He was fun and jovial and everything that’s easy to root for. His celebrations — on the rare occasion the White Sox had something worth celebrating — became instant viral sensations across baseball Twitter, and the stories from beat writers who interacted with him on a daily basis spoke of a player who was as friendly up close as he seemed from afar.

Nobody is safe. pic.twitter.com/jxjaTJsXyF

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 26, 2018

Yolmer lays down a bunt… ends up at third! Only Yolmer Sanchez. https://t.co/cQmy2DWquG pic.twitter.com/uIpvnm9jua — White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) September 26, 2018

Yolmer Sanchez adding himself into the umpires’ review on the last call, using his battle helmet as the headset. He certainly enjoys what he’s doing.

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 15, 2018

Yolmer Sánchez started to trot to first while holding out his shin guard to the bat boy…then suddenly accelerated at the last second. Bat boy finally caught up to him about 10 feet from the bag

— James Fegan (@JRFegan) August 26, 2018

Omar Narvaez said he and Yolmer Sanchez played on same team in Venezuela when they were 7.

What was Yolmer like then?

“Same.”

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) September 10, 2018

 

Not to get overly hyperbolic, but Sanchez just flat out seems like one of those players who never takes for granted the fact that he gets to make a living playing baseball. And maybe his journey here is the reason why. Sanchez has been in the White Sox organization for 10 years, signing as an amateur free agent in 2009, and while he shot up to a major-league caliber prospect relatively quickly, it took him more than a while to really get his footing. He made his debut with the big club in 2014 and kind of toiled as a Quad-A nobody, traveling up and down from Charlotte, for three years and ~700 plate appearances.

Since then, Sanchez has turned into something of an asset for the White Sox. While his 2017 breakout portended a player who may have played his way into a role on the next would-be contender, his 2018 season was more or less the same — adequate defense at third and average or maybe slightly worse offense.

The question now, though, becomes whether Sanchez is overburdened as a full-time starter or if the White Sox would be better equipped with him in more of a utility role moving forward. He can hold his own and not be a burden on a lineup offensively and defensively, as he’s proved the last two years, but at the same time he hasn’t exactly produced at a level where the White Sox shouldn’t look for an upgrade at the position, nor would they. Put simply: If Sanchez is a starting infield on a team with little to no holes elsewhere in the lineup, that’s fine. But if, say, a big-time free agent third baseman becomes available at a price they like, or if Nick Madrigal comes up as a second baseman and pushes Yoan Moncada to third, Sanchez’s presence as a guy who can fill in at 3/4 of the infield and maybe even a corner outfield spot in a pinch means he still holds value.

Whether that happens in 2019 or not is yet to be determined. It’s entirely possible that if the above situations don’t play out, Sanchez enters the season as the starting third baseman once again. And if so, that’s more than acceptable. But whether it’s there or as someone who can fill in well all over the field, it seems like he has a role with the White Sox for the foreseeable future.

Lead Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

2. Moncada’s two runs were enough support for Reynaldo Lopez, who needed 106 pitches to get through seven scoreless innings. Lopez’s start was once again something of an enigma as he struck out only four batters while also walking four Twins.  Lopez got 11 swinging strikes on the day (10.4 percent), which is just below the league average (10.6 percent) in that department. Lopez didn’t give up any runs in large part because very few Twins were able to put good swings on the baseball.  Yes, you’d absolutely like to see more strikeouts and fewer walks, but we need to get enjoyment from this season where we can and it is really fun to watch a young starting pitcher throw up goose eggs on the scoreboard against a division rival, and there are certainly other factors at work which are working against Lopez in each of his starts, but more on that later.

3. The two runs, however, were not enough support for the White Sox bullpen. Nate Jones came into the game in the eighth inning and retired the first two batters he saw. Jones then proceeded to allow a “hit” (a generous scoring decision) to Brian Dozier, a walk to Eddie Rosario, a laser single to Miguel Sano which scored the first Twins run, and finally the decisive blow, a three run home run to old friend Eduardo Escobar.  Dozier’s single was a sharply-hit grounder that bounced off of Yolmer Sanchez’s glove. Sanchez then recovered the ball with a nifty barehanded grab, but was unable to get the ball over to first on a fly and Abreu could not pick it out of the dirt, which opened the floodgates for the Twins. Based on the very solid defense we typically see from Sanchez, I’m sure he’ll tell you he should have made that play. Alas, it was not meant to be.

4. In the top of the sixth inning, the White Sox broadcast showed a highlight of Giancarlo Stanton hitting a monstrous home run off of Mike Fiers. The home run itself is nothing new for Stanton, but what was remarkable about it was that it came after Fiers had drilled Stanton with a pitch earlier in the game. This led to an enjoyable dialogue between Jason Benetti and Steve Stone in which Stone revealed that he was not a fan of Major League Baseball teams getting into beanball wars. I couldn’t agree more with Stone on this, and certainly do hope that MLB teams can move away from this frontier-style of justice. It’s really dangerous for the players and no one wants to see their players get hurt.

5. Calling back to No. 2, Lopez got very little help on the day from Omar Narvaez behind the plate. Narvaez has been worth a staggering -9.8 FRAA on the season and White Sox catchers have been worth nearly -15 FRAA as a unit, worst in the majors by a significant margin. Tuesday was no exception. On several occasions, Lopez threw borderline pitches that could very easily have been called strike threes, but instead were called balls because of poor catcher positioning/framing. Catcher framing has been a huge concern for the White Sox for a number of years now, and I certainly hope that they can find a catcher in the near future that can accentuate their young starters instead of actively harming them on a pitch-by-pitch basis.

6. After a short recess, the White Sox and Twins were back at it again for game two of their doubleheader. The Sox jumped all over Twins starter Zack Littell, who was making his Major League debut, and put up a big crooked number on the scoreboard with four runs in the first inning. Abreu kept up his hot hitting with a two-run blast. Tim Anderson got his first hit of the day with a double, Kevan Smith (welcome back!) drove in Anderson with a single and Adam Engel kept the party pumping with a line shot over left-fielder Eddie Rosario’s head to score smith.  Lucas Giolito followed up the big first inning by getting the Twins to go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. Why can’t the entire game be made out of the first inning?

7. Speaking of Engel, he’s really been hitting the ball well as of late. Since his OPS hit its season low of .396(!) on April 25, Engel has put together 111 plate appearances with a triple slash line of .275/.321/.422. His OPS on the season is now up to .621.  Engel’s speed defense has always been his calling card with the big league club and his bat an afterthought, but it’s nice to see him start to come around with the bat and make the most of his extended opportunity on the big league club.  When the White Sox are competitive again, they’ll need players like the more recent version of Engel to provide positive value off of the bench and guard against season-sinking injury replacements like the J.B. Shuck experiment.

8. As with most Giolito starts this season, I was skeptical that four runs would be enough for the White Sox to have the lead after Giolito departed. I ended up being wrong, but Giolito was not as sharp as his two runs allowed over six innings would indicate. He got some batted ball luck to get out of trouble in the second inning after he allowed the first two batters to reach, and then he benefitted greatly from a Twins base running blunder in the third. Eddie Rosario sent a towering fly ball to right field with no outs and runners on first and second base. Neither of the runners nor White Sox right fielder, Trayce Thompson, seemed to be able to pick up the baseball which ended up hitting the top of the right field wall. The runners were only able to advance one base and Sano bounced Giolito’s next pitch to short for an incredibly well timed double play. The Twins would get one run on the double play and Escobar would drive in the remaining runner on base with a double to the left-center gap.  Giolito may have only walked two Twins on the evening, but his control was largely erratic, as he threw only 56 of 95 pitches for strikes. While it’s good to see Giolito make it through six innings allowing only two runs, it was mostly lipstick on a pig. At some point he needs to limit the amount of solid contact he is giving up and start striking out more batters than he walks (he only got one strike out over the six innings) if he’s going to see his ERA fall significantly from its 7.08 mark.

10. Sanchez continues to have a very solid season at the plate. He added another double in the top of the fourth inning that drove in two more runs and chased Littell from the game. Sanchez doesn’t get the hype that Moncada or Anderson do, but he may very well be a great fit for the next White Sox contender and watching him on a nightly basis continues to be very enjoyable.

Sanchez’s double in the fourth was actually the last run scoring plate appearance of the game for the White Sox as their bats would fall silent against the Twins bullpen. Luckily enough for everyone invested in White Sox baseball, six runs would be enough as the White Sox took the nightcap in the doubleheader, 6-3. Chris Volstad was able to throw a scoreless seventh, and four relievers, Jace Fry, Bruce Rondon, Luis Avilan, and Joakim Soria, combined to allow only one run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Soria would stay on for the ninth, where the Twins would get runners on the corners with two outs, but he retired the final batter to preserve the win.  With the split, the White Sox start an amazing 21-games-in-20-nights streak of baseball on a relatively positive note. Next up is another match-up with the Twins. The probable starters are Jake Odorizzi and Hector Santiago.

11. As a bonus item, it was nice to see both the Twins and the White Sox wear their Jackie Robinson uniforms in the opener of the doubleheader.  The first game, of course, was a make-up game from the last time the White Sox traveled to Minnesota and were treated to some extended time off because of the early April snow. The two teams would have worn their Robinson jerseys on the original scheduled date, so I’m glad they decided to sport them again today to honor one of the most important players in MLB history.

Lead Photo Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

For instance, Jose Abreu is like the Sun. His steadying presence and warmth gives hope and life to the Earth (White Sox Fans). Day-in and day-out, Abreu is there, working hard to outshine all the other stars in the galaxy, constantly reminding us that he’s going to be here tomorrow when things finally get better.

Yoan Moncada is like the Blue Giant, Rigel. The brightest star in the constellation of Orion. A star capable of producing as much as 120,000 times the luminosity output of the sun. But also a dangerous and volatile star that may vaporize itself completely (because of its large K-rate) and wipe out everything in its sector of the galaxy.

Carson Fulmer is…well, Carson Fulmer is currently like the hypothetical Brown Dwarf star, Nemesis, that sits at the edge of our solar system, occasionally flinging comets and asteroids toward the inner planets with limited accuracy. Every now and then, an asteroid is so wild that it crashes into the Earth and ends 90% of life on the planet (bye-bye dinosaurs), but most of the time the star just sits there, too dim to see from Earth, needing to refine its aim and make sure it’s only throwing its asteroids into deep space.

All this introduction brings me to the White Sox player I want to talk about today: Yolmer Sanchez. Sanchez has repeatedly been a bright spot on an otherwise dim team. A little over a week ago, he had a big night against the Orioles, tallying three hits, including the go-ahead single in the eighth inning.  Yesterday, the White Sox were only able to muster 4 hits off of Indians starter Mike Clevenger, but, of course, Yolmer was one of them, hitting a triple and raising his slash line to a very solid .280/.316/.415 on the season, good enough for a TAv of .254. Aside from Yolmer’s value as a positive contributor in the clubhouse (and excellent Gatorade user), it seems like he’s been on the White Sox forever, but he won’t turn 26 until late June.  Throw in a solid bat, and most importantly, his defensive versatility, and you have potentially a very valuable player to future White Sox teams. So many would-be contenders see their seasons get derailed by injuries to important players. The major league baseball season is a grind, and rarely do players make it all the way through the whole year without bumps and bruises. This is why teams need a guy like Yolmer, who can cover multiple positions and provide positive value, instead of replacement or below replacement value, in times of need. Players like Yolmer help steady teams when everything appears ready to collapse.

That’s why Yolmer is the Moon of tomorrow’s White Sox. The Moon is incredibly important to the Earth. Its gravitational pull steadies the Earth’s own axial tilt and prevents sections of the Earth from spending decades in ice ages that would wipe out life as we know it. Without the Moon, the Earth may not have ever developed life nor been able to sustain it.

A player like Sanchez helps fill a void when a star goes down and prevents a black hole from forming and destroying the Earth. Yolmer may not provide the energy that the Sun does, and he doesn’t shine as bright as Rigel, but Yolmer adds stability, which is incredibly important for any team trying to compete. As Ben Franklin once said: “a small leak will sink a great ship.” We’ve seen past White Sox teams sink to the very bottom of the ocean because they’ve had no depth. In 2016, Austin Jackson went down and the White Sox had to turn to JB Shuck to horrific results. In 2012 Brent Morel was very bad and the White Sox had to turn first to the shell of Orlando Hudson (yikes) before trading for what was left in Kevin Youkilis’ bat. However, with Yolmer in the fold, the White Sox can rest a little easier knowing they have injury insurance for any of their future infielders. There’s still a long way to go to get back to the playoffs, but having a player like Yolmer helps ensure that the White Sox can sustain life once they find a way to create it. With this season as bleak as it has been, it’s necessary to recognize some of the small victories the White Sox find along the way. Sanchez has turned himself into one of those victories, and we should all take a little time to appreciate what he has done and will do for the White Sox.

Lead Image Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

As much as the White Sox promise to be more entertaining, these things are going to happen. As I wrote Thursday, the construction of this bullpen was both admirable and reasonable. For one, the White Sox jettisoned David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak, Dan Jennings, and maybe even a few I’m forgetting in a series of trades last summer. For two, given the current window of non-competitiveness, spending more than necessary for a more talented bullpen would be illogical.

What we’re left with is a mixed bag of sorts. Despite Thursday’s events, Jones and Soria represent the two best options, regardless of how they’re deployed. Beyond those two, there’s an assortment of veteran castoffs (Danny Farquhar, Hector Santiago, Luis Avilan), young, unproven talents (Aaron Bummer), and guys trying to prove they belong at the major league level (Greg Infante, Juan Minaya).

There’s enough talent throughout, particularly at the back end, for the White Sox to feign competence more often than not. But it’s not impenetrable, so things like Thursday are going to happen.

2. HAD the White Sox closed out Thursday’s win, the story would have been an impressive offensive performance by an assemblage of less-than-proven regulars. Yolmer Sanchez went 3-for-5 with a pair of triples, Matt Davidson had a rare two-hit performance where neither ball left the premises, and both he and Tim Anderson walked twice. Anderson stole his fourth base of the season, and the Garcias, Avisail and Leury had two hits each.

The weather outside was not ripe for run scoring, and after several dinger-fueled performances to open the season, the White Sox stringing together multiple hits was … different. The competition wasn’t exactly menacing — Jordan Zimmermann was hittable, to say the least. But the likes of Sanchez, Davidson, and Anderson hitting as they have in the season’s opening week is better than them not.

3. Speaking of Zimmermann, Thursday’s pitching matchup between him and James Shields was as unattractive as the weather unless you took a time machine back to 2013. Shields labored kinda sorta around the zone for most of the afternoon, surviving five innings with just three runs allowed. The last batter he faced doubled as the first strikeout he recorded this season, getting James McCann on a knuckle-curve in the dirt.

Every Shields start is going to be an adventure for as long as he sticks around in the rotation — there’s certainly no end coming soon — but for the second straight start he lasted juuuust long enough to give the White Sox a chance. An admirable trait, no doubt.

4. The White Sox offense, as I mentioned, looked good in Thursday’s loss, but that does not apply to Yoan Moncada, who finished 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. (Tigers pitching struck out 12, including an impressive six by Daniel Norris in 3 1/3 innings of relief).

There’s been some consternation about Moncada’s batting line, even just six games in, considering what it looked like in his debut last year. It’s difficult to worry, though, because it’s only been six games and because he continues to look good at the plate, despite the results. Maybe there will be a day down the road where Moncada’s performance will begin to bring pause that he’s not going to become the player the White Sox hope he can be. That day is not today.

5. Zimmermann-Shields is a pitching matchup for masochists, while Saturday’s Michael Fulmer-Lucas Giolito showdown is much more appetizing. The 25-year-old Fulmer has emerged as a reliable starter for the Tigers over the last two starts, and will undoubtedly find his name in trade rumors as the months go by the Detroit falls farther out of the race.

We know about Giolito, of course, but seeing how he bounces back from a subpar debut against the Royals will be worth watching.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Like last year, I’ve picked out some of my favorite White Sox player comparisons — fun, unusual, exciting — as we continue to count down the days until pitchers and catchers report.

Jose Abreu

Noteworthy comparisons: 2007 Derrek Lee, 1996 Rafael Palmeiro

2007 Lee was two years removed from being “Derrek Lee: World-Destroying MVP Candidate” but he was still very good, going .317/.400/.513 with 22 home runs. Palmeiro’s ’96 season was the second of nine straight seasons in which he hit 30 home runs or more and he finished sixth in AL MVP voting. Sluggers on the wrong side of 30 don’t have a great history of continued strong performance — it’s sometimes feels like we’re all sitting here waiting for Abreu to stop being Abreu — so while these performances may be outliers (performance-enhancement issues aside in the latter’s case), the possibility that Abreu continues to produce at an above-average rate in his age-31 season remains strong.

Yolmer Sanchez

Noteworthy comparisons: 2015 D.J. LeMahieu, 2007 Brandon Phillips

After a surprisingly productive 2017, it’s fun to dream of Sanchez suddenly morphing into an All-Star caliber infield, even if it’s still incredibly farfetched. In 2015, LeMahieu did just that, as after a few years of being an average-ish middle infielder (although he did win a Gold Glove the year prior), LeMahieu started to supplement his superb defense with enough offense to warrant an All-Star berth. Like LeMahieu, Sanchez’s best position is probably second base, but with the presence of Yoan Moncada, Sanchez will likely see most of his playing time in 2018 at third base, which makes such an ascent more unlikely. Phillips’ inclusion is more perplexing. Like LeMahieu, his 2007 season was a breakout campaign in his second full season in the majors, but I don’t exactly see 30-homer potential out of Sanchez’s bat.

Avisail Garcia

Noteworthy comparisons: 2010 Hunter Pence, 2008 Alex Rios

PECOTA expects regression from Garcia, which isn’t surprising considering how out-of-nowhere his 2017 season was. But putting up numbers comparable to Pence’s 2010 season or Rios’ 2008 season wouldn’t be regressive at all (each put up 5.0 WARP seasons). From a rate stats perspective, regression to the form of an OPS in the high .700s would be reasonable, but both Pence and Rios were above-average defenders in their respective seasons, according to FRAA. That kind of improvement from Garcia seems unthinkable, but I guess so did him having a .330 batting average one year ago.

Carlos Rodon

Noteworthy comparisons: 2015 Madison Bumgarner, 2011 Yovani Gallardo, 2011 Johnny Cueto, 1986 Fernando Valenzuela

Rodon’s entire comparable players list is a laundry list of wonder. A year ago, PECOTA compared Rodon to Bumgarner’s 2014 season in which he posted both his highest K/9 and lowest BB/9 (at the time) of his career. In 2015, he was even better. In 2011, Cueto was just entering his peak, while Gallardo had his last above-average season. Then there’s Valenzuela, five years removed from peak “Fernando-mania” but still good enough to set a career high in strikeouts, throwing 269 innings with an absurd 20 complete games. That is totally attainable for Rodon, right? There are some less-fun comps on Rodon’s list (2011 Joba Chamberlain and Phill Hughes, anyone?) but it’s by far my favorite of the bunch.

James Shields

Noteworthy comparisons: 2011 Kevin Millwood, 2015 John Lackey, 2008 Esteban Loaiza

I had to throw one not-so-fun guy on here, right? 2011 was the second-to-last year of Millwood’s career. He threw 54 innings for the Rockies and was out of baseball a year later. Likewise, 2008 was the last year of Loaiza’s career. He threw a grand total of 27 innings (including three with the White Sox) and then it was time for him to go. 2015 Lackey was actually pretty good! He threw 218 innings for the Cardinals (his highest total since 2007) and was worth 2.2 WARP. That would be a dream for Shields.

Lead Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

What’s in a name? In the case of Yolmer Sanchez, about 3.7 WARP. The hitter formerly known as Carlos managed to be worth exactly -0.7 WARP each of the previous three seasons before finally breaking out for 1.6 in 2017. Am I crediting his decision to go by his first name instead of his middle name as the thing that finally got him over the hump.

Yes. Yes I am.

I mean, what else could it be? Sure, you could point to the decreased pressure of a season where failure wasn’t a potential career death sentence and playing time was plentiful for anyone with a pair of cleats. Even an outsider could see that the mood seemed more loose and jovial than it had in awhile. It’s not hard to imagine that would make it a little easier to succeed. The once crowded infield battle thinned out rapidly with Brett Lawrie’s non-tendering, Tyler Saladino’s balky back acting up, and Todd Frazier’s eventual trade to New York. Sanchez’s ability to play every infield position (and outfield if needed in an absolute pinch) meant that there was always a spot for him regardless of day of the week.

Maybe you’re not big on the ol’ human angle. “This is Baseball Prospectus!” you cry. “TALK ABOUT HIS STATS! THEREIN LIES THE DIFFERENCE!” You’ve got it, imaginary reader who talks too loudly! Sanchez’s breakout season can most simply be broken down into two main points: increased power and improved plate discipline. His 12 home runs more than doubled his career total while only resulting in a minimal decrease in doubles. And that’s not even factoring in his team-leading eight triples (Jose Abreu somehow hitting six triples this season will forever mystify me). Maybe this was the result of a changed approach, maybe it was due to the surely not at all juiced balls.

His control of the strike zone was more in line with his minor league numbers. No one will ever mistake his batting eye for elite, but a 6.6 percent walk rate and a 20.8 percent K rate combined with decent contact skills gives you a serviceable hitter, which is all someone who can effectively play short, third, and second needs to be. Barring any outside talent being brought in this offseason, third base appears to be Sanchez’s job to lose in 2018 and even then, he’s gone from potential non-tender candidate to useful utility man. And that’s a pretty good improvement.

Lead Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

2. Abreu’s real life factors are certainly fresher, but the struggles that Tim Anderson has endured this season have been well-documented as well. These players are not robots, after all, and the emotional ups and downs that come with life affect them just like they do the rest of us. Growing pains and emotional turmoil piled on Anderson during the first half of the season, leading to results much poorer than could have been expected going into the season. Since August 1st, however, he’s hitting .284/.299/.546. The OBP is never going to jump off the page, but his combination of average and power in the last month has been a good showing of what he can be in the future. The White Sox will certainly take a .262 ISO from a shortstop that hopefully smooths out some of the wrinkles defensively as long as his middle infield partner lives up to his potential as well.

3. Sunday’s pitching matchup was between Carson Fulmer and Madison Bumgarner, which on paper is a bit of a mismatch. The final score of the game suggested a mismatch as well, but it was shockingly in favor of Fulmer, who put together what was by far the best start of his career. It was in September against a Giants lineup that even before the expanded rosters struggled to perform, but his stuff looked better than it has at almost any other time in his career. Fulmer averaged 93.4 mph with his fastball with an 88.3 mph cutter while mixing in a curveball and changeup here and there. It worked to perfection, giving Fulmer nine strikeouts over six innings with 12 swinging strikes.

Manager Rick Renteria told reporters after the game, “Fulmer did a real nice job. Six innings. Gave up the homer early. Was very effective. Kept the ball down. Was using his cutter a little bit more today. Worked at a good tempo. . .His fastball had some life, some sink, some cut. It was getting on top of those guys. Look, he’s got a quick arm. He’s 94, 95, it looks like it’s getting on top of you pretty quickly.” Renteria’s analysis of Fulmer’s game is incredibly apt, describing the authority with which his pitcher established his fastball early on. Fulmer used the fastball and cutter in 82 of his 98 pitches and was especially reliant on the hard stuff early in the game as he established himself on the mound.

Confidence and command with the fastball were key early on according to Fulmer, who told The Athletic, “You have to go with what feels good. Luckily for me, today I was able to command everything that I had. But when you fall into a rut sometimes you have to rely on what works for you and I think that the fastball up sets up a lot of other things for me and I’m going to continue to work on it.” Command is key for Fulmer, who has been walking batters at a greater rate than he’s been striking them out this season. His stuff is good enough if he can get ahead, but doing so is no small task. Fulmer, like every other high end pitching prospect in the system, is going to get every opportunity to start. If he can work out the kinks at the highest level and turn things around, he can add even more to the White Sox embarrassment of pitching riches.

4. Abreu, Anderson, and Fulmer all had great performances this weekend, but the best player of the weekend was Yolmer Sanchez. He went a total of 5-for-9 on Saturday and Sunday with two triples, a double, and a home run. Rick Renteria told reporters, “I think it’s more like anybody, probably swinging at a lot more strikes. You’re trusting your swing path. Your trusting getting the barrel to the baseball and driving it. Obviously he’s got quite a few pull-side homers. But that’s just a consequence of good pitch-selection, barrel to the ball.” While Renteria wasn’t extremely specific with his quick answer, he’s not far off in his analysis of what Sanchez has done right. Sanchez’ swing rate on pitches in the zone has increased by 1.2 percentage points from last season to 2017, and he’s made marginal improvements in making contact on those pitches (0.6 percentage point increase).

Those changes aren’t massive or glaring nor do they necessarily mean anything at all. What has been meaningful is the change in results for Sanchez, who looked like a failed prospect less than 12 months ago. He’s now hitting .268/.321/.420 with a 96 wRC+. That doesn’t make him an All Star, but it’s certainly good enough for the White Sox to keep him around as a utility infielder. With Leury Garcia faltering and battling injury in the second half, it seems as though Sanchez has earned the title of future utility infielder that seemed all but wrapped up for Tyler Saladino coming into the season. These types of seasons, finding a diamond in the rough of former prospects, are one of the few advantages a rebuilding team can have.

5. The White Sox playing the Giants is a relatively uncommon and unimportant matchup in the grand scheme of things. There was some importance, however, if one believes in scoreboard watching in hopes of the White Sox having the first pick in the draft. Chicago took a series against the Giants, making them the team with the third worst winning percentage in baseball. Needless to say, fretting about a series victory where Yoan Moncada, Abreu, Anderson, Fulmer, and Sanchez all performed well simply because of draft position would be pretty silly. A better draft position is certainly never worse, but the steps forward taken by young White Sox talent already at the major league level is far more important to the overall rebuild.

It’s becoming clear that Chicago will draft within the top three in almost every scenario for the remainder of the season. In a recent interview with James Fegan of The Athletic, Scouting Director Nick Hostetler remarked, “The only thing that’s really different, it might eliminate a couple players from your pool, and it might lessen the money, or increase the money, but other than it doesn’t change how we go about our business.” If Hostetler is unconcerned about draft position, it’s safe to say that fans should be unconcerned as well. Hostetler also commented on the next stage of a White Sox rebuild that has already been a massive success, which is well-worth reading.

Lead Image Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-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

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.

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1.  Derek Holland got shelled again. For the second start in a row, Holland surrendered three homers while only striking out two batters.  After his June 2 outing, Holland sounded like he knew what was wrong and that the problem was fixable, but if he was correct, he hasn’t been able to implement the correction yet.  His velocity isn’t noticeably off over his last two games, although after throwing only 203 innings from 2014-2016 combined he may be experiencing some fatigue, which could impact his command.

Holland has pretty much already justified his 1-year, $6 million contract, but after his strong start to the season it had some hoping that he would actually be a meaningful trade chit at the deadline.  The last two games have pushed expectations back toward the, “He’s just here to eat innings,” column.

2. After a three-hit game with his third home run in four games, Todd Frazier has boosted his line to .206/.312/.429.  The recent hot streak is fortuitously timed and is consistent with the narrative that he simply started the year cold, and then got crushed by a serious bout of the flu.  With his defense still sound at third, Frazier may yet represent something of value at the deadline, if the White Sox feel the return they can get is worth parting with his leadership.

3. Trading Frazier may also serve to free up space on the infield when Yoan Moncada eventually gets called up. Yolmer Sanchez is one of the many young White Sox position players who have dramatically resuscitated their careers from life support so far in 2017.  After three seasons of failing to put up an OPS north of .600, Sanchez is hitting .292/.341/.435 and it would be to the White Sox’ benefit to see what he can do with a full season of PAs in his age-24 season.  I don’t really think of Sanchez as a natural third baseman, but if the White Sox do call up Moncada, he will obviously play every day at second, meaning third is the only potential spot for regular reps, and that’s only if Frazier is gone.

Even if Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and Avisail Garcia are going to see some regression, there is more hope than ever that they can be solid regulars or plus bench contributors.  Seeing unexpectedly significant developmental wins at all three of these spots could actually alter the strength of the organization moving forward.  After all, if you think Moncada and Anderson can be star players, the Garcias and Sanchez only need to be solid to help fill out your roster.

4.  The Red Sox just got smashed twice in two games by the Yankees.  Sitting at 32-27, the Red Sox are hardly in bad shape, but the Yankees have certainly gotten off to a better start than many would have predicted, and with their robust farm system they are probably going to get stronger rather than weaker as time progresses, and the Red Sox third base situation has been just about as bad as you could have imagined before the season started.

Our prospect team adores Rafael Devers, who is crushing Double-A. But Devers doesn’t turn 21 until October and banking on him to save the position as a rookie seems risky for a team with World Series aspirations.  Similarly, the Yankees have Chase Headley‘s on-base skills following his power into the underworld, and although their 20-year-old hot prospect, Gleyber Torres, is in Triple-A, he is barely getting his feet wet, and you don’t want to risk rushing a top-tier prospect to throw a band-aid on a position of need.

These are two potential matches for Frazier, but speculating from the outside as to what he’s worth or whether these two organizations deem him a worthwhile investment is quixotic.  It is hard to identify other potential suitors unless someone on a contender gets hurt between now and August 31, however.

5. In statistical odds and ends, the White Sox are really, really bad at stealing bases, with a 57.5% success rate as a team. It’s even odder as the team has more than its fair share of young speedy players, although they are largely being dragged down by Sanchez’ 3/9 efforts to date.  Fortunately, and much more significantly, the White Sox have been the second best defense in all of the majors so far this season by Park Adjusted Defensive Efficiency with a defense that includes the aforementioned Garcias and the error-riddled Anderson as regular fixtures. A very encouraging sign, as the defense may feature those players consistently moving forward.

Lead Photo Credit: Kim Klement – USA Today Sports Images