White Sox Grade Book: Looking back at the 2018 outfielders

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 30: Avisail Garcia #26 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 30, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 30: Avisail Garcia #26 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 30, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 20: Adam Engel #15 of the Chicago White Sox makes a diving catch to get out Tyler Naquin #30 of the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning at Progressive Field on June 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the White Sox 12-0. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 20: Adam Engel #15 of the Chicago White Sox makes a diving catch to get out Tyler Naquin #30 of the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning at Progressive Field on June 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the White Sox 12-0. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

The White Sox outfield had a mixed bag of nine players throughout the 2018 season and most of them had a struggle at some point during the 162 games.

Of those nine White Sox players who manned a position in the outfield, only Adam Engel played more than 100 games. He was followed by Avisail Garcia, who only started in 85. Nicky Delmonico finished with the third most starts.

There were a few constants with the White Sox outfielders: injuries, low batting stats, and below average fielding percentages.

Not one White Sox outfielder was considered a qualified player in 2018. According to the MLB list of sortable players:

“A batter must have 3.1 plate appearances per team game played (1.86 PA during spring training) to qualify for league leadership in AVG, OBP or SLG.”

None of the outfielders had enough plate appearances. The White Sox are the only team in the AL without a qualified outfielder in 2018. Even teams like the Miami Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles had at least one qualified outfielder. The San Francisco Giants do not show up on the qualified outfielder list, but only because Andrew McCutchen ended the season with the Yankees. He did, however, become qualified when he was a Giant.

Since the White Sox did not make any outfielder trades in 2018, there are not any hidden figures like McCutchen. In the Sox defense, only 53 outfielders were qualified and that averages 1.77 players per team, if 30 teams are taken into consideration.

Let’s take a look at the outfielders and score them on their performances both defensively and offensively.

CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 18: Right fielder Avisail Garcia #26 of the Chicago White Sox catches a fly ball hit by Yandy Diaz #36 of the Cleveland Indians to end the third inning at Progressive Field on September 18, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 18: Right fielder Avisail Garcia #26 of the Chicago White Sox catches a fly ball hit by Yandy Diaz #36 of the Cleveland Indians to end the third inning at Progressive Field on September 18, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Even though six Sox spent time in right field, there are only three men who spent more than 20 games up against the Craft Kave. They include Avisail Garcia, Daniel Palka, and Trayce Thompson.

Defensively, all three of them performed well. Palka and Thompson had 1.000 fielding percentages. Garcia had a slightly lower fielding percentage of 9.90, but his range of 2.20 was much better than Palka’s 1.40 and Thompson’s 1.48. Garcia’s lower fielding percentage was due to two errors, but he also spent 727 innings compared to Palka’s 333.1 and Thompson’s 225.1.

When looking at innings spent in right field and players’ fielding percentages, Garcia is better than most players. He ranks 21st in innings played and of the eight players on either side of him (four above and four below), only three have better fielding percentages: Randal Grichuk (.995), Brian Anderson (.994), and Christian Yelich (1.000). And, Yelich had only 557.1 innings in right field, the rest were in center field.

More impressive is Garcia’s range factor when looking at other right fielders. When looking at right fielders with 700 or more innings, his range factor is the best. Better than Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, and Brian Anderson.

Defensive Grades:

  • Avisail Garcia: B+
  • Daniel Palka: C-
  • Trayce Thompson: C
DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 26: Daniel Palka #18 of the Chicago White Sox rounds the bases past shortstop Ronny Rodriguez #60 of the Detroit Tigers after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the third inning at Comerica Park on August 26, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 26: Daniel Palka #18 of the Chicago White Sox rounds the bases past shortstop Ronny Rodriguez #60 of the Detroit Tigers after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the third inning at Comerica Park on August 26, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

When it came to offense, the most exciting outfielder was Palka. His home run drive at the end of the season put him on par with the top rookies in the NL and AL. In fact, Palka’s 27 home runs tie him with Aaron Judge as the right fielder with the second most home runs in the AL. Mookie Betts finished the regular season with 32.

Trayce Thompson only had 121 at-bats and finished his time with the Sox with a slash of .116/.163/.215 with three home runs and nine RBI. He had 14 hits and 14 runs, nothing worth writing home about.

Garcia, like Thompson, could have had better batting stats, but his injuries repeated got in his way. He finished the season with a slash of .236/.281/.438, just slightly under Palka’s .240/.294/.484. Garcia had fewer at-bats than Palka, simply because Palka often was tagged as DH. Garcia had a slow start and a slow finish, but in the first week of July, he looked ready to go knocking in 5 home runs in 32 at-bats. Sadly, he was unable to keep up the pace.

Offensive Grades:

  • Avisail Garcia: C-
  • Daniel Palka: A-
  • Trayce Thompson: D
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 03: Adam Engel #15 of the Chicago White Sox can’t catch a home run hit by Niko Goodrum #28 of the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning on September 3, 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 03: Adam Engel #15 of the Chicago White Sox can’t catch a home run hit by Niko Goodrum #28 of the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning on September 3, 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Center field was dominated by one player: Adam Engel. Defensively, he proved to be one of the best in the MLB.

The 26-year-old outfielder played in 1118.1 innings and started in 124 games. Of players with 700 or more innings in center field, only two players had better range factors. Of center fielders with over 1000 innings, Engel’s range of 2.57 was the best. Better than Mike Trout. Better than Lorenzo Cain. And, better than Kevin Pillar.

That’s saying something.

And, there’s no doubt that his kid can jump. Remember these three catches that robbed three home runs in one week?

Now, if he could only get his bat going. His slash was only .235/.279/336, which ranks him 39th. He hit 6 home runs, which ranks him 29th. For comparison, Trout hit 39 dingers with at least one of them flying out over Engel’s head at Guaranteed Rate. If Engel could get his bat going, he could be one of the elite center fielders in the game.

HOUSTON, TX – JULY 06: Leury Garcia #28 of the Chicago White Sox throws out Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park on July 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – JULY 06: Leury Garcia #28 of the Chicago White Sox throws out Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park on July 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Leury Garcia had the second most appearances in center field, with 164.1 innings roaming that large expanse. His range one out less than Engels and his fielding percentage was slightly lower, despite only having one error. Engel had seven errors in his 367 changes for outs. Of the center fielders with 1000 or more innings, Engel’s fielding percentage was at the lower end of the scale, but was the same as Cain’s. Along with getting that bat going, Engel does need to lower his errors. But when an aggressive outfielder really goes for the outs, more errors will be made.

Garcia did not have enough innings to earn a grade.

Engel’s grades:

Offensive: C-

Defense: A-

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 25: Nicky Delmonico #30 of the Chicago White Sox makes a diving catch on Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians during the fourth inning on September 25, 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 25: Nicky Delmonico #30 of the Chicago White Sox makes a diving catch on Francisco Lindor #12 of the Cleveland Indians during the fourth inning on September 25, 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Left field can be a challenging spot to play at Guaranteed Rate Field. The wind often blows strangely out there, which can make fielding the ball a bit of a challenge.

After Melky Cabrera was traded to the Royals at the deadline in 2017, the White Sox have not had an everyday left fielder. Nicky Delmonico saw the most time in left in 2018, but he only had 579 innings. By comparison, Cabrera had 787 prior to his departure in 2017. The other 500+ innings were covered by Charlie Tilson, Leury Garcia, Daniel Palka, and Ryan LaMarre.

BOSTON, MA – JUNE 10: Charlie Tilson #22 of the Chicago White Sox and Daniel Palka #18 of the Chicago White Sox smile as they run in from the outfield after the victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 10, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 10: Charlie Tilson #22 of the Chicago White Sox and Daniel Palka #18 of the Chicago White Sox smile as they run in from the outfield after the victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 10, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Since Delmonico played the most innings in left, his stats tell the best story. He had a fielding percentage of .969, due to four errors. Left field is a tough position to play, as many of the best players had a small handful of errors, too.

Delmonico’s range at left was 1.66, which was a bit lower than Tilson’s 1.75. The best range in the MLB belonged to Justin Upton who had a range of 2.15 in 1200.1 innings. A few other players had slightly better ranges, but with a fraction of innings. Just for comparison, Melky Cabrera only spent 33 innings in left field this season with the Indians and his range was 1.75. The majority of his defensive innings (467) were spent in right and there, he had a range of 1.41.

It would be nice to see more of Tilson, since his defensive stats were better than Delmonico’s were. Would they stay that way if Tilson saw double the innings?

The third most innings in left were given to Leury Garcia, but his numbers weren’t as good. Garcia had a range of 1.50 and a fielding percentage of .952 due to three errors in 63 attempts. He’s got speed, but it didn’t show up well this season.

Defensive grades:

Delmonico: C+

Tilson: B-

Garcia: C-

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On offense, Garcia was much better than Delmonico and Tilson. Garcia clearly hits singles as his .271/.303/.376 shows. In his 258 at-bats, he had four home runs and triples and seven doubles. He had 70 hits and 9 walks. Delmonico had a slash of .215/.296/.373 with eight home runs, five triples, and 11 doubles. He had fewer hits (61) and more walks (27). Tilson batted .264 but did not hit a home run. He did hit one double and one triple in his 121 plate appearances.

When it comes to left fielders who can hit, the White Sox were all over the place. In regards to batting average, Garcia ranks 19th and Delmonico 56th. With home runs, Delmonico ranks 35th and Garcia ranks 44th. Considering that both Khris Davis (48) and J.D. Martinez (43) spent significant time in left field, the White Sox home runs are insignificant.

Offensive grades:

  • Delmonico: D+
  • Tilson: D
  • Garcia: C-

Next. James Shields should not be re-signed by the White Sox. dark

Overall, the White Sox outfielders need to improve in several areas. It would be nice to see all of the regular outfielders become better offensively. It would also be nice to see range factors improve in the corners. Engel should continue his aggressiveness in the field, as should Avisail Garcia. But, Avisail’s injuries prevent him from being consistently amazing in right field. He could be dominant if he could stay healthy. And, all of the left fielders need work, both offensively and defensively.

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