Mar 30, 2017
Hey, do you know who the White Sox center fielder will be this year?
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Hey, do you know who the White Sox center fielder will be this year?
Roster Finalizations
So the Chicago White Sox are less than a week from the season. I’m so excited to watch this team crank out 68 wins. The last few cuts from spring training are taking place. Last week, we saw Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and some others head back to the minor leagues. Today, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Peter Bourjos for cash and a player to be named later, finally clearing the way for a new name on the MLB roster. It’s not Leury Garcia. It’s Jacob May. His grandfather and uncle played in the MLB. It’s in his family. In fact, he said he grew up around ballplayers all his life. Don’t tell Kenny Williams that. He May (tehe) retroactively erase May’s memory of being in a locker room. Kidding, but on a real note, I’m relieved. I’m sure we’re going to see some old names tossed around during this rebuild period, but the Sox need to prepare for a future leadoff hitter. I’m not saying May is guaranteed that spot, but the team currently doesn’t have one.
Call me a junkie for sabermetrics, but I cannot stand the old school motto of your best hitters batting 3rd and 4th. Your leadoff hitter should be your highest OBP. Your second hitter is most likely to face the most clutch situations. This should be your best hitter. 3rd, 4th, and 5th hitters should all have high OPSs, and the rest of the lineup should be filled out from there. It’s really not that complicated.
This brings me to another point. I heard Renteria mention Anderson’s name for a future leadoff man. Based on how his spring went, the guy still hasn’t learned how to walk. In fact, he has had 0 in all 52 ABs of his. He will never fit in the top two slots in the batting order, if he cannot get rid of this very apparent flaw.
Then who should bat leadoff, D.J.? I’m glad you asked, reader. I believe Melky should bat leadoff. He has had am OBP hovering around .350 his entire career. I don’t care if he’s slow. Batting second should be Abreu. It’s simple. He’s your best hitter. Then I would proceed with Anderson, Frazier, and the rest. Hopefully May can continue the trend he began in the spring, slashing .339/.361/.525. Obviously, it’s not realistic for him to continue this, but if he can bat over .260, we May (hehe I did it again) have a centerfielder for all of 2017.
Let’s move to pitching. Rodon may be having an extended spring training, so it looks like the 5th slot in the pitching rotation may open up. Dylan Covey pitched a very good game against Cleveland on Saturday (3.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 Ks, 0 ER). He has another start tomorrow, which is probably his final tryout to solidify his place in the rotation until Rodon is back.
The bullpen race is getting interesting. Zack Burdi, Juan Minaya, Michael Ynoa, and Anthony Swarzak seem to be the options. Minaya is injured. Burdi did not pitch well on Saturday (blown save, in fact). Ynoa was up last year, but he doesn’t have much higher of a ceiling. Swarzak has been throwing hard as a veteran, so this could give him a nod. We will see how this shakes out.
Now, you May say I’m putting too much emphasis on how people are performing in spring training. I would like to point out that we don’t have much other exposure for these guys against MLB talent, and younger guys have their tryouts in the spring. This is their time to shine.
We’ll see how everything plays out. I was lucky enough to attend to games in which I saw game-winners by the Sox (one a grand slam by Danny Hayes). Maybe these young guys are giving this team the kick it needed. Go Sox! I cannot WAIT for the season!
Zack Cozart is hot commodity for Cincinnati Reds
Zack Cozart is hot commodity for Cincinnati Reds
Zack Cozart has returned from his season-ending knee injury last year with a vengeance for the Cincinnati Reds.
The 30-year-old shortstop is sizzling at the plate with a .390 average from the Reds’ leadoff spot. He’s also shown he’s the same plus-defender at the shortstop position that he was before the injury.
Cozart is making $2.93 million this year. He has one year of salary arbitration…
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