and he wound up blowing 4 saves in 5 attempts.

Lopez has also given up 6 home runs over 22 innings and his ERA stands at 6.14.

With Hendriks due back as early as Monday, the Sox are hoping Lopez relaxes and gets back to being a reliable setup man like he was in 2022 (2.76 ERA, 1 HR allowed in 65⅓ innings).