The Chicago White Sox got off to a huge start to their rebuild when they traded Chris Sale to the Red Sox. They received some stud prospects in return and have been drafting near the top of the draft for a couple seasons.
They weren’t finished with making deals. They got another load of good prospects from the Cubs last season when they sent starter Jose Quintana across town. These trades have sped up the rebuilding process by a lot. Some players from this trade should contribute for the White Sox as early as this season.
Are the White Sox finished dealing? Could first baseman Jose Abreu be the next player to be moved?
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Chicago White Sox.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 67-95
Key Additions: C Welington Castillo, RP Luis Avilan, RP Thyago Vieira, RP Jeanmar Gomez, RP Bruce Rodon, SP T.J. House, OF Daniel Palka, RP Xavier Cedeno & 2B Jake Elmore
Key Losses: SP Derek Holland, RP Jake Petricka, 2B Alen Hanson & SP David Holmberg
Interleague Schedule: NL Central
Projected Starters: Welington Castillo, Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Yolmer Sanchez, Tim Anderson, Nicky Delmonico, Adam Engel, Avisail Garcia & Matt Davidson
Projected Starting Rotation: James Shields, Miguel Gonzalez, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito & Hector Santiago
Closer: Joakim Soria
Fantasy Sleeper: OF Nicky Delmonico – The White Sox got a nice surprise upon calling up Delmonico late last season. He got off to a hot start and finished the season hitting nine homers in only 141 at-bats. He showed he had a good eye at the plate by having .373 OBP. I’m not sold that these numbers will be the rate he will produce for an entire season, but he could be a nice late-round pick in mixed leagues.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: SP Michael Kopech – Kopech was one of the pieces the White Sox got in return for Chris Sale. He has a huge arm and can light up 100 mph on the radar gun. His velocity leads to a lot of missed swings, but he does have some control issues. He’s working on off-speed pitches, so some of his control struggles last season was when he was developing pitches. Kopech has ace-of-the-rotation stuff and if he develops, the White Sox could have a scary rotation if Lucas Giolito and Carlos Rodon keep improving.
Team Analysis: The White Sox fired manager Robin Ventura after losing 95 games last season. They hired former Cubs manager Rick Renteria. He had success with the Cubs, but was unceremoniously let go when Joe Maddon became available. His performance as the Cubs skipper didn’t warrant getting canned, but Maddon was looked at as a can’t-miss manager for a team with World Series ambitions…and it worked out in the Cubs favor in the long run.
The White Sox have been scooping up prospects as they dump players. They’ve held off on trade and pulled the trigger at the right times. I don’t think they could have received a better return when they traded Chris Sale, Adam Eaton and Jose Quintana. They have set themselves up for success in the coming years.
This year is all about seeing their young players develop at the Major League level. They have a lot of young arms in the minors, but they hope to see Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez and Yolmer Sanchez have success at the next level.
The AL Central will be led by the Indians and Twins. After those two teams, there’s a huge valley. The White Sox have a chance to finish third in the division as the Royals and Tigers are just starting their own rebuilding efforts.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 70.5 (Prediction: OVER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 72-90 (3rd in AL Central)
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.