The Curious Case of Andrew Vaughn

Not every young White Sox player traded away turns into a star. It only seems that way, going back to the disastrous winter of 1959-60 when Bill Veeck traded away Earl Battey; Johnny Callison; Norm Cash; Don Mincher; and John Romano. For Gene Freese, Minnie Minoso and Roy Sievers. Trades since haven’t been that bad, merely just as bad. Gio Gonzalez; Daniel Hudson; Aaron Rowand; Chris Young—all traded for quick fixes that failed. Did I mention Fernando Tatis Jr., traded for James Shields? If not, it’s because that one is too recent and hurts a little too much to talk about. All of which brings us to the most recent player on that list, Andrew Vaughn, who drove in six runs last night for his new team, the Brewers. At least he did it in a win over the Cubs. The 27-year old first baseman and former first-round draft pick batted .189 in 185 at-bats with five homeruns and nineteen RBIs for the Sox before the front office sent him to Triple-A Charlotte in May and then traded him to Milwaukee for pitcher Aaron Civale. Talk about a change of scenery. Vaughn is hitting .375 in 48 at-bats for the Brew Crew, with five homers and 21 RBIs. In other words, his production has skyrocketed in limited playing time. One more game like the one last night may turn Vaughn back into an everyday player. And, if he continues to produce, then what? Do GM Chris Getz and New-Mickey Venable shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, well, those things happen. Good guy though”? That’s not enough for me. I want to know if Vaughn’s development—along with Jake Burger’s and Gavin Sheets’—was affected by the circus that followed Rick Renteria’s firing after the 2020 season. Two years of Tony La Russa followed by 1.75 of Mickey Mouse is a great way to stunt players’ growth. Tell you what. If Vaughn continues to produce and Luis Robert Jr, too (assuming he’s traded), the problem lies not in which players the Sox draft but how and why they fail to develop them.