While fans of many other teams have had the chance to fantasize about how their favorites will fare in the post-season, we of White Sox fandom are left with pure fantasy — fantasy league consideration, that is.

For some reason, perhaps because it won’t much matter what team a player ends up on, fantasy league experts are the first out of the gate with predictions for the 2026 season, a couple doing so before the 2025 regular season was even over. Alas, even fantasy seems to provide little hope for us, though it’s very important to point out that stats that bring fantasy points and those that bring real wins are often very different, so there’s no need to panic quite yet. Still, these are more or less independent experts, influenced by neither the irrational exuberance nor not-so-irrational despondency of team fans, so let’s take a peek.

A look through the eye — of CBS, that is
Chris Towers of CBS Sports made his 2026 picks, by position. For position players, he listed 12 top selections for each infield slot and catcher, 36 for a generic outfield possibility.

To save you the hard math, which we Sox fans don’t generally care for because it tends to get embarrassing, that’s a total of 96 players. Of those 96 fantasy choices, rather than their fair share of 3+ the Sox ended up with just one — Kyle Teel, rookie defensive weakness not being a fantasy thing.

Feel bad? Let’s go for feeling worse.

Towers numbers his choices one through 12 (we’ll count by threes for the outfielders) and he slots Teel in at No. 11 on the catcher board. A reasonable grading system would be to give 12 points for the top pick at each position (again, by threes for outfielders), 11 for second, and so on. That means Teel gets us two points.

Plunk that all together and you have a total of 468 possible points, which means that Sox fair share were Towers to deem them average would be 15.6. That’s a trifle more than … two.

But, wait! What about pitchers?

Glad you asked.

Towers lists 48 starting pitchers. Nary a one is of the White Sox persuasion.

However, lest you be dismayed, several are of the former White Sox persuasion. Garrett Crochet is all the way up at No. 2, right behind Tarik Skubal, and that’s no surprise given Crochet’s season and incredible Wild Card performance against the Yankees. Hot on the heels of his spikes is Chris Sale, at No. 4.

But, wait! There’s more. Carlos Rodón is No. 20, Dylan Cease No. 29. That’s four of the Top 30, way more than the Sox fair share. But of course, they’re playing elsewhere.

Sale was traded to the Red Sox in 2016 for Victor Diaz, Luis Basabe, Michael Kopech and No. 1 overall MLB prospect Yoán Moncada. The Red Sox wanted Sale to help them win a World Series, which he did. The White Sox wanted the haul for him to lead to long-term success, which it didn’t, two being total busts and two a mixed bag.

Cease went to San Diego, where he’s had one very good season and one so-so one and hasn’t led them to the promised land. The righty brought a return four players, of whom Steven Wilson’s ho-hum relieving so far has been the only marginally bright spot.

Rodón, of course, was stupidly let go for absolutely nothing and has been a star for the Giants and Yankees. The book won’t be closed for years on the Crochet trade, which brought Teel, a competent second baseman and violent gum chewer in Chase Meidroth, a prospect working his way up the system rapidly in Braden Montgomery and a meh reliever in Wikelman González.

Still, looks like the ex-Sox have the current team crushed to a pulp.

Oh, yeah — forgot the relievers. No Sox listed there, either. But in fairness, pretty much only closers count in fantasy and the Sox don’t have one, so there was no one to be ignored.

Sure, but how about strutting like a Peacock?
Over at NBC Sports, fantasy sportswriter Matthew Pouliot did his list all in one swoop, a Top 300 of Fantasydom for 2026, positions be damned. Naturally, that means the White Sox should score 10 slots on average, spread more or less evenly from top to bottom, right?

Uh, er, no.

Scan as you might, the top listing Pouliot gives anyone on the Sox is No. 78, occupied by Luis Robert Jr., a true fantasy when it comes to fantasy when playing right, what with a lot of long balls and stolen bases. Then you better keep scanning … and scanning … and scanning … because the only other White Sox player on the list is Colson Montgomery, way down at No. 202. Not even Teel made it.

Gotta hope their fantasies are just that, right?

But what about our mighty prospects?
The two great hopes for the front of the rotation, Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, both looked this year like prime time may be some way off, what with having a very hard time trying to figure out where it is they’re supposed to be throwing the ball. When not injured, Schultz walked 45 in 73 innings, leading to a 1.671 WHIP and 4.73 ERA. Smith walked an amazing 56 in 75 innings. Gulp.

On the position front, there’s Braden Montgomery, who’s moving up through the ranks nicely, and uh, er, uh, well. … pretty much no one else is remotely close to the majors. And Montgomery’s a fair way off yet.

They’re all young, of course, with time for the pitchers to gain some control, but that doesn’t make any of them good picks for your team for 2026, fantasy or reality.

Which brings us to another prognostication
Bleacher Report has done an early projection for every team to start the year, including … drum roll with trumpet fanfare … the 2026 Chicago White Sox Opening Day Lineup!

Guess what? It looks exactly like the 2025 Chicago White Sox Closing Day Lineup, only with returns from injury. Yep — same outfield of Andrew Benintendi, Robert and Mike Tauchman; same infield/DH mix of Lenyn Sosa, Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas and Curtis Mead; presumably Teel and Edgar Quero catching.

Isn’t that exciting!!!!????

Of course, anything could happen before spring. Why there could even be a change in ownership!

Now there’s a fantasy for you.