30 in 30: Chicago White Sox

With our AL West previews out of the way, we are onto the final two divisions, and we start in the AL Central with the Chicago White Sox

2012 Season

For much of the 2012 season, the Chicago White Sox were the surprise team of the AL Central, as they continued to peg back the Tigers, spending 126 days of the season in first place. Ultimately, they faltered down the stretch as a 13-18 record in September/October meant they ended 85-77, three games behind Detroit. Alex Rios had a fine season for the Sox, putting up a .304/.334/.516 triple-slash with 25 homers and 23 steals. On the mound, Chris Sale had a dominant season in his first season in the rotation, with a 3.05 ERA and 1.14 WHIP on his way to 17 wins. Overall, the White Sox outperformed expectations, but there will be some regrets that they were not able to convert that into a play-off appearance.

Off-Season Moves

IN: Jeff Keppinger, Matt Lindstrom
OUT: A.J. Pierzynski, Kevin Youkilis, Francisco Liriano, Brett Myers, Philip Humber

Overview: The White Sox have been quiet in the past few off-seasons, preferring to do their deals via mid-season trades, and this season was no different. They lost Pierzynski, Liriano, Youkilis and Myers to free agency, none of whom are huge losses, but they all leave gaps that need filling. Keppinger is a useful utility player, whilst Lindstrom provides value in the 'pen, but the Sox really need an impact bat to join the line-up soon before Konerko and Dunn begin to decline. Overall grade: 2/10.

Projected Opening Day Line-up
Position	Player	Projected stat line (OBP/ALG/WAR)
CF	Alejandro De Aza	.357/.438/2.6
3B	Jeff Keppinger	.342/.392/1.8
RF	Alex Rios	.318/.443/1.8
1B	Paul Konerko	.367/.486/2.4
DH	Adam Dunn	.341/.442/1.3
LF	Dayan Viciedo	.316/.455/1.7
SS	Alexei Ramirez	.309/.389/2.9
C	Tyler Flowers	.338/.453/1.4
2B	Gordon Beckham	.314/.398/1.8

Projected rotation
Starter	Player	Projected stat line (IP/ERA/WAR)
1	Chris Sale	198/3.09/3.6
2	Jake Peavy	211/3.20/2.5
3	John Danks	173/3.90/1.5
4	Gavin Floyd	162/4.06/2.2
5	Jose Quintana	186/4.40/1.5

Position Players

Paul Konerko continues to be this team's leader on offense, and he has become the image of consistency over the past few seasons. An average over .298 and more than 26 homers for each of the past three seasons, and whilst age may catch up to him at 37, he should still be a big contributor at the plate for the White Sox. The other veteran of this team is slugger Adam Dunn, who is younger than he seems at age 33. He continues to put up bizarre stat lines, as his average rarely breaks the .200 mark consistency these days, but his elite plate discipline meant he led the league in walks and had a .333 OBP. The 222 strikeouts are disconcerting at best, but the 41 home runs in 110 hits shows his strength. He could hit 50 dingers, but he could bat for a .150 average. Leading off will be center fielder Alejandro De Aza, who was a pleasant surprise for the White Sox last season as he put together a .281/.349/.410 triple-slash, and he projects as the lead-off hitter this season. He's shown he has the ability to hit for a high average, but his stolen base success rate isn't great and he has little gap or over-the-wall power.

Jeff Keppinger was excellent as a utility man for the Rays last year, hitting .325 in 115 games. He has little power or speed, but will be a fine fill-in player for the Sox, and has the on-base skills to be a solid performer in the two hole. Alex Rios was a monster in 2012 with the White Sox, but regression may well be due, though there is reason to think the power is legitimate. Dayan Viciedo is a slugger with a lot of pop in his bat, hitting 25 homers in 2012, but whilst he had an insane .350/.391/.642 triple-slash off lefties, he'll need to improve off right-handers to access that power more regularly. Alexei Ramirez continues to play excellent defense at shortstop whilst hacking away at anything near the plate. He drew an incredible 16 walks in 593 at-bats, and with just a .265 average he struggled to get to first base. He has a little pop and some speed, but he'll need to improve the plate discipline before he can become one of this team's best performers. Overall, the line-up has a lot of power, with guys like Konerko, Dunn and Viciedo able to hit the ball out of the park at will, but if players like De Aza and Rios regress then it could struggle to reach base on a consistent basis. Age is also going to become a factor, with this team sporting one of the oldest line-ups in the Majors. Overall grade: 5/10.

Pitching

The ace of the rotation is almost 24-year old southpaw Chris Sale, who dominated in his first year in the rotation on his way to 17 wins, a 3.05 ERA and a perfect 9.00 K/9 ratio. He clearly has potent stuff, especially against left-handers who had a measly .265 OBP against him. However, there are concerns to do with his arm action, and he was forced to miss some starts mid-way through the season with arm tightness that almost led to his reinsertion to the bullpen. If he can stay healthy he is a legitimate ace, but there will always be injury worries that make me cautious. Jake Peavy had a fine 2012 season with a 3.37 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 5.0 WAR. His 11-12 record did him no credit, but if he can continue on those kind of stats he'll form a fine one-two punch with Sale. John Danks missed the majority of the 2012 season with injury, and his early performances gave little reason for optimism. Assuming he is back to full healthy, he'll aim to repeat his 2008-2010 form when he had an ERA in the mid-3s and a WAR that challenged 5, but he is a bit of a question mark at the moment. Jose Quintana actually had a good rookie season in south-side Chicago, with a 3.76 ERA in 136 innings. If he can sustain an ERA in the mid 3's then he'll be a fine number five starter for the Sox.

The bullpen will lean on sophomore closer Addison Reed who came through some rough patches in 2012 to finish the year with 29 saves. The 4.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP are worrying, but the job will be his to lose to start the season. His main competitor will be Jesse Crain, the eighth-inning man who had a fine 2.44 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 2012 thanks largely to a devastating slider that had opponents hitting just .197. Matt Thornton had another solid year as the bullpen's main left-handed option, with a 3.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP to go with 26 holds. At the age of 36 he may be entering the twilight years of his baseball career, but he continues to provide good value out of the 'pen for the White Sox. Joining those three will be the impressive Nate Jones, Donnie Veal and Matt Lindstrom, whilst Dylan Axelrod and Hector Santiago figure to be the long men. Overall, this is a pitching staff that has a real ace and a very solid number two. There are a few concerns below that, but the staff has the depth to fill any potential cracks. The bullpen isn't lights-out, but it should improve, so this could be one of the more underrated staffs in the Majors. Overall grade: 7/10.

Prospects

The farm system has never been an area of particular strength for the White Sox, who have long had a draft strategy to go for low-upside, higher probability prospects. However, there are some signs that this strategy is changing, with the 2012 first-rounder Courtney Hawkins impressing scouts and giving Sox fans reasons to be optimistic as he develops in the outfield. For the 2013 season, there are not many impact talents, although Brazilian reliever Andre Rienzo may earn a spot and 2011 draftee Erik Johnson providing rotation depth in case of injury. There have been steps in the right direction for this farm system, but overall this is a prospect package with little to get excited about. Overall grade: 2/10.

Overview

The White Sox were the surprise package in the AL Central in 2012, pushing the Tigers all the way in the play-off hunt. The team has let some free agents go, and have done little in the way of bolstering an ageing roster, so I think regression is due for the south-siders. They still have a chance to be the second best team in this division, but with the Royals challenging this year, and the Indians roster improved they may find they have to fight to get above .500. On the strength of their rotation, I think they will.

Prediction: 83-79

Gif to Watch

One of the reasons Sale has been so dominant is his hard breaking slider. Unfortunately, it may be the same pitch putting undue pressure on his arm. Whilst he is still on the mound, enjoy watching him make Robinson Cano look foolish: