Team MVP: Alexei Ramirez
Great defensively, solid offensively, Ramirez is a great shortstop who never seems to get the love that many shortstops do. He led the majors in shortstop UZR a year ago, and is a good bet for 15-20 homers and double digit steals. He could very easily be a perennial +4 win player, and might be one of the most overlooked guys that falls into that category. He is simply their best player, with a tip of the cap and much respect to the ever-producing Paul Konerko.
Team Cy Young: John Danks
This rotation (Danks, Gavin Floyd, Phil Humber, Jake Peavy) seems to be filled with guys who are good but not great. Guys who the Red Sox / Yankees / etc would love to have as their 4th and 5th guys in the rotation, but aren’t necessarily fit to carry a rotation. Danks’ strikeouts and walks have been trending in the proper respective directions from 2009-2011. He had a streaky year in 2011, posting a 6.89 ERA in May, 1.14 in June, 0.69 in July, and then an appalling 7.76 in Sept/Oct. He has completely stopped throwing his slider (which he threw 20% of the time in 2009) and heavily increased his cut-fastball throwing, up to 25.6% in 2011, compared to 0.8% in 2009.
This is a graph displaying Danks’ ERA over the course of last season. MLB average ERA shown in red.
Credit to Fangraphs for the great work they do on the graph.
Credit to http://www.fangraphs.com
Fresh face with impact: Simon Castro
It was Castro of Kosuke Fukudome for this pick, and I chose the one with possible upside. Castro was acquired after a hideous 2011 (10.17 ERA at the AAA level) from the Padres organization for Carlos Quentin. The White Sox are hoping he can bounce back and return to the decent form he possessed in 2010 at the AA level (2.92 ERA, 7.9 Ks/9), but the scary thing is, he struggled in AAA (7.84 ERA) in 2010, as well. The struggles at AAA could boil down to not having great command or control of his pitches. His BB/9 in 2011 jumped up to 6.31 per 9 at AAA, compared to 1.61 per 9 at AA. Sadly, this is one of the best arms in Chicago’s system…
Impact Prospect: Addison Reed
Reed, a young man armed with a filthy slider and destined for the 9th inning of games, breezed through the minor leagues, going through A, High A, AA, AAA, and even a stint with the major league club, all in the 2011 season… and did not disappoint at any level. He posted over 11Ks/9 at every level, and will be in the back of the bullpen from day one in 2012, challenging Matt Thornton throughout spring for the closer job. Reed has a chance to be great, but it does not bode well for the White Sox farm system to see their #1 prospect destined for being a closer.
Biggest sleeper or breakout candidate: Chris Sale
I wanted to go with Adam Dunn here, because I don’t believe he can be as utterly pitiful as he was in 2011 and everyone has written him off completely, but the White Sox are taking their great lefty arm and giving him every chance to succeed as a starter. Sale struck out 10 per 9 in 2011 in relief, using a blazing fastball (averaging 95.3 mph so far in his career), a two seamer at 94.2 mph on average, a slider, and a change up. I have liked Sale since he was drafted, was never sure if he would stick as a starter, and am excited to see the result this season. He is the best arm in the rotation, if not yet the best starting pitcher.
Biggest Concern: The Farm
The White Sox have the worst farm system in baseball, and it isn’t as if Kenny Williams has the excuse of having a stellar major league product on the field every day. Their best position player prospect struck out 35% of the time in A ball, and their best pitching prospect, Reed, is a reliever. The process of completely rebuilding a farm system can be a tough one, but they may get some assistance from some top 10 or so picks before long. Williams can’t decide if he wants to blow everything up and sell/rebuild, or if he thinks what he has can compete.
Projected Lineup:
CF – Alejandro De Aza
C – A.J. Pierzynski
SS – Alexei Ramirez
1B – Paul Konerko
DH – Adam Dunn
RF – Alex Rios
LF – Dayan Viciedo
3B – Brent Morel
2B – Gordon Beckham
thecleanupspot 