Updated White Sox Goals for Prospects: Anderson, Moncada
Continuing our series of adjusted goals for the White Sox prospects, we’re moving onto a couple of very key position players, which the Sox are desperately short of at the major league level.
The White Sox have an embarrassment of pitching riches throughout the entire organization, from top to bottom.
But you only need five starting pitchers and a few bullpen arms. On the diamond and in the lineup, you need at least seven or eight players that can both hit and play defensively or at least nine that can do either.
The organization is loaded with outfielders but none are currently close to playing for the White Sox. Outfielders like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Blake Rutherford, and Micker Adolfo are at least months if not years away. And that’s not counting any surprise-signings or surprising prospects making their case for making the major league roster.
But the White Sox do have a pair of young infielders who are crucial to the rebuild. Both with uncertain futures and both having seasons difficult to gauge. Once prospects, now experienced, budding stars, these two players are capable of leading this team when the time is ready.
Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson has taken great strides in becoming in more well-rounded player this season. His defense has improved, his aggressiveness on the base paths has been very exciting to watch, his plate discipline is vastly improved and he’s smashing a ton of home runs.
Anderson has already almost doubled his walk total from last season and has almost walked as many times this season as he has walked in his previous two seasons combined. He’s on pace for 45-50 walks, which is incredible considering that the team leader in walks last season was Todd Frazier with 48. And all this has been Anderson trying a different approach at the plate. He could even theoretically draw more walks in the future with the perfection of his newfound skill.
Anderson also has less fielding errors than he had last year at this point of the season. Through May of last season, he had 12 errors. Almost through June this season, he has 12 errors. And he actually has a better dWAR than Javier Baez does, at both SS and 2B. Anderson ranks in the top 10 in MLB put outs, assists, and double plays. The only question mark for Anderson’s game is his batting average which is sitting around .250, which has been climbing since June 14th when it was .229.
For Anderson, a 25 (HR) – 30 (SB) season would be a great accomplishment, coming off an underachieving 2017 season. He currently has 13 HRs on the season (T-most on the team) and is on pace for at least 20 HR. Jose Valentin’s record for most HR by a White Sox shortstop (30 HR) is getting out of reach but Anderson definitely has big-time shortstop power. He’s also sitting on 15 stolen bases, already matching last season’s total. He’s been very aggressive stealing bases so 30 is definitely not out of the question. Anderson could even be a 30-30 threat in the very near future.
Currently: .247 AVG., 13 HR, 15 SB, 23 BB, .746 OPS
Goal: .265-.275 AVG., 25 HR, 30 SB, 50 BB, .750 OPS
Yoan Moncada
Where to start with Yoan Moncada. He’s experienced several slumps throughout the year but has shown exactly what kind of player everyone has expected him to be. He’s performed well below his expectations but there is still a long way to go in 2018.
For Moncada, he needs to improve his entire game. He’s leading MLB 2B in errors with 11, he’s hitting .228 entering Thursday’s game, with only 64 hits in 281 at-bats. A few bright spots in his game is his average exit velocity (113.19, second-highest on team, 23rd in entire MLB). His 15 doubles, 3 triples and 10 home runs account for nearly one half (28 of 64) of his total hits. And he’s still a tremendous athlete. His intangibles and fluidity on the diamond will not change.
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For Moncada to salvage his season would mean finishing with a slash of around .260 AVG /.325 OBP / .450 SLG / .775 OPS and having a 20 (HR) – 20 (SB) season. Moncada currently has 10 HR and 8 SB. He also should shoot for not finishing with more than 200 Ks (currently has 106) and not finishing with the most errors for MLB second basemen. It’s baby-steps with Moncada and a strong run of performances in 2018 could mean so much for the rebuild. Sunday was one of his best games of the season as he went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and a career-high 6 RBI. It was one of those games that Moncada showed his outstanding and exciting potential.
Currently: .228 AVG /.297 OBP / .409 SLG / .706 OPS / 10 HR / 8 SB / 109 Ks /
Most errors for MLB 2B
Goal: .260 AVG /.325 OBP / .450 SLG / .775 OPS / 20+ HR / 20+ SB / less than 200 Ks / Not the most errors for MLB 2B
Next: Why James Shields is a valuable trade piece
Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert
For the players that will round out the rebuild and put the emphasis on contention, development is everything. Robert can finish off the season in Double-A, after a strong start in Winston-Salem, and Eloy Jimenez could actually make his MLB debut before the end of the season, after making his Triple-A debut only a few days ago. For the pair of prospects, they need to stay patient, and keep learning. Their time is coming.