Usually, I would put together a list of rating with an explanation of each player, but since 2017’s White Sox roster saw so much turnover, I decided to include the major players in the rebuild, people that played well, and people on the cusp of being on the long-term roster.
Avi put together the season we always wanted from him. He had a .330/.380/.506 slash line with 137 wRC+. He looked mature in all facets of the game. He used to make a lot of noticeable baserunning blunders or errors in RF. Good for this guy. I, as well as virtually every other Sox fan out there, had given up on this guy. Boy, were we wrong!
Moncada started to look more and more like the Moncada we would like to see down the stretch, when he changed bats. Still, he finished with a .338 OBP. He has to work the kinks out at 2B, but time will mature him. He’s still only 22. He has the intangibles to do everything. I cannot wait to see what he brings to the table next season.
The only reason I give him that minus is because of his defense. He was on FIRE at the end of the season. I don’t put much stock in it, but he finished with 100+ RBIs on a team that finished with the 4th worst record in baseball. That isn’t easy. He also finished with 138 wRC+ and an OBP of .354. This guy is just a hitter. His stock is up, if the Sox trade him, but dang, I don’t want to see him go anywhere. As I said before in a blog post specifically about Abreu, he is also up for the Roberto Clemente Award. He does it all.
He logged a 2.38 ERA in the 7 games he started, but his FIP (fielding independent pitching, only includes things under the pitcher’s direct control, like homers, BBs, etc.) was a lofty 4.94. This means, he would eventually regress to the mean. If he continues to pitch the way he did this season, I would expect an ERA around 3.50-3.70. That’s still pretty sharp. These are still great numbers for a rookie. I think the next step is emphasis on off-speed pitching.
Like Gio, his FIP outdid his ERA, but he still had a relatively decent season, especially with his last few starts. If you saw how he was performing at AAA, you wouldn’t have thought he would have the success he did at the big league level. Good for him. ERA: 3.86, FIP: 5.69, BB/9 innings: 5.01 All of these he needs to work on to succeed, or he will stabilize and regress from the success he had at the end of this season in the MLB.
He finished with a bloated ERA of 4.72 and a FIP of 4.75, but those don’t particularly tell the whole story. Lopez threw a lot of pitches under duress, after errors, and other issues that weren’t in his control. The last two starts were rough, but he looked good before those. I am going to emphasize that. He still put together 0.6 fWAR. That’s not too shabby for only throwing 8 games in your rookie season on a bad team.
Rodon had a decent season, when he was healthy. He only threw 12 games and had to get arthoscopic shoulder surgery to end the season. Hopefully, he can bounce back from that. When he pitched, he did so against good teams and shut them down. If healthy, this guy is an ace. I have the utmost confidence in him taking the #1 spot in the rotation (except for maybe Kopech).
I’m going to give Anderson the benefit of the doubt. In another blog post, I described everything he went through this season (having his best friend die and going to therapy). That’s enough to ruin a season. He came back, as a true competitor does. He did well the last couple months of the season, both fielding and hitting. The no walks thing is still an issue, but he will be a nice asset in the lineup in the future, especially if he shows up like he did the last few months.
Nicky regressed towards the end of this season, but he came on strong. He still finished with a .347 OBP. That is good for a rookie, even though he is a little older. The guy has a strong approach to the plate, and he was adjusting more and more to LF (came from 3B). All in all, this was a great rookie season for Nicky. Read his comeback story overcoming addiction. It’s really informative.
Like Nicky, he regressed hitting-wise, but his glove and arm are incredible. He still was a 3.5 bWAR player. That is more than serviceable. I think he has a shot of either remaining at 3B, or at least being on the long-term roster as a utility guy off the bench.
Omar Narvaez is a decent defensive catcher, but he had an OBP of .373. Don’t forget he is still only 25. The platoon between him and Smith worked this year.
Smith doesn’t have the approach or the arm of Narvaez, but he still was a decent hitter for a catcher, and he can pitch frame with the best of them. I repeat, the platoon with Smith and Narvaez really worked this season. It was a nice, pleasant surprise.
I give the season a B. That’s about the best you can give it, when a team is tanking. The only thing that brings it down is the uncertainty of the future. It was still way more exciting than 2014-2016. Go Sox!
