Well, stay healthy for one. Garcia broke out in 2017, at least relative to his production in previous seasons. He matched his playing time through his first four seasons combined and slashed a respectable .270/.316/.423 while hitting nine home runs after hitting a total of two through the first 331 plate appearances of his career. All while filling in the gaps in a myriad of positions all over the diamond.

That season was cut short in late August when back stiffness and then a sprained thumb shut him down for the better part of the last month and a half. He entered this season in more or less the same situation, spelling Adam Engel in center field with superior offense but inferior defense, playing a good amount of left, and subbing in at right field, third base, shortstop, and second base when the situation warranted.

Garcia was serviceable when he played, but the problem was that he failed to stay healthy for a prolonged period of time. A knee sprain in late May kept him out for about a month, he missed a few games with a finger injury in early July, went on the DL again with a hamstring strain in August, missed the minimum amount of time, and then promptly landed back on it four days later with another hamstring strain that essentially ended his season.

At this point, the question for the 27-year-old becomes less “what does he need to do to get more playing time?” and more “where does he fit into the future?” The answer is uncertain. There is certainly a spot on a contending team for a player of Garcia’s ilk. League-average offense to go along with defensive versatility has value on any team. But as the White Sox transition from this phase of the rebuild into the next, it’s unclear whether Garcia will continue to warrant rostering. Once the plethora of outfield prospects begin graduating to the majors, and perhaps if the White Sox see Yolmer Sanchez as more of a utility infielder as opposed to an everyday third baseman, you could see him get squeezed out.

But that’s not now, at least. And right now Garcia is the type of player who the White Sox will continue to give opportunities to as long as other holes on the roster persist. At least, that is, whenever he’s healthy.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

You can view the full projections over at Baseball Prospectus, and the work that goes into them always make it worth your while, but let’s dive into some of the more noteworthy projections PECOTA has for the team in 2018.

The Record

PECOTA projects the White Sox will win 73 games in 2018, a reasonable estimation that would represent a six-win jump from a year ago. There’s been a decent amount of “can the White Sox be the surprise team of 2018?” buzz over the last few weeks, and while that’s far from an absurd notion, a modest improvement seems more reasonable.

The Players: Good

The White Sox Team Audit page is worth a gander, and when looking at playing time and statistical projections throughout the roster, it’s easy for certain things to jump out.

Jose Abreu (.289/.348/.504, 3.1 WARP) projects to be the White Sox most valuable player, which is far from surprising. Still, as he enters his early 30s, the fact that regression isn’t expected is a positive sign.

Carlos Rodon (131 IP, 3.69 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 145 K, 51 BB, 2.3 WARP) is No. 2 to Abreu, which is logical until you factor in the injury concerns. Rodon was on a lot of “breakout star” lists pre-2017, and while the injuries remain a concern entering 2018, when he’s been on the mound, he’s been good, and PECOTA sees that. 131 innings would be double his 2017 total, but still lower than anyone would like. You can fill a many large, leather-bound books with names of pitchers whose downfalls were entirely related to their inability to stay healthy, but with Rodon, the fact remains that when he’s healthy, he’s continued to show the ability to reach his heights as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Nicky Delmonico (.246/.323/.434, 1.6 WARP) is perhaps still graded on a curve based on where he was a year ago (he wasn’t mentioned even once among the several hundred reviewed in the 2017 Baseball Prospectus Annual) and that makes these somewhat modest projections pleasing. Sure, the triple slash doesn’t match up with his surprising 43-game sample a year ago, but those numbers are more than acceptable from a four-corners player picked up off the trash heap.

Tim Anderson (.265/.289/.408, 0.4 WARP) had a dreadful 2017, both on and off the field, and while these projections don’t exactly have you jumping for joy, all three numbers represent a modest jump in his numbers. And, at the very least, PECOTA believes the power is real, which isn’t nothing for a middle infielder.

The Players: Bad

PECOTA is basically the numerical representation of every one of us throughout 2017 in saying “Prove It Again” to Avisail Garcia (.275/.329/.427, 1.6 WARP). The projection for Garcia is a far cry from the .886 OPS and 3.7 WARP he put up a year ago, but it’s easy to see why. The .392 BABIP in 2017 and more than 1,500 below-average plate appearances prior to last season bring plenty of room for pessimism he can keep it up for a second year in a row. Regression is expected, whether or not it will be as much as PECOTA says is to be determined.

Leury Garcia (.248/.292/.374, 0.0 WARP) is a personal favorite of yours truly (as well as my co-EIC Nick Beeps) so while his projecting as nothing more than a replacement-level player is disheartening, if not understandable. Garcia played like an first division starting center fielder for the first half of 2017, but injuries and poor play zapped a lot of that optimism down the stretch. Garcia is versatile enough to be given a chance as a utility player, if not a starter, and like his surname counterpart in right field, he’ll likely get plenty of opportunities to “prove it” again in 2018.

It’s hardly worth mentioning James Shields (189 IP, 5.42 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 159 K, 86 BB, -0.7 WARP) or Miguel Gonzalez (137 IP, 5.39 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 99 K, 53 BB, -0.4 WARP) as their jobs are simply to eat innings between the ones that are going to the interesting long-term pieces. Still, it would be preferable if one or both is competent enough to be able to run out there every fifth day.

Oh yeah, the young guys!

Yoan Moncada (.233/.330/.410, 2.1 WARP)
Lucas Giolito (160 IP, 4.47 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 163 K, 67 BB, 1.3 WARP)
Reynaldo Lopez (108 IP, 4.90 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 109 K, 43 BB, 0.3 WARP)

Players like these three are complicated in how PECOTA views them. All three are somewhat underwhelming but also not altogether disappointing. But it’s important to remember that what they’ve done during their limited time in the majors has at least some impact on how they are viewed. PECOTA doesn’t know that Moncada is a mega-super-ultra stud prospect whose built like a middle linebacker. It knows that Moncada hit only .231 a year ago despite a .325 BABIP. It doesn’t know that Giolito got an OFP of 8 from our prospect team once upon a time, it knows that he flashed good but inconsistent over the last year, and it doesn’t know that, in 2017, Lopez … well, I don’t really know how to describe what we saw from Lopez last year, either.

So while these numbers may be a bit disheartening when you consider that they’re the three Opening Day players most important to the White Sox future, these 50th percentile projections are not necessarily doom-and-gloom, and if they outpace them in 2018, it just spells better things to come in the future.

Lead Photo Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox thought so little of Leury Garcia coming into this season that even after they had sold Peter Bourjos to the Tampa Bay Rays, he was still behind Jacob May on the center field depth chart. He was also decidedly behind Tyler Saladino and Yolmer Sanchez on the utility infielder pecking order.

But, such is the nature of 2017 that there were plenty of opportunities to go around and Garcia absolutely made the most of them, as May made it very unambiguous that he was not ready. From mid-April, when he began getting regular plate appearances, until mid-June when he started missing time with injury, he hit .305/.349/.466. His K percentage dropped dramatically, while his power spiked.  I personally saw him pinch hit and absolutely rope a line drive single off Aroldis Chapman, and then follow it up by blasting a home run off of high-90s heat from Luis Severino later in the series.

The aforementioned injuries started leaking into his season, and it’s hard to tell how much the second half of the season where he started sliding back to earth was pure regression and how much was trying to play while physically compromised.

Even so, this season has to be considered an unmitigated success. Garcia had struggled so mightily in the majors that it was hard to have any expectations, and having played two full seasons in Triple-A and clearly mastered it, this was sort of his last chance to show he could perform above that level.

If Garcia is even a league average bat — he was roughly one this year — he’s an extremely useful player. He can switch hit, play every position — and yes, he can play shortstop and center field well, although he is clearly getting by more on athleticism in center as it isn’t his natural position — except catcher, and pinch run. Pair that with a league average bat and there’s a space on every roster for that player.

Before this year, Garcia was not in the White Sox plans, but he has certainly earned a shot at regular playing time next year to see how real these gains are. Unfortunately, because he was raced to the majors by Texas and the White Sox, he hits his first year of arbitration next year, but because of his versatility it’s not exactly hard to see how he fits onto the roster of a competitor either.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s fun to watch, seems like a popular guy in the clubhouse, and maybe one day we see Leury Garcia being a part of big postseason moments as a beloved veteran supporting part on the next good White Sox team.

Lead Image Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

• Carson Fulmer’s rotation cameo and what his terrible season means for his future.
• Reynaldo Lopez’s two starts, his injury, and what we’ve seen out of him in his brief time with the team.
• Leury Garcia’s surprisingly successful season and chances of sticking around when the White Sox are ready to compete again.
• Season-long improvements from Avisail Garcia, and where he fits in with the White Sox in the future.
• 2018 free agency and long-term financial implications.
• Jose Abreu being awesome forever and always.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by searching for “The Catbird Speaks.”

Just ask his former teammate, Elvis Andrus.

“I love that kid,” the Rangers shortstop said. “I don’t think he realizes how talented he is.”

Andrus says this without much prodding. An easy question lofted at him like a hanging breaking ball — “What do you remember from Leury Garcia’s time with the Rangers?” — sends the nine-year veteran into a flurry of compliments for the White Sox utility player.

“He can do it all. He’s a small guy, but he’s got some power and he can run. He’s a smart player. I know he’s doing good over there and I have so much respect for him. I’m really happy to see him get comfortable here in the big leagues.”

A similar question posed slightly differently to Garcia’s current teammate, Jose Abreu — “What have you noticed from Leury Garcia this year compared to previous seasons?” — elicits a similar response.

“He’s a very real talent,” Abreu said through the White Sox team interpreter. “When you’re that talented and you work as hard as he does, the outcomes are going to be good. I think we’re watching the results right now of everything he’s done in terms of his preparation on a daily basis.”

If you talk to those around Garcia, he was always supposed to be here.

But his path to regular playing time was not without its travails.

He signed with the Rangers as an international free agent in December 2007, just five months after Texas acquired Andrus in a famous prospect haul from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Mark Teixeira. Unlike Andrus, who two years later finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, has two All-Star appearances to his credit, and has already pocketed $59 million in major league earnings, Garcia was always considered more of a fringe major leaguer — a utility type with advanced speed and defense but whose bat may never come around enough to stick long term.

In fact, the first mention of Garcia in BP’s annual system rankings during his time in the Rangers’ system (granted, this was back when it was regularly among the top farm systems in baseball) was when Kevin Goldstein ranked him as the No. 19 prospect in their organization prior to the 2012 season with a one sentence write-up: “Pure shortstop with plenty of speed, but will he ever hit?”

A year later he was mentioned again, this time by Jason Parks, as a player outside of the Top 10 who would be likely to see time with that year’s major league team.

“In a system full of toolsy shortstop prospects, Garcia might have the loudest tools of the bunch. With a plus-plus arm, smooth actions, and 8 run, the diminutive yet catalytic player has positioned himself as a future super-utility option at the highest level. At the plate, he can make contact and get his legs involved, and on defense, he can play on the left side of the infield and has even logged time in the outfield.”

Garcia did see time with the Rangers that season, and six months after that report was sent to the White Sox in exchange for Alex Rios. But four years later he entered the 2017 season with just 331 plate appearances to his credit and a .188/.225/.237 line to show for it.

He’s going to more than double his amount of plate appearances this season, and has been a completely different hitter in doing so, hitting .293/.342/.452 with a 112 OPS+ entering play Sunday. So, what changed?

“Just getting regular at-bats,” Garcia said. “Having the opportunity to see more pitches, to play day in, day out, that’s the only way you can learn and grow as a player, because you’re doing things every day and getting into a routine.”

Garcia has become more or less that super-utility player Parks saw four years ago, but it took several years of struggles and trekking back and forth between Chicago and Triple-A Charlotte for him to get to this point, something he admitted weighed on him during the past several seasons.

“It was a little bit frustrating,” he said. “Every player wants to be here and wants to stay here once you reach this level. I just tried to keep a positive mindset.”

Garcia attributes consistent playing time with his increased production at the plate, and the numbers do hint toward someone who feels more comfortable handling major league pitching than in previous seasons.

Quite simply: He’s making more contact. His strikeout rate has dropped nearly seven percent from his career average of 25.2 percent, and while his walk rate is right in line with his career average, he’s making contact on pitches he swings at about two percent more often than his career average, a small but not insignificant addition.

“(More playing time) has allowed him an opportunity to find himself a little bit,” manager Rick Renteria said. “He’s maturing quite a bit, actually. Every year that guy get to the big leagues, every time that they’re able to chip away opportunities, I think they get better.”

That opportunity may not have been afforded to Garcia if it weren’t for the direction the White Sox took entering 2017. The competition for starting center fielder was wide open at the start of Spring Training, and even during a rebuilding season, the odds were stacked against him. With Peter Bourjos, Charlie Tilson, and Jacob May all in the mix, there was a question as to whether or not he would even make the Opening Day roster.

A natural shortstop, Garcia knew that versatility and the ability to play the outfield would play a factor in his sticking around in Chicago.

“I’ve been working on (playing the outfield) for the past two or three years because I knew the opportunities would come based on my ability to play multiple positions,” Garcia said. “But this offseason I was playing in the Dominican Republic and I worked on just playing the outfield. That helped me get a little better idea of how to play out there, and really helped me become a better player.”

Five months later, Bourjos is in Tampa, Tilson remains injured, and May’s hot spring cooled to the point where he was in Triple-A after a brief and futile stay in Chicago. Garcia, on the other hand, thrived in center field and has been worth 5.5 FRAA overall, recently shifting to left field after the trade of Melky Cabrera to get defensive specialist Adam Engel in the lineup in center field.

The White Sox are a team in transition right now, and with a host of young talent in the pipelines, whether or not he sticks around as the Eloy Jimenez’s and Blake Rutherford’s and Luis Roberts of the world make their way to Chicago will be determined by a good number of factors.

But his improved contact skills and defensive versatility have, if nothing else, given the White Sox another option to consider as they work toward building their next contender.

Lead Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While people are welcome to digest baseball however they please — it is, after all, entertainment — there was nothing wrong with how Renteria managed*, and there was absolutely nothing surprising about the game’s outcome.  The White Sox have traded away David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Dan Jennings, and Anthony Swarzak.  They’ve lost Zach Putnam, Nate Jones, and Michael Ynoa to the disabled list.  They even traded away Tyler Clippard!

*As easy as it is to roll one’s eyes at a manager aggressively playing matchups, particularly in a lost season, Aaron Bummer is potentially a long-term bullpen piece and he’s going to need to learn how to come in to face elite lefties like that.

In other words, 100 percent of the current bullpen is comprised of backups.  Other than Petricka, these were options 9-16 heading into the season.  So while the White Sox entered the year with a surprisingly excellent relief corps — a group much better than a number of teams that currently have vice-like grips on playoff spots — it has been razed in exchange for minor league talent.

It’s impressive that Rick Hahn & Co. got as much as they did for what they had, packaging Robertson and Kahnle together with Todd Frazier — a rental bat whose value was increasingly in question given the returns for similar players at this deadline — to get a Top 100 prospect in Blake Rutherford.  Even Jennings and Swarzak got flipped for potential future contributors.

But games like Wednesday are the cost of those trades.  Jennings and Clippard are hardly Andrew Miller and Craig Kimbrel, but on most nights they can get you three outs before surrendering two runs.  They’re competent major leaguers.  The relievers left in the current White Sox bullpen are either hoping to be as good as Jennings and Clippard some day or are stop gaps to get through the rest of the year. Factor in the Dodgers lineup and you’re going to get games like Wednesday, and there are going to be lots of games like Wednesday between now and the end of the year.

The triumph, rather, was that Carlos Rodon has now rattled off four straight quality starts while pitching against Cleveland, Boston, Houston, and the Dodgers — the last two opponents featuring the two best TAv’s in all of baseball.  Across those outings, he has thrown 29.67 innings with 28 strikeouts while only allowing 26 hits, 7 runs, and 6 walks.  On the down side, he did pop up two bunts, so perhaps it makes more sense to just let him swing away during his rare interleague road games.

The triumph was that Nicky Delmonico continued his blistering major league debut with two more home runs, raising his line to .396/.463/.625 in his first 54 plate appearances.  The triumph was that Leury Garcia continued his breakout 2017 season with a leadoff home run off Yu Darvish in a 2-for-5 night.

But the games aren’t all going to be the Astros series, where they bludgeoned their opponents, or held them down long enough for Yoan Moncada to perform superlative heroics.  Sometimes Juan Minaya and Jake Petricka and Gregory Infante are going to get shelled, and that’s kind of what they signed up for.

Lead Image Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Pure fan devotion could be enough motivation to watch, of course, but even fan devotion is put to the test by the second-worst team in baseball. Even fans that are dedicated to the team through thick and thin need something to look forward to and care about. Yoan Moncada hasn’t set the world on fire, but as the best prospect in baseball he’s always worth paying attention to. It’s likely that he’ll improve even more in the coming weeks, making him the highlight in the White Sox lineup. Carlos Rodon has improved drastically over his last three starts, showing the top of the rotation potential that has always been buried inside. Reynaldo Lopez’s debut Friday and final two months in Chicago will also be worth keeping an eye on. Those are the obvious bright spots, but there are things beyond that to watch.

There isn’t much luxury in rebuilding. It’s almost entirely a drudge through a mucky, miserable season with slight glimmers of hope about the future to come. If one luxury can be found, however, it is in the fact that the team can give chances to players that otherwise would not receive them. Now that the roster is devoid of veteran talent, the focus can be narrowed even more on players like Leury Garcia, Yolmer Sanchez, Matt Davidson, Tyler Saladino, Alen Hanson, and Nicky Delmonico.

Coming into the season, none of those names really sparked a fire in the hearts of White Sox fans or analysts. Sanchez had been given a full-time role on the 2015 team, but he produced just a 61 wRC+. Garcia was a prospect with promise, but he never quite put things together in the big leagues. Saladino had proven himself as a useful utility player but nothing more, and so on. They were all players that weren’t worth getting excited about and yet, they had plenty of potential if given the right opportunity.

Given the opportunity to succeed, Garcia has stood out more than any of the others. He did have more potential all along, but his 107 wRC+ while playing good defense in a premier position has been a revelation. Even if in the long run he is merely a fourth outfielder, that’s value gained simply through giving him an opportunity. Watching how he proceeds this season following his hand injury is certainly worth giving attention to.

Sanchez has seen his playing time take a hit since the promotion of Moncada, but he’s still worth keeping an eye. Hope was all but lost for his offense entering 2017, but he’s produced mildly well with a .313 on base percentage and 85 wRC+. That’s not awe-inspiring, but it’s an improvement on his past production. Perhaps on the other side of the coin is Saladino, who has disappointed in his season shortened by injury.

These players are the ones worth keeping an eye on despite the team being pummeled night after night. They’re not the prospects that are going to dazzle on the 100-loss team, but they are the players benefitting the most from the White Sox being bad. Each of them is being given an opportunity that they normally would not have. If even one of them is a contributor on the next good White Sox team, it’s a big win for the rebuild. Even when the games are miserable, long, and seemingly worthless eyes can be put on these players, and thoughts can be churning about what their future might hold. 

Lead Photo Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Melky looks to take at bats away from Alex Gordon (.202/.296/.303) and Brandon Moss (.210/.289/.410), which means a pretty clear upgrade at both spots.  The Royals and White Sox will essentially split the $5.2 million he is owed for the remainder of 2017 before he becomes a free agent this winter.

As might be anticipated given Edwin Encarnacion’s surprisingly tepid free agency this past offseason, and the underwhelming price for J.D. Martinez, the White Sox’ return for the veteran left fielder was modest.  Still, there is plenty to like about the arms coming to Chicago in the deal given the circumstances wherein it wasn’t clear what the demand would be for Melky’s services, if any.  Puckett is a 6’4” RHP who was drafted in the second round out of Pepperdine in 2016.  He’s a low ceiling guy, in that he sits in the low 90s, topping out at 94, with his best offspeed pitch being a change up.  Whether he is a starter or a reliever seems to hinge upon if he can get his curveball up to major league caliber to go with his first two offerings.  You can find a more detailed write-up on Puckett here.

Davis is almost 24-years-old and is only pitching okay in Low-A at the moment, however, he is 6’6” and left-handed—although he doesn’t throw much harder than 92—and perhaps he’s a project the White Sox think might turn into a reliever down the road.

It’s hard to imagine the White Sox have much left to trade unless they feel like parting with Jose Abreu, which seems extremely unlikely. Maybe someone is encouraged by a healthy-looking Jake Petricka, given that every decent reliever seems valuable at this stage?

2.  Talking about the on-the-field impact of the Melky Cabrera trade seems to be missing the point. Although it makes sense for the organization—and gives Melky a chance to make the playoffs—I would be remiss if I didn’t stop to highlight what a joy Cabrera has been to watch in his almost-three-years with the White Sox.  His personality absolutely shone through in his playing style, as his sense of humor was palpable in the way he played the outfield, ran the bases, and interacted with his teammates.  By all accounts, Cabrera was popular in the clubhouse as well, and his presence will be missed.

3.  The Cabrera trade freed up space for the return of Leury Garcia, who wound up missing six weeks for a finger injury that initially seemed minor. Garcia wasted little time resuming his startlingly good, breakout 2017 campaign, as he broke up what was then a no-hitter and shut out in the sixth inning by ripping a home run to right-center.  The diminutive, speedy switch-hitter who can play both shortstop and center field raised his line to .297/.343/.470, and the remainder of the season should provide plenty of opportunities for the White Sox to figure out just what kind of player he will be moving forward.

4.  Carlos Rodon dominated on Sunday, with a performance that statistically outshone his opus in Oakland, but wasn’t quite as visually impressive. Regardless, Rodon only walked two and threw first pitch strikes in over 60% of the batters he faced, which was a point of emphasis of Don Cooper’s dating back to last year. Given Rodon’s arsenal, particularly his wipeout slider, getting ahead of hitters is absolutely crucial.  Rodon is so important to the future of the organization and his performance moving forward is another aspect of the team that bears watching as the White Sox play out the string.

5.  Sunday’s 3-1 walk-off win against Cleveland was a delight to watch on a beautiful summer afternoon, as was seeing the joyous celebration of Matt Davidson, Jose Abreu et al. as Davidson came to home following his ferocious 2-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Some White Sox fans complained that this would cost the team the number one overall pick.  I have already addressed this issue at length as has Patrick Nolan of South Side Sox.

But even after Sunday’s game—where despite the loss of Melky Cabrera, a several young players performed admirably and the team pulled out a nail biter against one of the best teams in the league—White Sox fans were upset that they had won.

It was the White Sox second win in their last fifteen games.  During that same time they have traded away seven of their best major league players.  They are now jockeying with the Phillies and Giants for the number one pick. They are going to pick in the top five and are steadily gaining on number one.  Rodon and Leury Garcia performing well means a lot more to the future of this organization than win number forty hurts it.

Lead Image Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports.

The focus coming into the season was understandably on the players currently littering the White Sox minor league rosters. The newly acquired Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Michael Kopech, and Dane Dunning, as well as recent draft picks Zack Collins and Carson Fulmer, have had a mixture of success and failure in the first half of their respective seasons.

If you’re judging that septuplet on their respective performances to date, however, you may come away feeling somewhat underwhelmed. As James Fegan noted on this week’s episode of The Catbird Speaks, none of the White Sox prospects have really lit the world on fire consistently throughout the first half, but all of them have progressed to varying degrees.

Hand wring all you want over the fact that Giolito and Lopez don’t yet look major league ready, or because Moncada is still striking out a hefty amount, but this area gets a passing grade for unexpected reasons.

While the jury is still out on the aforementioned prospects we’ve yet to see in White Sox uniforms, the team appears to have taken a step forward in their positional development at the major league level. Avisail Garcia, Leury Garcia, Matt Davidson and Yolmer Sanchez have all given reasons to believe they could be major league contributors going forward.

My confidence in each continuing to perform at their current levels vary (I went more in depth on Avisail and Leury and Nick Schaefer did the same with Davidson last week), but for a system that has failed to produce any major league positional talent in a decade — watching hyped prospects like Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo come, fail, and stick around way too long — any of the four continuing to produce long-term would be a huge win for the White Sox.

And that’s not even to mention Tim Anderson, the most heralded of the group, who got off to a horrid start but has hit more or less as expected since the start of May (.290/.308/.426 since May 1 compared to .204/.237/.301 through the first month of the season).

None of these players project to be stars. None will likely be stars, with Anderson being the player most likely to reach that level. But developing viable major league pieces across the diamond is integral for a team to build a foundation with which to compete. The White Sox inability to surround their recent cores with even average major league talent is what led to them digging through the scrap heap for the likes of Justin Morneau, Jerry Sands, and J.B. Shuck in recent years.

If the White Sox can start finding those complementary pieces elsewhere, and there’s actually, ya know, good, it will be a huge step in the direction of competition.

Lead Photo Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

1. Leury Garcia has been a pleasant surprise this season — I wrote about that in more detail a couple weeks ago — since that article was published he’s been able to retain his pace as one of the best center fielders in baseball. No, seriously he still has the fifth best wRC+ among center fielders (118). Not all news is good, though. He left the game on Sunday with soreness in his left hand after sliding through first base. Ignoring the fact that sliding into first base is idiotic and poor strategy 99 percent of the time, there is reason for concern over something being simply reported as soreness. You may recall that fellow excellent center fielder Mike Trout suffered a torn ligament in his thumb after sliding into a base. Initially that was reported as soreness as well. It appears nothing is broken, but there’s still an X-ray to be had and good reason to keep your eyes peeled for news about it.

2. The White Sox defense doesn’t appear to be an overly great one. They rank 14th out of 15 AL teams in fielding percentage. They have players like Tim Anderson who has failed to reach the defensive potential he showed a year ago along with a player like Avisail Garcia that never even flashed brilliance in the field. And yet, they somehow lead the league in BABIP allowed with .272. This is particularly odd because White Sox pitchers haven’t given up soft contact this season. Jose Quintana hasn’t been himself, Holland has been hit hard in almost every start, Miguel Gonzalez hasn’t shown the player he was last year, and the rest of the rotation is full of players the White Sox scraped together when James Shields and Carlos Rodon went down with injuries. I have absolutely no clue why the White Sox would be giving up such a low BABIP. Although, I suppose, it doesn’t raise a team’s BABIP if balls are sailing over the outfield fence.

3. Yoan Moncada was red hot before he was sent to the disabled list with a hand injury. So hot, in fact, that many were questioning the White Sox decision to keep him in the minor leagues. The White Sox argued that they believed he wasn’t quite ready for big league pitchers. Since his return from the disabled list he’s looked lost at the plate. Whether that is a lingering injury or pitchers adjusting remains to be seen. However, it is of note that over the last 30 days Moncada has been slashing .169/.301/.273, which after some simple math gives an ISO of .104 and OPS of just .574. Those numbers are certainly not worthy of a call-up to Chicago. They’re also not reason to be overly concerned. Moncada is just 22 years old and experiencing Triple-A for the first time in his professional career. If he doesn’t adjust back or fully recover from his injury in the next month or so then it may be time to worry, however unlikely that is to happen.

4. Quintana had another start over the weekend, which only complicated things further. It wasn’t a complete implosion like some of his previous starts, but it wasn’t good either. We have yet to see the Quintana we know and love this season for any stretch. He has a 5.30 ERA, but his strikeout rate is the best of his career. The problem has been something he’s hardly experienced in his career: lack of control. He’s walked 9.2 percent of batters this season, which is also a career high. His DRA of 4.12 doesn’t reveal any rays of positivity either. Major league scouts know who they’re getting in Quintana if they were to trade for him, however, it’s become impossible to ignore the hit his trade value has taken.

Some will remark that this means the White Sox should have dealt him before the season began. Well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. What has always been the case for the White Sox is that they have some wiggle room in timeline of a Quintana trade. He’s under control until 2020. If Rick Hahn and his cohorts have to wait until the offseason for him to regain the value he once had, so be it. They would be trading Quintana, whose talent level does fall a bit lower than Sale’s, with the same amount of control remaining on his low-cost contract as Sale had this past winter. Does that mean the White Sox get the same value in a trade as they did for Sale? Of course not. But the fact remains that the White Sox aren’t backed into a corner yet. They will hear offers, of course, but I wouldn’t count on him being traded this season. And that’s okay.

5. Todd Frazier had a rough start to the season, but he has rebounded a little. Because of the position he plays, he may garner some trade interest as we head into July. The .222 average isn’t pretty, but the rest of the numbers aren’t bad. He’s striking out less and walking more than he did a season ago. With a 13.4 percent walk rate and 21.2 percent strikeout rate, he’s been able to salvage his .222 average into a .327 on base percentage and .438 slugging percentage. That has helped him remain an above average hitter with a 102 wRC+. A league average hitter with at least average defense at third could bring the White Sox some young talent. Even if the offers aren’t incredible, it’s better to trade him than let him walk. For that reason, Frazier is likely out of a White Sox uniform by the end of the season.