MLB Season Preview: Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox



Last Season's Standings: The Chicago White Sox went 90-72, including .500 in their last ten games to finish third in the AL Central.

In: SP Mark Buehrle; RF Jermaine Dye; 1B Darin Erstad (prev. team: LA Angels); C Wiki Gonzalez (prev. team: Washington Nationals); C Toby Hall (prev. team: LA Dodgers); 1B Eduardo Perez (prev. team: Seattle Mariners); CF Luis Terrero (prev. team: Baltimore Orioles); 2B Junior Spivey; 3B Joe Crede; RP Jon Lujan (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); SS Alex Cintron; RP John Danks (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); SP Nick Masset (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); SP Jacob Rasner (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); RP Andrew Sisco (via trade w/ Kansas City Royals); SP Gavin Floyd (via trade w/ Philadelphia Phillies); LF Scott Podsednik; RP David Aardsma (via trade w/ Chicago Cubs); RP Carlos Vasquez (via trade w/ Chicago Cubs); CF Rob Mackowiak

Out: RP Neal Cotts (via trade w/ Chicago Cubs); SP/RP Brandon McCarthy (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); SP Freddy Garcia (via trade w/ Philadelphia Phillies); 1B Andrew Gload (via trade w/ Kansas City Royals); LF David Pasanio (via trade w/ Texas Rangers); RP Jeff Nelson (retired); C Sandy Alomar (new team: NY Mets); RP David Riske (new team: Kansas City Royals)

Starting Pitching: The staff ace will be Jose Contreras, who went 13-9 with a 4.27 ERA in 30 starts last season. Contreras has all kinds of movement in his impressive arsenal, highlighted by a hot dancing fastball and a wicked splitter; his control is sharp. He has trouble with runners aboard and tends to get in sticky situations in the middle innings. Pitching second in the rotation will be righty Jon Garland. He went 18-7 with a 4.51 ERA in 32 starts. Garland features a sharp curve and a sinking fastball, to go with a change-up and curve. He gets ahead in the count early. He has his troubles with hitters from both sides. Righties drive in their runs by going station to station and lefties take him deep. Garland needs to work on his endurance. Southpaw Mark Buehrle will be the third starter. The beig southpaw went 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA in 32 starts last season. He throws fabulous junk, including a curve, change and two different sliders. One of the game's great work horses, he can still throw very well beyond 100 pitches. Buehrle tends to get rattled with runners on base. He's a low starter, hit hard in the first inning. Slated to be the fourth starter is former-Expos Javier Vazquez, who went 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 32 starts in 2006. Vazquez is durable, doesn't walk many batters (just 56 last season) and usually saves his best for big games. He has a solid repertoire of fastball, curve and an outstanding change-up. He has to learn to pitch more effectively with runners on and needs to cut down on the home run ball (23 balls left the ball park during his starts). The fifth starters spot will be a battle between lefty John Danks and righty Gavin Floyd with Floyd having the edge because he has some games of experiences, whereas Danks has never pitched a major league game in his career. Floyd was 4-3 with a brutal 7.31 ERA in 11 games as a September call-up in 2006. Floyd's impressive stuff is highlighted by a great curveball, combined by low-mid-90's heat and a change-up. He's occasionally troubled by mechanical problems and left-handed hitters can eat him up a bit. Expect him to get the nod as the fifth starter, but Danks should make his major league debut sometime in September.

Bullpen: Hard-throwing righty Bobby Jenks will anchor this bullpen and receive the ball in the ninth inning of a close game. He went 3-4 and saved 41 games in 45 opportunities with a 4.00 ERA in 67 appearances last season. He cranks the heat into the upper-90's, if not further, and has a fierce curveball. Jenks has shown fantastic poise in tight situations. Right-handed hitters tend to blast him. He wears down towards the end of the season, so improved conditioning would help. Setting him up in the eighth will be lefty Matt Thornton. He was 5-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 63 appearances last season. The big lefty uses a nice combo of a mid-90's fastball and slider to retire batters from both sides. He works well on consecutive days. Command can be a problem, but he's working on it, not letting the ball fly up in the zone and get crushed out of the park so much (Thornton allowed just five ball to leave the park last season). Righty Mike MacDougal, who was 1-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 29 games played despite missing the first half of the '06 season to a serious arm injury, is a second option as setup man. He owns a wicked slider, and an often unhittable diving 95-mph fastball. He's reliable in back-to-back games. Keeping command over his nasty arsenal has proven difficult, but has improved, and he has some trouble with runners on. Free agent signing David Aardsma should be entering his first full year in the bigs. He was 3-0 with a 4.08 ERA in 45 appearances last season. Rookie Nick Masset is also battling for one of the final spots in the bullpen but will likely start in Charlotte for more fine tuning, especially since he has only 8 games of experience under his belt. He had a 4.15 ERA in those eight appearances. Andrew Sisco, however should serve as the lefty specialist for the White So, he went 1-3 with an atrocious 7.10 ERA in 65 games played last season. A gargantuan southpaw, his low-mid-90's heat and strong curve come up on hitters in a hurry. He baffles left-handed batters. Sisco has a lot of trouble getting his first pitch inthe strike zone. As a reliever, he needs to enter the game with more focus. Boone Logan is battling for the final bullpen spot, but look for him to start in AAA ball, but be available as an injury replacement or September call-up. He had a bad 8.31 ERA in 21 appearances as a September call-up last season. Finally, righty Charlie Haeger is looking to be a long man out of the bullpen, but again he'll start in Charlotte for fine tuning. He went 1-1 in seven games played in 2006.

Designated Hitter: The big bat of Jim Thome will be inserted third in the line-up and will be in the line-up pretty much every day. He hit .288 with 42 HR and 109 RBI last season. He can spray the ball on a line all over the field for singles and doubles and can pull the ball into the bleachers in right field. He's a rare slugger who's not afraid to hang in for a free pass (walked 107 times in 2006) and is great in the clutch. He strikes out prodigiously (a whopping 147 times last season), but no one's going to tamper with his routine as long as he hits for power and average and gets on base like he does.

Catcher: Team leader AJ Pierzynski will once again start the bulk of the games behind the plate (up to 140 if healthy) and will bat seventh in the line-up. He hit 295 with 16 HR and 64 RBI last season. He's a free swinging left-handed contact hitter who hits for average and will belt a lot of doubles into the gaps (24 last season). He swings a little too freely, causing him to fall behind in the count more often than not. Pierzynski doesn't have a lot of power. Veteran Toby Hall will provide the back-up. Hall batted .259 with 8 HR and 31 RBI in the '06 season. Hall is a pull hitter who makes excellent contact with decent power. He has a smart approach at the plate, making sure to put the ball in play and seldom striking out (just 22 times last season). Defensively, he has a strong arm and is improving his overall game behind the plate. While he does know the strike zone, he's eager to make contact so it looks at times as though he's not aware that a hit is not the only way to get on base. His power hasn't grown as hoped.

First Baseman: Paul Konerko will receive the bulk of the starts over at first base (between 150-160 if healthy) and will bat clean-up. Konerko hit .313 with 35 HR and 113 RBI's last season. His combination of power and batting average makes Konerko a Rafael Palmeiro type. He has the ability to work pitchers deep into counts. Konerko doesn't remind anyone of Palmeiro in the field. An increase in power has brought a rise in strikeouts (104 times last season). Thome and Darin Erstad will be the back-ups. Erstad hit .221 with 5 runs driven in last season. He missed 3.5 months to a broken ankle in 2006. He goes maximum effort all the time, making him the type of player any team would want. He is also a meticulous student who belts line drives to all fields. Erstad's aggressiveness often gets him into trouble at the dish, swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone. His all-or-nothing style of play also makes him a high risk for injury.

Second Baseman: The speedy Tadahito Iguchi is featured at second base. He hit .281 with 18 HR and 67 RBI last season. He'll likely bat second and play between 135 and 145 games if healthy. He can drive the ball to both fields, with occasional power, and adds a little speed to the line-up. He's also a dependable fielder at second base. He's been dogged by inconsistency throughout his career, most significantly in the areas of power and plate discpline. Providing the back-up will be Pablo Ozuna, who hit .328 with 2 HR and 17 RBI last season. Ozuna has decent speed for extra bases and a consistent bat for average. He's less than mediocre in the field, with hands like rocks. He needs to become more patient at the plate.

Shortstop: Batting eighth and playing between 135 and 145 games if healthy is veteran Juan Uribe. He hit .235 with 21 HR and 71 RBI in 2006. He's smooth as silk with the glove and boasts a powerful arm. For a small-ish infielder, he has good gap power and a knack for driving in runs. He rarely walks (just 13 times all of last season) and has had some trouble hitting when pitchers aren't preoccupied with base runners. Utility man Alex Cintron will back him up. Cintron hit .285 with 5 HR and 41 RBI last season. He has a solid line-drive swing and rarely strikes out (just 35 times last season). He also has occasional power and comes through with runners in scoring position. They'd like to see him walk more (he walked only 10 times in 2006) and his defense is adequate at best. Also, though he does have solid speed, he isn't a great base stealer.

Third Baseman: Patrolling the hot corner for the White Sox will be Joe Crede, who hit .283 with 30 HR and 94 runs driven in last season. He'll likely bat 6th in the line-up and play between 145 and 155 games this season. Crede hits for average and power, especially to the opposite field, and has shown an aptitude for driving in base runners, particularly in the clutch. He could stand to walk more (walked just 28 times last season) and he has had first-half struggles. Providing the nack-up will be Rob Mackowiak. He hit .290 with 5 HR and 23 RBI last season. Mackowiak can spray the ball to all fields from the left side of the plate and into the gaps for doubles. He's got a lot of hustle, surprising pop in his bat, and can play infield and outfield. He has had discipline problems at the plate, perhaps swinging for the fences more often than he should.

Left Fielder: Leading off will be Scott Podsednik who will play up to 155 games if healthy. He hit .261 with 3 HR and 45 RBI last season; also stole 40 bases in 59 attempts last season. Podsednik boasts great hustle and is a strong base-runner. He'll slap the ball into the gaps for extra bases and is strong in the clutch. He strikes out more than you'd like to see from a leadoff man (96 times last season) and has some struggles against southpaws. Erstad, Mackowiak, Ozuna and rookie Ryan Sweeney will battle for the back-up job. Ultimately, Sweeney is looking like the odd man out to lack of experience and will likely start in Charlotte. He hit .229 while driving in 5 runs as a September call-up last season. Sweeney owns a pretty left-handed swing with which he hits line drives to all fields and occasionally over the fence. He hasa strong outfield arm. Sweeney doesn't hang in for very many walks (none last season). Though he has decent speed, he's not an efficient base-stealer.

Center Fielder: Starting the season in center field, but on a short leash in terms of going into a slump is the ninth hitter Brian Anderson, who should play between 125 and 135 games if healthy. He hit .225 with 8 HR and 33 RBI in 2006. Anderson is a very athletic kid, he can smack the ball to all fields with growing power. He plays hard and is quick on the bases and in the outfield. He's developing an "injury prone" tag and needs to get better jumps on balls in the outfield. Should he get hurt or struggle early, Erstad, Mackowiak or Sweeney will jump in.

Right Fielder: Finally, the speedy Jermaine Dye will bat 5th and play between 135 and 145 games if healthy. He hit .333 with 44 HR and 120 RBI last season. Dye is a quality run producer. Over the years his patience has improved and that has helped him become a better overall hitter. He's also a fantastic outfielder with an incredible arm in right. Though he has good speed, he just can't figure out how to steal a base. He freezes up in clutch situations late in the game. Mackowiak and Sweeney are battling for the back-up role.

Season Prediction: The Chicago White Sox have a line-up and decent bullpen. Their starting rotation, with the loss of Freddy Garcia and the rotation in center field and left field and the health of Podsednik, coming off off-season surgery for a sports hernia, and Erstad, coming off a bad ankle. I believe the White Sox will take the AL Central title, as I believe they have enough depth in their back-ups.