One of baseball’s biggest disappointments in 2015 was the Chicago White Sox, who went into the season with high expectations after signing outfielder Melky Cabrera, first baseman Adam LaRoche, and closer David Robertson in free agency. Things didn’t go according to plans – the Sox scuffled to a 76-86 record, just three games better than the record they posted in 2014.
This offseason, the White Sox again made headlines, though not necessarily for the right reasons. They traded for third baseman Todd Frazier and second baseman Brett Lawrie, signed aging shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and were thrust into turmoil in Spring Training when LaRoche retired as controversy reigned regarding LaRoche’s son Drake and his presence in the clubhouse. Yet, Chicago is off to a 14-6 start to begin the 2016 season, the best mark in the American League and just a hair behind their rivals on the North Side.
The biggest change for the White Sox came on defense. Last year, Chicago logged -39 DRS for the season and -39.5 UZR, ranking 28th and 30th in baseball, respectively. This season, in an admittedly smaller sample, the Sox have collected +7 DRS and +8.2 UZR, ranking 9th and 3rd in baseball. That’s one hell of a swing.
Much of the improvement comes from one player – right fielder Adam Eaton, who moved to the position from center to allow Austin Jackson to roam the US Cellular Field. Eaton has been stellar in right this year, logging +8 DRS and +8.1 UZR in 146 innings. Last year in center, he played 1,280 innings and notched -14 DRS and -10.2 UZR. Not great, Bob!
Speaking of Jackson, he hasn’t been great in center, but he *has* been better than Eaton was last year, putting together -2 DRS and -3.3 UZR in 163 innings. Furthermore, his addition and the shift of Eaton to right has resulted in Avisail Garcia being pushed to DH. That’s always a good thing, considering how terrible of a defender Garcia is – he’s logged -21 DRS and -17.9 DRS in just 1,974 career innings in right field, including marks of -11 and -6.2 in 1,124 innings last year.
In the infield, Conor Gillaspie (-8, -9.6 in 382 innings) and Mike Olt (-5, -3.3 in 163 innings) are out at third base, replaced by Frazier (+3, +1.3 in 179 innings). Tyler Saladino, who shined at third defensively last year but couldn’t hit a lick, has been shifted into a bench role, while Carlos Sanchez (another defensive stud who couldn’t hit) is in AAA and Gordon Beckham (same deal as Sanchez) signed with the Atlanta Braves this offseason.
It hasn’t all been great defensively for the White Sox – up the middle, both Rollins and Lawrie have struggled defensively, though not nearly as much as Alexei Ramirez and Micah Johnson did during their time with the team. Melky Cabrera is still playing left field every day, though the presence of Jackson and Eaton in center and right have taken some pressure off of him. Jose Abreu is fine at first base – not good, not bad, just fine.
The White Sox offense isn’t living up to its end of the bargain – they’re hitting .231/.298/.359, third-worst in the American League, after putting together an AL-worst .250/.306/.380 season a year ago.
However, the pitching staff has benefited from that strong defense – White Sox pitchers have a 2.41 ERA this year, down a run and a half from last year’s 3.98 mark. That’ll even out in time because there’s no way Chicago’s bullpen will continue pitching to a 1.41 ERA all season, but for now, the defense has helped Chicago’s staff cut their BABIP by a whopping 50 points despite similar strikeout, walk, and ground ball rates.
And yes, while it’s true that the White Sox haven’t exactly feasted on a schedule of heavyweights yet, they’ve lost just one series all season, dropping two out of three to the Rays in St. Pete last weekend. Their opponents’ overall winning percentage is .505, right in the middle of the standings at .505. But only four teams that have played a schedule with an above .500 winning percentage this year are above .500 themselves – the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Orioles, and…the White Sox. This team isn’t playing a baby soft schedule like the 14-4 Nationals, who have played every one of their 18 games against the Braves, Marlins, Phillies, and Twins.
We’ll see where things stand in a month’s time with the White Sox. They started a brutal upcoming schedule last night, topping the Blue Jays 7-5 in Toronto. After that series, they go to Baltimore for four with the Orioles and then return home for three with the Red Sox. After three with the Twins in Chicago, the Sox will have to travel to Texas and New York before returning home for a ten game homestand with the Astros, Royals, and Indians and going on the road for ten with the Royals, Mets, and Tigers. Then, they have another ten games at home with the Nationals, Royals, and Tigers
That’s brutal. Ten games with the Royals in a four week period? Interleague series with both the Nationals and Mets? 12 straight games against four of the AL’s five playoff teams from 2015? YIKES. The White Sox may be 14-6 now, but if they’re still above .500, let alone eight games above .500, in mid-June, then they deserve all of the praise they can get.
