Greg Infante’s Baseball Reference page is one of my favorites to look at. He threw 4 2/3 innings for the 2010 White Sox and then there’s just a huge gap before he turns up again with the 2017 White Sox. And it wasn’t because of a major injury or anything like that, Infante bid his time in the minors and worked his way back up over six years before garnering another call to the majors. It’s heart warming, really. And he wasn’t all that bad last season! Borderline good, even. 2018 was a different story. He broke camp with the team, walked eight and gave up eight runs in eight innings, and was jettisoned back to Charlotte for the duration of the season. Here’s hoping he pops up again on a major league roster sometime in 2024.

Jeanmar Gomez was your NRI pitcher du jour this season, as the journeyman who was only two years removed from saving 34 games for the Phillies (it’s true, I looked it up and everything), joined the White Sox in spring training and spent the first few months facing overmatched competition out of the bullpen for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He finally got the call in mid-July and was serviceable but unremarkable for the final 2 1/2 months. Did you know that Gomez got a plate appearance in the playoffs for the 2013 Pirates? I didn’t either. Huh.

Rob Scahill was kind of like Gomez but less notable in that nobody has ever really heard of him. I still haven’t heard of him. Have you? After tossing five September innings for the 2018 White Sox, he’s apparently now pitched 149 2/3 big league innings for four different teams in seven seasons. Scahill will battle with Dustin Garneau for the award of most likely player you’ll miss in the Sporcle quiz on the 2018 White Sox roster.

Jose Ruiz probably doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with this motley crew, as he’s the only of this quintet who is young and at least semi-interesting. But look, I wasn’t going to write a whole post about a reliever the White Sox picked up off waivers and threw 4 1/3 innings at the big league level, OK? Ruiz was actually really good at Double-A Birmingham this season and needed to be on the 40-man roster in order to avoid being eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December, so that’s the main reason he got big league time in September. At 24, he’s an interesting enough relief candidate next season and in the future for the White Sox to keep around.

Lead Photo Credit: David Banks-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 Orioles won 89 games that year, more than the White Sox have since 2006, despite giving 429 innings from starters with ERAs above 5.20. So I guess they didn’t need Gonzalez, but also … why did they dump Gonzalez?

Gonzalez’ peripherals have never been great, as the owner of a career DRA of 4.95 and a career WARP of 1.9.  Still, there are pitchers whose ERA is regularly lower than their secondaries suggest — for example, Mark Buehrle’s career ERA of 3.81 beats his 4.36 DRA, and as a knuckleballer, the rules don’t apply to R.A. Dickey and his 4.04 career ERA is prettier than the 4.31 DRA thinks he deserves.  Although Gonzalez isn’t in those fellows’ class in terms of pitching witchcraft, he still has a career ERA of 3.95 after almost 900 innings pitching primarily in Baltimore and The Cell.  That’s not nothing, and he seems like a decent enough bet for ~100-140 innings of serviceable pitching.

While the signing is clearly not going to be the difference between the White Sox making the playoffs or not, it still stands to be hugely beneficial to the organization.  Right now, the rotation is riddled with uncertainty.  Lucas Giolito, Carson Fulmer, and Reynaldo Lopez are virtual locks to continue growing pains of some sort, and even if they generally have successful seasons, you don’t want to require what are essentially rookies to throw 200 innings a piece just to get through the year.  Meanwhile, the other 40 percent of the rotation suddenly seems brittle (Carlos Rodon may not even be ready for Opening Day) or threatens such catastrophic ineffectiveness he may not even soak up innings (James Shields).  Then factor in normal injuries, etc. and suddenly those ~100-140 serviceable innings look downright delicious.

By all accounts, Gonzalez was popular with the front office, clubhouse, and coaching staff, which is icing on the cake.  His whole career has been a high-wire act, where he survives more on guile than anything else, and at some point it will collapse. It could collapse as soon as this year! But given the investment (uh … nothing?) and their contention posture, there isn’t really much downside here. The upside is more proficient innings to protect the rest of the pitching staff and hey, maybe even something neat at the deadline.

In a corresponding move to clear a space on the 40-man roster, Jacob May was designated for assignment.  Given the presence of Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, and even theoretically Charlie Tilson or Tito Polo, a 26-year-old with a career minor league OPS of .692 is no longer uh … essential I suppose.

Lead Image Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Unlike some rebuilds, the fruits of the White Sox teardown came in the form of some close to ready-made young talent, and among the players the White Sox acquired who made their team debut during an otherwise forgettable season were Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez. Throw in incumbents Tim Anderson and Carlos Rodon (health pending) and the start of a hopeful new core was already starting to take place on the South Side, even as we wait for Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, and others to join them.

If 2017 was Phase 1 of the rebuild, 2018’s Phase 2 won’t be too dissimilar. There likely won’t be as many veterans Rick Hahn & Co. can flip for shiny new toys, but as the aforementioned “next core” continues its development either in the majors or the minors, the White Sox will likely search for roster filler with two thoughts in mind: 1. Someone has to play, and 2. A good few months could generate even more young talent in the form of even more trades.

Setting aside the White Sox two most obviously valuable trade candidates, Jose Abreu and Nate Jones, which Nick outlined Monday, there isn’t much “roster filler” leftover from 2017, save for the expensive and ineffective James Shields. Thus, it’s likely the White Sox will spend this offseason identifying and pursuing players who fit the archetype of cheap veterans looking to rebuild their value on a shorter deals. Think Derek Holland, only hopefully with better results. Actually, forget Holland. Think Anthony Swarzak. That’s better.

With that in mind, a perusal of the available free agents brings … less than stellar options, as you might expect.

Still, there are bargains to be had. And when you project what the White Sox roster might look like in 2018, the rotation and bullpen are likely where most of the action will take place. Positionally, the White Sox have their starters at first base, second base, shortstop, and right field. One could make the argument for bringing in veterans at catcher, third base, left field, and center field, but the White Sox will have to weigh the desire to do that with ensuring more reps from guys like Omar Narvaez, Kevan Smith, Yolmer Sanchez, Leury Garcia, Matt Davidson, and Nicky Delmonico.

With that in mind, here are a few players who, at first glance, could be on the White Sox radar if the price is right:

Starting pitchers

James Fegan wrote about Tyler Chatwood as a potential free agent target over at The Athletic and I’ll echo those sentiments, as Chatwood is younger than your average free agent and the type of ground ball pitcher the White Sox like to target. Andrew Cashner is now 31 but was once a flame-throwing top prospect who could want to rebuild his value after posting the worst K/9 of his career in Texas. Jhoulys Chacin will be 30 in January and has a dwindling strikeout, but may come cheaply enough if he’s willing to leave the friendly confines of PetCo for a less pitcher-friendly environment. Chris Tillman had a disastrous season in Baltimore and his value couldn’t be much lower, but that’s kind of the point here, right? Wade Miley technically still exists. Why not bring back Miguel Gonzalez?

Relievers

Trevor Cahill gave up more home runs in 23 innings with the Royals than in 61 with the Padres, but is somehow still only 29. Asher Wojciechowski is a slider/change-up guy who gives up way too many fly balls to make sense but is young enough that maybe the White Sox would be interested. Steve Cishek and Tommy Hunter represent classic “sign and flip” candidates if they have a few good months. Luke Gregerson is only a year removed from being a valuable bullpen piece, but was so bad for Houston that he only pitched in mop-up duty in the playoffs. The actual answer to this question, of course, is Matt Albers.

Outfielders

Carlos Gonzalez was among the worst everyday players in baseball for the first half of 2017, but rebounded to the tune of a .921 OPS in the second half. He was linked to the White Sox plenty during the years they were actually trying to contend, so it would only be logical for them to get him now to split time between left field and DH. Leonys Martin plays a good center field but can’t hit a lick, making him basically an older version of Adam Engel. Ichiro Suzuki is who they sign in my dreams, and sometimes my dreams come true.

Infielders/catchers

There really isn’t much to work with here, and these groups are probably the least likely to see any sort of free agent additions. Maybe Will Middlebrooks on a minor league deal excites you, since he’s a name you know. Hey, they gave Cody Asche a shot so who knows? Chris Iannetta has always been well regarded for his receiving skills and would be a good candidate to help groom the White Sox young arms from behind the plate, but would only likely be considered if the front office’s opinions on Narvaez or Smith’s handling of pitchers are less glowing than they say publicly. Old friend Hector Sanchez will only be 28 and had a random dinger-laden streak for the Padres last season.

Lead Photo Credit: Russell Lansford-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Clippard — Clippard served as the awkward throw-in of one of the White Sox’ biggest trades this season. He was sent to Chicago along with three prospects, which made him a very certain outlier. At first blush it seemed like he was included to merely cover innings for a team that was trading away two of their best relievers at once. When he was traded to the Astros almost exactly a month later, it was clear his inclusion in the inital trade was merely to balance out salaries. It’s hard to say whether the team planned to flip him all along or his strong performance (10 IP, 2 ER) ignited interest from other teams. Regardless of the why, Clippard was in a White Sox uniform for merely an uninteresting month of the season.

Todd Frazier — Frazier was one of the many White Sox players belonging to the group of last ditch players from the era of the team piecing things together in hopes of finding something that worked. He spent a season and a half with the team, showing power in 2016 and nothing of great significance in 2017. The team was forced to package him with two strong relievers to get a team to bite, and he went on to find a leadership role with a Yankees team that was just one win away from the AL pennant.

Miguel Gonzalez — One of the big stories of the 2015 season was the massive failure of the Jeff Samardzija acquisition. There was absolutely no chemistry between Don Cooper and Samardzija, causing concerns about Cooper to ripple through the White Sox fanbase and baseball world. If it’s even fair to say there was a revival of Cooper’s reputation, it came in 2016 when Gonzalez went from throwaway player on the Orioles to one of the White Sox best pitchers. The 2017 was much rockier for Gonzalez, who battled injuries in the early part of the season. His 4.62 ERA on the season certainly wasn’t great, but he was effective while in Chicago. He weaved his way through hard contact left and right to make himself a trade asset in August, which helped the White Sox gain even more young talent in quantity even if not in quality.

Derek Holland — Holland always seemed like a great fit for the 2017 White Sox. He was a free agent whose price tag was greatly reduced by injury concerns, but if he was healthy he could easily provide a multitude of innings at at least a passable quality. That was a perfect fit for a team in the very early stages of rebuilding, and if the team got lucky he could have been a trade target by July. Instead things went horribly wrong, and Holland was cut from the roster before the season ended. His 6.20 ERA and 4.6 percent strikeout minus walk rate was not a site to behold, and as the summer came to an end his starts seemed to get worse and worse. The pitcher who appeared to be a solid signing with plenty of potential turned out to be a dud.

Dan Jennings — Jennings appeared in 77 games this season, which was good enough to put him tied for third in all of baseball among relievers. Perhaps it was the frequency with which Jennings was used that caused the Rays to show interest at the deadline. At the time they were certainly contenders for at least a Wild Card spot, if not within reach of the division title. With limited resources financially and within their system, they were forced to go bargain shopping. It’s hard to say why or how they landed on Jennings, but the fact remains that he was the guy they wanted. The White Sox were happy to oblige as they handed out bullpen arms like candy on Halloween throughout the months of July and August, and in return got Casey Gillaspie, a prospect who is flawed but interesting enough to more than justify the trade.

Tommy Kahnle — Kahnle and his morbidly huge thighs stepped out of nowhere and into our world in 2017. Before this season he was merely a fireballer who couldn’t find the strike zone, hardly a rare breed in this day and age of baseball. All it took for him to take off, as is the case for so many relievers, was a bit of command. He was able to establish the fastball early in counts and blow hitters away with his devastating changeup. The White Sox could have held out to squeeze more value from what seemed to be a very good reliever, but the general principle of selling high on relievers whenever you can is a good one. Kahnle went on to be a crucial part of the powerful Yankees bullpen, making strong and important appearances in a multitude of postseason games.

David Robertson — Robertson, like Frazier, was part of the team’s last ditch effort at contention over the last couple seasons. With contention out of the picture and Robertson still a valuable bullpen arm with a large salary commitment through 2018, the White Sox decided it was time to part with him. His value was neither at an all-time high nor all-time low, but when he was packaged with Kahnle and Frazier the return was at the very least a couple players of interest.

Anthony Swarzak — During most seasons you would be hard-pressed to find a reliever that came more out of nowhere to find success than Kahnle. However, in 2017 Swarzak did exactly that. The White Sox gave him a minor league deal, converted him to the bullpen and saw immediate success. He started the season on fire and finished with a 2.33 ERA and 30 percent strikeout rate. With Swarzak only signed on for the single season, it was an even easier decision to send him away to a contender. He landed in Milwaukee, where the Brewers were trying to keep themselves in the playoff race.

Jose Quintana — The most inevitable trade of the season was one involving Quintana. It was a shock, however, to see him sent to the other side of town. Despite struggling in the early parts of the season, he rebounded enough to convince teams that confidence in his past performance was enough to warrant sending prospects to the South Side. His departure was the saddest of the season from a rooting standpoint, but it sent the most exciting prospects the other way. Suddenly a White Sox system that still seemed arm-heavy had one of the best hitting prospects in baseball along with another high-ceiling pitcher. Seeing Quintana go after so many years of improbable success was unfortunate, but it was a huge step in the right direction for the White Sox rebuilding efforts.

Lead Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Forbes was taken by the Rangers in the 2^nd round of the 2014 draft out of high school.  Traded within a week of his 21^st birthday, Forbes is evidently toolsy enough to inspire positive reviews out there even with his rather dreary production at the plate. At this stage he seems to be a glove only third baseman.  If you are saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, that’s not a thing in the majors is it?” that’s because you’re right, it’s not. Perhaps there’s one scout in the White Sox organization who saw some of what got Forbes popped in the second round still in there somewhere.

Gonzalez was never going to bring back much—his stuff and peripherals seem to suggest he is always on the brink of becoming completely ineffective, and he’s under contract for all of the month of September.  But the guy is approaching 900 innings of 106 ERA+ ball under his belt for his career, has always outperformed his peripherals, keeps churning out quality starts since returning from the DL, and would help pretty much any team in contention. The Rangers are still vaguely in the Wild Card hunt and Gonzalez represents a modest upgrade on the back of their rotation.

Indeed, before the Twins rallied against the August version of the 2017 White Sox Bullpen, it was looking like not trading for Gonzalez was going to cost them. Minnesota needs every win down the stretch to keep their unlikely playoff bid alive, and they’re giving starts to…well, guys who aren’t as good as Miguel Gonzalez.

No matter what Forbes winds up doing—assume it will be nothing—Gonzalez’ acquisition was an unmitigated triumph.  Claimed off waivers, he pitched the best ball of his career for a 2016 White Sox team that desperately needed the innings, and gave another 130+ innings of 100 ERA+ to a 2017 team that desperately needed the innings.

The White Sox are starting to promote significant pitching prospects to the major league rotation and there are more approaching on the horizon.  Still, as you may have heard, pitching prospects and young pitchers are fickle things in terms of health and performance, and it never hurts to have competent veterans around to help pick up the slack, particularly if they’re afforadable.  To that end, it might make sense for the White Sox to pick Gonzalez back up on a modest contract this winter to help protect the rookies again.

Lead Image Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzalez seemed to have a case of post-Orioles-itis that helped propel him to a 3.73 ERA, which nestled him between current god of pitching Chris Sale and future stud Carlos Rodon on the White Sox leaderboard. The peripherals weren’t great, and his 4.23 DRA warned of trouble to come. His efforts didn’t help the White Sox find their way to the playoffs, though. Instead they were wasted efforts for an offense that found itself to be inert.

In 2017 the White Sox’ tactics have done a 180. No longer are they making weak attempts at contention. With the team in a state of rebuilding, the pressure was off Gonzalez to perform at a high level. Sure, if he had continued to show the good signs of 2016 he was bound to be on the move to help pack the farm system with even more talent. But mostly he had no expectations laid on his shoulders. Perhaps that is a good thing, because his 2017 season has been a mess of confusion and poor play. He’s had good starts and bad starts, with a DL stint thrown in the middle of the season, and remains a mystery that can’t quite be solved.

Gonzalez has been able to put together solid outings this year. He went 8 1/3 innings against the Yankees in his third start of the season, allowing just one earned run, and followed that up with eight innings without an earned run against the Royals. He’s had a couple starts reach six or seven innings with just one earned run allowed in the past month. In his last three starts he has gone a total of 20 innings with just two earned runs allowed. The start before those three was a stinker in which he recorded just five outs before being yanked from the game with seven earned runs already on his record. His game logs scream inconsistency and beg the question: is Gonzalez good?

Gonzalez has never been the type to blow hitters away. The highest swinging strike rate of his career is 8.9 percent in 2015, and his career-high strikeout rate is just 17.7 percent from 2012. Despite his inability to do so, he has had some good seasons in his past. None of those seasons is quite as good as the one he had a year ago, but his career is that of a good pitcher to place at the backend of a rotation. For that reason, his 13.4 strikeout rate and 6.5 swinging strike rate don’t come as much of a surprise. However, that swinging strike rate is the worst of his career and a huge drop-off from his 8.0 percent mark in 2016.

Inability to miss bats is certainly concerning; it’s a huge reason why Gonzalez’s success has always been met with doubts about his ability to maintain a low run average over a larger sample of innings. DRA agrees with those doubts, constantly stating that Gonzalez’s individual performance is worse than his run average makes it out to be. Believing in DRA’s ability to evaluate performance and hint at the future is a good and smart thing to do, but it can be wrong about players from time to time. There is more than just DRA that points towards Gonzalez being inept on the mound.

While the lowered swinging strike rate and strikeout rate are both signs of a failure to miss bats, the contact rate is perhaps even more alarming. His overall contact rate sits at 86.3 percent, which is fourth highest in all of baseball (100 IP or more). His contact rates in the zone (90.8 percent) and out of the zone (77.5 percent) sit similarly at the top of the leaderboard. Hitters have no trouble putting their bat on the ball against Gonzalez. It stands to reason that when the contact is bad, Gonzalez excels. When the contact is solid, Gonzalez has a bad start.

What allows hitters to make contact with such ease? The lack of elite velocity on his pitches certainly plays a part. His fastball averages just 91.2 mph with his slider at 86.8 mph, splitter at 84.4 mph, and curveball at 77.6 mph. None of those is great or elite, but the wide variety of pitches should provide him a better ability to keep hitters guessing. His usage of those pitches doesn’t provide a a better answer. He’s used hard stuff (four seam or sinker) on nearly half of his pitches thrown this season (48.5 percent). Meanwhile, he’s all but abandoned his splitter while turning to his curveball more than ever before. Looking at isolated power against and slugging percentage against, each of his individual pitches show there isn’t evidence that the change in usage has made much of a negative difference. In fact, it may have even helped on a couple of those pitches. In other words, it’s not simply one pitch that has failed for Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s entire repertoire is getting sent back his way with authority, and he seems to have no way to quell the onslaught of contact hitters are making. That doesn’t necessarily make Gonzalez bad, but it does make him more susceptible to really, really bad performances from time to time. Contact isn’t always going to land nicely in a fielder’s glove. Sometimes it lands in the outfield grass, or even worse, in the hands of a lucky fan sitting in the outfield bleachers. Inability to prevent contact or minimize the damage of contact leads to bad outings, something Gonzalez has become all too familiar with. In that sense, he’s certainly not good.

The White Sox were able to scrape up a useful starter they really needed a season ago. Now the team is in a state of rebuilding just begging pitchers to throw enough innings to finish the games remaining on their schedule. Gonzalez has, for the most part, fulfilled that duty. What he has not done is be consistent. His extreme tendency to allow contact has helped the White Sox move along quickly through games in which the outcomes don’t matter, but it’s also caused Gonzalez to melt down from time to time. It doesn’t seem like a trade partner has or will come knocking for Gonzalez on the waiver wire, but if they do they will be rolling the dice on which Gonzalez shows up. Or more accurately, which type of contact Gonzalez watches fly over his head.

Lead photo credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

2. Miguel Gonzalez, James Shields, and Mike Pelfrey were the other three pitchers to go against the Red Sox over the weekend. They pitched just about as badly as Rodon did well. Gonzalez lasted just 1 2/3 innings while giving up seven earned runs. Shields and Pelfrey both spent more time looking over their shoulder at home runs than delivering to the plate. A lot of this is to be expected. The White Sox aren’t good, and being good isn’t their current intent. Gonzalez’s start was clearly not one that is ever desired, but there were positives to be found in the starts made by both Shields and Pelfrey. Shields was able to scrape by six innings while Pelfrey was just a single out away from doing the same. With a bullpen that’s been emptied through trades often taking on the burden of finishing games in which the starter leaves far too early, those types of outings are incredibly important. The bullpen was beleaguered in the first game of the series because of Gonzalez’ short start, but Shields and Pelfrey were able to help chip in to keeping the arms in the pen well-rested.

3. Zack Collins has been the subject of much debate as part of a loaded White Sox farm system. The results have been bad, but the tools he showed in his time at Miami were good enough to make him Chicago’s first round pick a little over a year ago. Being an older player stuck in High-A is never a great sign, especially when he’s struggling mightily to hit the ball. One of the weaknesses that has been pointed out in his game since draft day is the existence of a hitch in his swing. The Athletic’s James Fegan recently saw him in North Carolina and received some answers to questions about his poor season. Collins recognizes his failures, but he refuses to put the blame on anything other than his own poor play. That kind of maturity is important in a player that has struggled early in his pro career. The hope is that he figures things out in 2018, putting himself back among the best White Sox prospects.

4. Rick Hahn spoke at Saber Seminar, an annual baseball analytics conference in Boston, this weekend. He provided a Q&A for those in attendance and unsurprisingly received questions about when Reynaldo Lopez would make his way to Chicago. His response was vague but blunt enough to draw a real conclusion.

Asked about pitching prospects being called up, Hahn said "Maybe buy tickets for Friday night."

— Phenomenal Source (@SouthSideSox) August 5, 2017

It certainly seems like Lopez will be making his first White Sox start on Friday. He pitched on Sunday, having his worst start in recent weeks. It wasn’t a complete disaster, but he did allow four earned runs on four hits and three walks in five innings pitched. The good news is that he struck out nine. His stuff is certainly ready for the big leagues, but the question remains about whether he can control the ball well enough to maintain a starting role. It looks like Lopez will get two months in the big leagues to prove that he can. At the very least, it gives White Sox fans something to look forward to and watch as this team tumbles even lower in the standings.

5. Yoan Moncada hasn’t had an earth-shattering start to his White Sox career, but that doesn’t make him a bust either. Things have started to turn around, however, in the trip to Boston. He registered hits in five of his 17 plate appearances and also drew three walks. He still isn’t quite at the level that is expected, but he’s certainly showing a good process. When he adjusts to major league pitching and becomes more aggressive, he should see more success. It’s far too early to be worried about the young second baseman.

Lead Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

2. Gonzalez wasn’t the only pitcher who had a fine outing on Monday. Anthony Swarzak was asked to get the final four outs of the ballgame, and he did so despite letting things get rocky in the ninth. Swarzak is interesting because, aside from Melky Cabrera, he’s the one remaining player on the roster that might be moved at the deadline. He has a 2.30 ERA while striking out batters at a 27.8 percent clip against walking only 6.7 percent of them. The question now is whether the White Sox will get more value in a trade than they could receive from Swarzak simply pitching a good number of innings. It’s easy to say that they can find someone to fill the innings if need be, but it’s not always that simple. With that said, the reliever market is weird and some team could blow them away. In that case, it would absolutely make sense to send him packing.

3. As for Cabrera, even manager Rick Renteria commented that he was surprised that he was still on the team. That’s probably because he’s been both red hot lately and consistently good over the course of the season. His .295/.338/.443 slash line is bound to be an upgrade for some team that believes they’re in the race. It seems like the market for corner outfielders isn’t that great, but with Cabrera’s contract expiring at the end of the season, it’s likely the best option for the team to get whatever they can.

4. Yoan Moncada has received a lot of attention for, well, pretty much every plate appearance. So far it hasn’t really gone his way. He’s stepped to the plate just 15 times, so it’s certainly not a sample size worth fretting over. However, the strikeout concerns quickly entered the forefront of fans’ minds when he struck out four times in Monday’s game against the Cubs. One of those was a close called strike, and another was a nasty Hendricks changeup after bunt attempts (not even gonna go there) forced him to a two strike count. Even with those excuses, it remains a concern. It’s way too early to make a grand conclusion, but it would be great to see Moncada drill some extra base hits in the near future.

5. One of the nice things about the influx of prospect talent in the White Sox system is that it has pushed the former top prospects to much more comfortable positions on the team’s prospect hierarchy. One such example is Carson Fulmer, who started 2017 fairly well, but has mostly just been bad. He has a season ERA of 5.42 while sporting an abysmal 15.5 strikeout rate with a 11.3 percent walk rate that only makes things worse. His outing on Monday didn’t help matters as he pitched just five innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs while walking four and striking out five. Before the rebuild began, a Fulmer bust would have been disastrous. Now his almost inevitable move to the bullpen is hardly a big deal at all. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be concern, but it’s certainly nice to have the depth in the system to alleviate the pain of an early first round pick falling flat on his face.

Lead Image Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

I had taken to Gonzalez last year when he placed another feather in the cap of Don Cooper and his reclamation projects. The Jeff Samardzija situation could be tossed away as Gonzalez went from “please, please be better than Mat Latos or John Danks” to reliable fourth or fifth man in the rotation after being claimed on waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. This season has been a bit of a struggle, but as I basked in the sun on Sunday afternoon, Gonzalez threw away all the disasters of past starts and treated me to a splendid pitching performance. For a few hours, Gonzalez reminded me, every White Sox fan in attendance, and those watching at home that, in baseball, an incredible feat can be accomplished any day by even the most ordinary of players. While the perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout were wiped away in comic fashion by three successive batters, the value and awe of Gonzalez’s effort were not lost.

2. Gonzalez wasn’t the only pitcher in the Chicago system to put together a great performance this past weekend. On Thursday, Lucas Giolito was pitching the first half of a doubleheader. That meant the game would only last seven innings. Giolito managed to pitch a technically complete game without giving up a single hit. It was a no-hitter with a big fat asterisk, but it was a no-hitter nonetheless. For a struggling Giolito, the confidence that comes from such a feat could be enough to get him back on track.

Alec Hansen had himself a fine start Sunday in low-A Kannapolis. The gargantuan righty, armed with a terrifying pitch face, mowed down hitters on his way to a seven inning outing where he gave up just five hits and a single run. Most impressively, he was able to strikeout 15 batters while walking none. The White Sox have been methodical with their assignments for Hansen, who dropped in the 2016 MLB Draft because of his lack of command and utter collapse in his final college season. There’s also no rush in moving a pitcher of Hansen’s ilk through the system. If he can slowly progress as a starter and clean up his delivery, the White Sox may have found a diamond in the rough. His raw stuff and athletic build instilled enough confidence in the BP Prospect team to rank him 97th among all prospects coming into the season, and Sunday’s performance was a strong indicator of why those evaluators thought so highly of him.

3. It hasn’t been a successful start to the season by any means for Todd Frazier. While a year ago his average similarly sat right around the Mendoza line, he was crushing dingers left and right. This year, he’s failed to raise his average and fallen way behind the home run pace he set for himself just a season ago. With just six home runs on the season in 41 games played, he’s on pace to barely crack the halfway mark to the 40 he hit last year.

One thing Frazier has excelled at is seeing a lot of pitches. He leads the league in pitches seen per plate appearance at 4.42, but unfortunately that doesn’t directly lead to success. While it’s been pounded into hitters’ heads that seeing more pitches is a good thing (and perhaps it is in the long run), it doesn’t appear to have a direct effect on the stat line of the hitter. In fact, I whipped together a little chart showing the correlation between TAv and pitches seen per plate appearance is essentially no correlation at all.

It may be a sign of better things to come that Frazier has been relatively patient at the plate, but the results simply aren’t coming. He did hit a screaming home run in Sunday’s game, but the White Sox severely need him to heat up in the coming months in order to gain some value in return when he’s inevitably traded at the deadline.  Hopefully the slow start can be chalked up more to his bout with the flu than any permanent deterioration in skill.

4. The White Sox pitching staff struck out 49 Tigers hitters throughout their weekend series that spanned three days and four games. With Tyler Danish, Mike Pelfrey, Derek Holland, and Gonzalez taking the mound in each of the four games, that’s a bit of a surprise. Pelfrey was able to find a way to mysteriously miss bats, and the bullpen took over and dominated in the first game. Danish showed good stuff, along with Holland and Gonzalez in their starts. Those combined with a strong weekend from those in the bullpen resulted in a lot of swings and misses from Tigers hitters.

5. Our good friend and former editor-in-chief James Fegan wrote brilliantly about Yolmer Sanchez’s effect on the White Sox clubhouse. While his humor and playfulness off the field has a significant effect on the players, especially on a young rebuilding team, it has been his presence on the field that has mattered the most. In 2015 when he acted as the White Sox everyday second baseman, he hit just .224/.268/.326 with a 61 wRC+. It has never quite clicked for Sanchez at the major league level. That is, until now.

Sanchez is in the midst of his best season to date. While there is a fear of regression on the horizon, he is still in good shape to surpass his career-best mark of 61 wRC+. Right now he’s hitting .306/.346/.430 with a 109 wRC+. It’s not the prettiest line in the world, but for a player that has oft struggled to reach even the Mendoza line while showing little to no pop in his bat it’s been quite a year. His month of May has been the most impressive of all with a 126 wRC+ in just shy of 100 plate appearances. He hasn’t had a season like either of the Garcias, Leury and Avisail, but his clubhouse presence combined with competence at the plate has made him a valuable asset to the 2017 Chicago White Sox.

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