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2015 AL Central Preview: Chicago White Sox

By James Poellnitz |
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Mar 10, 2015; Surprise, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox infielder Jose Abreu (79) at bat in the fourth during a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Southside Showdown will be previewing each team of the AL Central this week, before the start of the 2015 MLB season. The second preview of this series will be the Chicago White Sox.

Last season: 73-89, 4th in the AL Central

Notable players lost: 1B Paul Konerko, OF Dayan Viciedo, RP Ronald Belisario, RP Matt Lindstrom

Notable players added:  1B Adam LaRoche, OF Melky Cabrera, SP Jeff Samardzija, RP David Robertson, RP Zach Duke, UTL Emilio Bonifacio

The Chicago White Sox were the only team in baseball last season who had a candidate for both the MVP and Cy Young awards and were not in any playoff contention. That’s because outside of Jose Abreu and Chris Sale, the White Sox didn’t have much to offer.

This offseason, White Sox General Eanager Rick Hahn identified the team’s weaknesses and pretty much addressed each one. The White Sox committed about $135 million to free agents and swung the most impressive trade of the offseason in an attempt to transform this team into playoff contenders.

Next: White Sox: 2015 Projected Lineup

2015 Projected lineup

Mar 27, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton (1) dives back to first base in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

CF Adam Eaton
LF Melky Cabrera
1B Jose Abreu
DH Adam LaRoche
RF Avisail Garcia
3B Conor Gillaspie
SS Alexei Ramirez
C Tyler Flowers
2B Micah Johnson

One of the biggest goals of the offseason was to surround Abreu with enough talent so that he couldn’t be so easily pitched around. To make that happen, Hahn added Cabrera (.301/.351/.458 in ’14) to hit second and LaRoche (26 HR and 92 RBI in ’14) to hit cleanup.

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In addition to Abreu’s monster rookie campaign, the White Sox also got strong years from Eaton and Ramirez. Eaton got on base at a high clip, and Ramirez led all American League shortstops in homers and RBIs. The question marks in the lineup are at catcher, second base, third base and right field.

Flowers is coming off of a strong year by his standards but could see his time go to backup Geovany Soto if he resorts back to hovering around the Mendoza like we have seen him do in the past. The White Sox love Johnson’s game changing speed, but he needs to have improvement with his glove at second.

There will be pressure on Conor Gillaspie and Garcia to produce in the heart of the order. Gillaspie can hit for average but lacks power and struggles against lefties. It is still unclear what the White Sox have in Garcia. He has yet to have an extended time period of good health.

Next: White Sox: Starting Rotation

Starting Rotation

Mar 4, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana throws in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training baseball game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Sale
Jeff Samardzija
Jose Quintana
John Danks
Hector Noesi

The White Sox feature a three-headed monster in the front of their rotation in Sale, Samardzija and Quintana. If not for injury, Sale could have very well been the AL’s Cy Young award winner.

Samardzija is a lot like Quintana in the sense that both men go out and do their jobs well every night but always seem to lack the run support or bullpen help to get wins. In 2014, they combined for a record of 16-24 despite neither having an ERA higher than 3.32.

The back half of the rotation is a different story.

Danks and Noesi both got knocked around quite a bit and combined to allow 52 home runs. The White Sox are stuck with Danks for two more years at $31.5 million, but aren’t as committed to Noesi. If Noesi struggles again this season, it will be just a matter of time before the White Sox turn to number-one prospect Carlos Rodon.

Next: White Sox: Bullpen

Bullpen

Jul 31, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Javy Guerra (41) pitches in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

David Robertson
Zach Duke
Zach Putnam
Matt Albers
Dan Jennings
Javy Guerra
Kyle Drabek

The worst part of the White Sox last season had to be their bullpen. They had more losses, walks and fewer strikeouts than any other pen in baseball.

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As a result, Putnam and Guerra are the only two relievers from last season who will be with the team come Opening Day.

Putnam was the team’s best reliever a year ago, and Guerra had his ups-and-downs but is out of minor league options, so by default, he returns. That means there will be five new pitchers in the White Sox bullpen.

Robertson excelled in his first season as a closer in New York, saving 39 games and holding opponents to .192 batting average. Duke, a former starter, has reinvented himself into an exceptional left-handed specialist.

Jennings had a solid ERA in 2014 but performed mostly in low leverage situations. Albers (minor league deal) and Drabek (claimed off waivers) are two recent signings who will have to prove themselves to keep their spots on the team.

Behind this group, the White Sox have Jake Petricka, Jesse Crain and Nate Jones all starting the season on the disabled list, and all three should find their way on the major league roster at some point.

Next: Player to Watch

Player to watch – OF Avisail Garcia

Mar 27, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia (26) hits in the second inning against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The most important player to the White Sox success this season is Garcia. The team is banking on the fact that he is fully healthy for the first time and hoping that it stays that way.

Last season, Garcia only played 46 games and hit just .244/.305/.413 with seven homers and 29 RBIs. This season, he will follow Abreu and LaRoche hitting fifth in the order and must be effective as a run producer.

Because he has not been healthy for any long period of time with the White Sox, it is hard to gauge the kind of numbers he is capable of putting up.

When he was with the Detroit Tigers, he was given the nickname “Mini Miggy” because of his physical resemblance to Miguel Cabrera. In seven seasons in the minors, he has never hit more than 14 in a year and has never drawn more than 20 walks. Those two numbers are far from Cabrera-like and need to rise in 2015.

Next: White Sox: 5 on the farm

Five on the farm

Feb 28, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox infielder Tim Anderson poses for a portrait during photo day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

SP Carlos Rodon
SS Tim Anderson
3B Matt Davidson
SS Tyler Saladino
SP Francellis Montas

Much has been made of the White Sox decision this spring to basically not even give Rodon a chance to make the Opening Day roster, even with Sale expected to miss his first start.

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However, the 22-year-old lefty only has 24.1 minor league innings, and the White Sox would like to see him refine his change-up a bit more. It’s a safe bet that he will be in the majors sooner than later.

Anderson and Davidson are two players who should make their debuts in 2016. Anderson is the team’s shortstop of the future, and Ramirez only has one guaranteed year left of his deal.

While he already appears ready with the bat, his glove still needs a bit of work (34 errors in 82 games last season). Davidson originally was expected to man third base for the big league club last season. But a .199 average at Triple A means the young slugger must prove himself for another year in the minors.

The two most interesting players are Saladino and Montas.

Saladino came out of nowhere last season at Triple A, hitting .310/.367/.483 and playing all over the diamond. If there is any hole on the team, Saladino could be called up to fill in this season.

Montas is a right-hander who can reach 100 MPH on the gun but has yet to pitch more than five innings past Single A ball. His progression on his secondary pitches will be the difference as to whether he reaches the majors as a starter or a reliever.

Next: White Sox: Predictions

Prediction: 2nd in the AL Central

Aug 31, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

This will easily be the most talented team Robin Ventura has ever had as manager of the White Sox. On offense, the team has a well-balanced lineup that should produce if Eaton, Abreu and Garcia can stay off the disabled list. The team also has multiple backup plans if Johnson falters in his rookie season at second base.

The question for this team is can they pitch well enough to compete with Detroit for the division crown? Danks and Noesi were pretty bad last season, and there is no indication they will be any better this season. It’s nice to have the option of Rodon just in case, but it’s hard to bank on any rookie pitcher with no big league experience to be a difference maker.

The bullpen has a bunch of new pieces but the only ones that are proven are Robertson and Duke. The White Sox should be able to get the right group of relievers together by seasons but could go through some growing pains in the process.

No team in the AL Central has done as much as the White Sox to improve their ball club. Now they can compete with anyone in the division and should be one of the teams in contention for the two AL Wild Card spots.

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