Chicago White Sox: Season preview of infielders
Season Roster Preview continues with an in-depth analysis of the projected White Sox infielders that will be on the 26-man roster March 26, Opening Day.
In just three very long and difficult years, the White Sox finally have an infield as exciting and fun to watch as contenders in the league.
With two strong corners and a speedy middle, the infield is stacked with exciting youth, talent and competitiveness. Turning into one of the stronger infields in the league this early in the rebuild makes saying this is a very good sign an understatement.
The infield consists of players who are young and fast (with maybe one exception). It contains a sneaky amount of power while also maintaining the ability to hit for contact and get on base. It also contains players who want to play there and are competitive and love the game. Fan favorites who are expected to bring tremendous offense and solid defense.
This strong infield contains players under team control until at least 2024, which means this is the infield on the lineup in the World Series if this rebuild is successful. Well, after one switch likely to come later in the season.
That player is expected to start his season at Triple-A Charlotte, unless he has a really fantastic spring. If not, the Opening Day second baseman will be one of two potential players. They will serve as a bridge that leads to the future. But one of the two potential players has a skillset that may serve as a secret weapon when it is time to contend.
Containing an RBI King, a prized prospect and a batting champ, the 2020 White Sox infield has the capability to be one of the best in the league.
José Abreu
If anyone on the White Sox does not need an introduction, it is José Abreu.
Six years ago, the White Sox signed a first baseman from Cuba to replace the legend Paul Konerko. For 27-year-old Abreu, it is understandable to find this intimidating, it was a large task to handle. But fortunately for everyone, Abreu won the Rookie of the Year, earned a Silver Slugger, earned an All-Star selection and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Today, Abreu remains as the team’s anchor in the middle of the lineup. With 179 home runs in his six years at the professional level, it is safe to say the fans like him as that anchor. And after his highly-spoken comments about this team and this city, it is safe to say he likes it here too.
Abreu has very publicly stated his interest in staying in Chicago going as far as saying he will sign himself. Despite it not the best negotiation tactic, he decided to forego free agency as he accepted the qualifying offer. But after getting that out of the way, he and the White Sox agreed to an extension locking him in for the next three years.
There is little to say about Abreu that already has not already been said. He is a lock to record 30 plus home runs. And as the reigning AL RBI king, driving in 123 last season, it is almost guaranteed he will drive in at least 95 RBI.
There are concerns about his age in relation to his ability to play at first base. Before the offseason started, there were rumors about placing Abreu at DH and potentially moving Zack Collins to first. While he was expressing his interest in staying in Chicago, he was expressing his disinterest in playing DH. He has said that he will do whatever the team asks him in order to win, but he would prefer to stay on the field.
Luckily, there will not be debates on who will hit DH, at least for this season.
Edwin Encarnación
The big change coming to the lineup in 2020 is the addition of 414 career home runs, 1242 career RBI, a .352 career OBP and a 499 career slug.
Just like Abreu, Edwin Encarnación does not need an introduction. Yes, he has not played for the White Sox, but due to his 15 years of MLB experience, baseball fans know his name.
At the trade deadline, Encarnación was traded from Seattle to the Yankees. In accumulation, his 2019 was just as dominant as any other year of his career, shutting the critics up about his age. He hit 34 home runs and drove in 86 runs in just 109 games and only 418 at bats. Considering he averages almost 600 at-bats a year, 200 more would have put him way over 40/100.
Entering 2020, the 37-year-old does not have as much pressure on his shoulders compared to his previous years. Then, he was expected to be the guy to hit 35-40 home runs and drive in 100-120 runs. In Chicago, to have better stats than the 2019 DH, all he has to do is hit 20 home runs and drive in 60 runs to double the production out of the DH slot in the lineup.
The White Sox stand to have a player to potentially triple their production at the DH spot for only $12 million.
Moving forward, it may be unlikely that Encarnación stays for another year, but when the question of DH comes up next offseason, it would not be surprising to see him come back on another one year deal. But that is a whole season away so nothing to worry about right now.
Leury García
Before the offseason started, it was expected that Leury García would start in center field. As the team’s swiss army knife, García can be plugged into essentially any position. With his plus-defensive ability, he is a key piece to have moving forward.
García may end up starting at second base Opening Day due to the extension of a big name in center field. But he will be used as the bridge that links the South Side to a big name prospect drafted to start at second base.
In 2019, García had a career-high 577 at bats and it was not even close to his previous highest 300 in 2017. Knowing he was fighting for his job, he put up a respectable slash of .279/.310/.378 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs. He also nabbed 15 stolen bases.
At the end of 2020, it is expected that Garcia will be on the bench. But having a player with his skillset at their disposal could be key.
On the bench, the White Sox will have a player they can put in six places on the lineup. And with that, you will get a fast player who will hit for contact early in the count when fastballs appear more frequently. He also provides plus fielding with the arm strength to play right and agility to turn two at shortstop.
To have that type of production in a player that can play essentially everywhere on the bench is a special thing and may give the White Sox an advantage come postseason play.
Danny Mendick
Another potential Opening Day second baseman is Danny Mendick. Drafted in the 22nd round of the 2015 draft, he has never really found a way to burst onto the scene. Struggling in the minors for four years, Mendick was never believed to be the second baseman of the future. In 2019 with Triple-A Charlotte, he hit a solid .279/.368/.444.
Along with 17 home runs, 64 RBI and 20 stolen bases, Mendick earned a September call up. Over 16 games in the majors, he actually played very well. A slash of .308/.325/.462 is very respectable.
A flaw in his time in Chicago is his 11 strikeouts and just one walk. Minimizing the strikeouts and working deeper into counts and taking walks would give him an edge over the impatient García if Mendick is looking to earn that starting job at second.
The second base fight will be won by the better spring player. But the job is just a bridge to get to the real second baseman many are excited to see.
Nick Madrigal
Of course, the prospect that has been previously mentioned is the 40th ranked prospect, Nick Madrigal. Drafted fourth overall in the 2018 draft, the former Oregon State Beaver has been anticipated as the second baseman during the competitive phase of the rebuild. As we draw closer to that phase, Madrigal draws closer to the MLB.
Madrigal’s 2019 saw him on three different teams in the organization. He started his season at Single-A Winston-Salem. Hitting a solid .272 earned him a promotion to Double-A Birmingham. There his phenomenal .341 average earned him another promotion to Triple-A Charlotte.
In accumulation of those three teams, Madrigal posted a .311/.377/.414 slash. He swiped 35 bases and took 44 walks while only striking out 16 times. No question his patience is what drew the White Sox to drafting him so it is comforting to know he can continue that at the professional level. Here’s hoping he can continue it at the major league level.
It is expected that Madrigal starts his 2020 with the Knights down in Triple-A. But once he gets the call up, he will most likely be the everyday second baseman and be next in the wave of anticipated prospects finally in Chicago.
Tim Anderson
For three years, Tim Anderson has been fairly mediocre. Hitting around .245 for his first two years in the majors was just not what the team had hoped for. Though he encountered many obstacles, Anderson entered 2019 with vengeance. And that he did.
Since the very beginning of the season, game one in his first at-bat, Anderson made it known that this was going to be his year. From a legendary bat flip that led to a bench-clearing fight to an exhilarating down-to-the-last-game race for the batting title, he owned 2019.
His stats speak for themselves. A slash of .335/.357/.598 makes us come to the conclusion that Tim Anderson is here to stay.
It seems like the vengeance was in part shutting down those who were upset the team did not sign Manny Machado.
What Anderson provides is a bat that will hit for an average of about .280 and hit at least 15 home runs while providing an above-average glove and strong arm who can steal at least 20 bases.
The White Sox also have a player who has a marketable swagger that fans can have fun with and relate to. He is the face of a franchise who the team has control of through 2024.
Yoán Moncada
We all know the extremely disappointing 2018 prized prospect Yoán Moncada provided. Leading the entire MLB in strikeouts as a pitcher is great, but as a hitter…not so much.
Fortunately, Moncada hit the gym, adjusted his mechanics, tightened his white headband and went to work.
Quietly behind the batting champ Anderson, Moncada finished third in the AL in batting average at .315. He cut nearly 60 strikeouts off his horrendous 2018 amount of 217. He hit eight more home runs and drove in 18 more runs. He also boosted his OBP about .060 points and his slug .148 points.
As another face of the franchise who is under team control until 2024, Yoan Moncada is expected to be the next big superstar with MVP-caliber numbers.