Chicago White Sox: Expectations, roster going forward
By Brian Draus
Jun 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher
Chris Sale(49) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
As of Friday (Dec. 12), the Chicago White Sox have assembled a solid ball club.
Can the win the World Series with it? I doubt it, but I don’t think they are done adding pieces to the mix.
Lets take a look at the team position by position.
Starting Pitching
1. Chris Sale (LHP)
2. Jeff Samardzija (RHP)
3. Jose Quintana (LHP)
4. Hector Noesi (RHP)
5. John Danks (RHP)
Numbers 1-3 in the starting rotation are going to be formidable. Each of those top three pitchers had an ERA of under 4.00.
Sale ended last season with an ERA of 2.12, while Quintana saw his ERA finish at 3.32 and with the Oakland Athletics and Chicago Cubs last season, Samardzija’s ERA was 2.99. The top three White Sox pitchers also combined for 588 strikeouts last season, with Samardzija having 202, Sale 208 and Quintana at 178.
While there is a drop off after that, it is still reasonable to think that the Sox will have a good rotation in 2015.
It will be interesting to see if Carlos Rodon will be in the mix at all next year, especially after Ken Williams said he would likely start out in the bullpen.
The big question marks are going to be Noesi and Danks. If they can be solid No. 4 and 5 starters it will be an rotation that leads the Sox to a lot of wins.
If not, they will need to rely on Sale and Samardzija more to pick up the slack, which could most likely happen next season.