How The Starting Right Fielder Position Battle Is Going So Far During Spring Training

Gavin Sheets, Dominic Fletcher, and Zach DeLoach are competing for the starting job. Veterans Rafael Ortega, Mark Payton, Brett Phillips, and Kevin Pillar are also vying for the job.
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Fletcher and DeLoach have promise.

Since this team is going to be awful, the job should really come down to these two.

Fletcher has some potential to be a solid everyday ball player. He had a .301/.350/.441 slash line during a 25-game stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He produced solid numbers at the plate for Arizona's Triple-A team. He has a solid glove too.

DeLoach possesses a power left-handed bat. He hit 23 home runs for Seattle's Triple-A affiliate in 2023. The problem for both Fletcher and DeLoach is they are on the older side for prospects. Fletcher is 26 and DeLoach is 25. Then again, that is considered young in the White Sox organization.

Still, it looks like there is more upside to their games than Sheets. Fletcher is hitting .211 this spring but he just raised that average after going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.

Fletcher also showed off his speed with a bunt single.

DeLoach is off to a slow start with a .133 average, but he raised it from .077 as he went 1-for-2 as a late-game replacement yesterday. His hit drove in Ortega for a run in the ninth.

Hopefully, Fletcher or DeLoach win the job. Nothing against Sheets or Pillar, but we have seen what they can do, and it will not be anything that screams long-term starter. Fletcher and DeLoach could finally be the answer to this decade-plus problem in right.

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