chicago white sox
2023 record: 61 wins, 101 losses (.377)
4th place, Central Alabama
Team ERA: 4.88 (26th)
Team OPS: .675 (29th place)
what went well
there is nothing?
Jake Berger eventually got healthy and had a power break, but the White Sox traded him to Miami at the deadline. But they got back an exciting prospect in Jake Eder, so perhaps it can still be considered something going well?
Luis Roberto enjoyed a bit of a breakout season before an injury forced him out a few games early. The 26-year-old played in 145 games, hitting .264/.315/.542 with 38 home runs, 90 runs scored, 80 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. This was certainly a positive development for Chicago considering he failed to play more than 100 games in each of his first three seasons. His 28.9% strikeout rate was arguably the best of his career, so he certainly traded batting average for power, but the White Sox weren’t complaining since he was a player with a 5.0 WAR.
Otherwise, very little really worked. Elvis Andrus and Mike Clevinger proved to be solid depth signings in free agency, but the problem is they were tasked with more than depth. Gregory Santos pitched to a 3.39 ERA, flashed a wicked slider, and emerged as a solid bullpen pitcher with slow innings. However, he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to take on the closer role late in the season, and his strikeout rate was just 22.8%, which is not great for a potential nine-inning pitcher.
what went wrong
The departure of Tony La Russa was supposed to give the White Sox a fresh start, but it appears Chicago’s problems go deeper than just a manager who’s been out of touch. . In addition to abysmal OPS rankings, the offensive line finished last in 25th place in on-base percentage, 25th in ISO, 29th in wRC+, and 19th in strikeout rate. They were bottom three in runs scored, RBIs, and stolen bases, which is the most basic way to suggest they weren’t an offensive line that didn’t produce much fantasy value.
Perhaps the biggest story is Liam Hendrix, who battled cancer but injured his arm and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. There’s no question Hendrix is the leader of this team, and there’s a good chance it was painful for many of his teammates to watch him endure everything he had to endure. In his absence, the bullpen ranked 26th in ERA and 22nd in strikeout rate. He wasn’t all that great for a starting pitcher, posting a 4.88 ERA, 23rd in baseball.
The rotation’s struggles were highlighted by the significant decline from Dylan Cease, who posted a 4.58 ERA (4.08 xFIP) and a 15.4% walk rate. Co-ace Lance Lynn also had a 6.47 ERA (4.03 xFIP) and 2.11 HR/9 before being sent to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. As you know, Lucas Giolito had a good 3.79 ERA and 17.6% K-BB%, but was traded to the Angels before the trade deadline. This left Clevinger in the rotation as the most reliable arm for the second half of the season, which certainly wasn’t what they wanted.
Tim Anderson’s biggest struggle offensively wasn’t actually getting into fistfights on the field, but rather hitting as many home runs in a season as he did getting punched in the face in scuffles. In addition to his lack of power, Anderson’s batting average was just .245/.286/.296, arguably the worst season of his career. Chicago also dealt with another injury-plagued season for Eloy Jimenez, who played in just 120 games, albeit with a solid 18 home runs and 64 RBIs. I couldn’t participate. The team also struggled overall with Yasmani Grandal continuing to slump, getting nothing from Cuban prospect Oscar Colas (.216/.257/.314), and Andrew, who signed a big contract in free agency. Benintendi hit .262/. He had a batting average of .326/.356 with five home runs, 75 RBIs, 45 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 151 games.
fantasy slant
** Luis Robert Jr. is one of only six batters (Ronald Acuña Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Julio Rodriguez, Francisco Lindor) to hit more than 30 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season. There was only one person. We already talked about his breakout above, but this season put him on the map as one of a truly special group of fantasy hitters. If he can stay healthy next year, he should be in the top 15 best fantasy hitters in the game.
** Not much has gone right for Dylan Cease this year, but his 10.88 K/9 was the sixth-best in baseball and his 27.3% strikeout rate was the ninth-best. Coincidentally, his walk rate of 10.1% was fifth-worst among eligible starting pitchers, and his strikeout rate dropped to 14.4%. For the second year in a row, Schiess’ curveball rarely missed the bat, and his performance was poor in terms of metrics. He was able to overcome that in 2022 as the slider was so dominant, but this year both the slider and the four-seam have become a little less effective, making the lack of a consistent third pitch even more of an issue. It became. Unless the C’s can find another offer to take the pressure off the slider, he could continue to be a shaky SP3-4 level fantasy asset.
** In the second half of the season, Yoan Moncada hit .281/.324/.464 with eight home runs, 22 RBIs, and 27 RBIs in 53 games. He will strike out too much and not run at all, limiting his fantasy upside pretty drastically. But he posted a barrel rate of 10.1% (second-best of his career) and highest ISO since 2019, so perhaps the version of Moncada that hit . It may have deep value. Of course, for that to happen he needs to stay healthy.
** The White Sox essentially acquired Luis Patiño from the Rays in a cash trade on August 1st. The 23-year-old made five mediocre starts in Triple-A before the White Sox called him up to the big leagues in September. Patiño pitched 17.2 innings (six relief innings, one start), allowing 16 hits with 13 strikeouts and a 3.57 ERA. He also walked 12 batters. The White Sox also appear to have added a sinker as a primary pitch for right-handed pitchers, who threw it 34% of the time during his time in Chicago. It might be interesting to see him become more of a sinker/slider pitcher considering his four-seam hasn’t been a good pitch for him so far. With all the turnovers in the rotation, there’s a good chance Patino will be in contention for a spot in 2024.
** Brian Ramos, 21, started to hit his stride this year in Double-A, hitting .271/.369/.457 with 14 home runs and four stolen bases in 77 games. Many scouts see him as a potential star, and if he can translate that momentum into a strong campaign in the Arizona Fall League, he could push for a spot on the active roster in spring training. That makes him a name to watch this offseason.
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major free agents
Yasmani Grandal, Elvis Andrus, Alex Colome, Tim Anderson ($14 million club option), Liam Hendricks ($15 million club option), Mike Clevinger ($12 million mutual option).
team needs
all? Looking ahead to 2024, it appears that the White Sox only have center fielder Luis Robert, DH Eloy Jimenez, and 1B Andrew Vaughn secured in their batting lineup. I think Yoan Moncada will continue to start at LF as an inside tracker at 3B and Andrew Benintendi gave him a lot of money, but the rest of the lineup has great opportunities. Will they bring Anderson back? Will Oscar Colas have another chance? Will he give up second base to 22-year-old speedster Jose Rodriguez?
Similarly, he is being targeted for a rotation spot behind Cease and Michael Kopec. Will the team be able to bring Clevinger back? Will Jesse Scholtens get another chance in the rotation? They currently have several former top prospects like Patiño, Touki Toussaint, Jake Eder and Deivi Garcia. Will any of them be in the top 5? Similarly, without Hendrix, the back end of the White Sox bullpen is full of question marks. Does Garrett Crochet have a chance of closing if it’s healthy next year?
Essentially, the White Sox have a choice this offseason about how quickly they want to compete in 2024 or how much they want to rely on young players. They have Chicago ranked 12th, considering MLB Pipeline ranks Chicago as the 20th best farm system and FanGraphs ranks Chicago 12th. At such a young age, he doesn’t seem to have enough MLB-caliber talent to be a competitive team next year. Will they make a big decision or sign a ton of one-year deals to acquire more attractive young talent?
There are still many unknowns, but what we do know is that this team should be nearly unrecognizable in 2024.