Martin Perez was once a well-regarded prospect. After a few years of roughly league average results, Perez missed the bulk of 2014 and 2015 with Tommy John surgery. One could charitably describe his first three starts of 2016 as “effectively wild,” given that he hasn’t been lit up, per se, but he has also walked more batters than he has struck out while posting a cFIP of 129. Given that Perez was roughly the same in 2015 coming back from TJS as he was prior to it, perhaps that’s his true talent level, leaving us with a range of possibilities from “middling to abysmal.” But, since the White Sox have a team TAv of .247 thus far, good for 30th in MLB*, we must brace ourselves for the possibility that they get utterly shut down anyway.
*For reference, Gordon Beckham has a career TAv of .245.
You can deduce the rest of the team’s performance to date from there rather easily. They are 10-6, their offense is the worst in the majors. Their defense and pitching have probably been very good. The White Sox are tied for 5th in the majors with a cFIP of 95* and, if nothing else, PADE thinks they have been the 2nd best defensive team in either league so far. Jose Quintana has been excellent again thus far, and as always seems to be the case, the team will go as far as their offense takes them. If they can muster 3-4 runs, they have an excellent shot, and they should really do that against the Rangers. But, that doesn’t mean they will.
*Freddy Garcia had a career cFIP of 96.
Quintana doesn’t have an easy task ahead of him, however, as the Rangers have been a Top 10 offense so far this season, which makes sense given that phenom Nomar Mazara has hit the ground running, Adrian Beltre is having a classic Beltre season, and Mitch Moreland is beginning to make a case that last year’s step forward had something real behind it.
White Sox Lineup:
- Adam Eaton – RF
- Austin Jackson – CF
- Jose Abreu – 1B
- Todd Frazier – 3B
- Melky Cabrera – LF
- Brett Lawrie – 2B
- Jerry Sands – DH
- Dioner Navarro – C
- Tyler Saladino – SS
Rangers Lineup:
- Delino DeShields – CF
- Elvis Andrus – SS
- Prince Fielder – DH
- Adrian Beltre – 3B
- Ian Desmond – LF
- Mitch Moreland – 1B
- Ryan Rua – RF
- Rougned Odor – 2B
- Bryan Holaday – C
Lead Photo Credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA Today Sports Images