Chicago White Sox Featured In MLB Team Preview Series

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SteemSports Presenter: @bbleehehh9

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SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0

The White Sox are currently involved in a full rebuild. They finished fourth in the American League central in 2017 with a record of 67-95, 35 games behind the division-winning Indians.

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Impact Additions:

Welington Castillo, Hector Santiago

Key Departures:

Geovany Soto, Mike Pelfrey

Projected Lineup:

2B - Yoan Moncada

SS - Tim Anderson

1B - Jose Abreu

RF - Avisail Garcia

C - Welington Castillo

DH - Nicky Delmonico

LF - Ryan Cordell

3B - Yolmer Sanchez

CF - Adam Engel

Projected Rotation:

1. James Shields

2. Miguel Gonzalez

3. Lucas Giolito

4. Reynaldo Lopez

5. Hector Santiago

Projected Closer:

1. Joakim Soria

2. Juan Minaya / Nate Jones

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The White Sox are in the midst of a major rebuilding process, and they certainly haven’t gone into it half-assed. Last year they dealt away Chris Sale, Todd Frazier, Adam Eaton, David Robertson, Anthony Swarzak, Tyler Clippard, Melky Cabrera, Jose Quintana, Tommy Kahnle and anyone else with a pulse who could net the White Sox prospects in return.

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Because of that, they have a wealth of young talent that will be on full display in 2018, though they don’t project to be very competitive. Their rotation looks to be especially terrible with James Shields and Miguel Gonzalez leading the way. There is a massive amount of young talent behind them though with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez already in the mix, Carlos Rodon on the disabled list but due back at some point, and Michael Kopech waiting in the wings.

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Jose Abreu is a strong and consistent force in the middle of the lineup. Avisail Garcia has blossomed into a very capable producer next to him. They’ll be surrounded by a pair of immensely-talented young middle infielders in Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson. They made a nice move over the winter, inking one of the top offensive backstops in the league, Welington Castillo, to a very team-friendly contract.

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After that though, there isn’t much to write home about on offense, at least at the big league level. There’s plenty of talent waiting in the wings though, including outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. Jimenez should arrive at some point during the 2018 season, while Robert isn’t expected to join the big league ranks until 2019.

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Fantasy Sleeper - Avisail Garcia - OF

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Avisail Garcia came up as a top prospect in the Tigers’ organization, projecting as a five-category contributor and future star. He was dealt away after an altercation that may have involved the wife of former teammate Prince Fielder, basically given away to the White Sox. One team’s loss is another’s gain. Garcia started to realize his potential in 2017, slashing a robust .330/.380/.506 with 18 homers, 80 RBI and five swipes in 136 games. He’s entering his age-27 season and could be primed for stardom in 2018. He’s locked into a run-producing spot in the middle of the White Sox’ lineup and is currently coming off the board at an ADP of 205. There’s a ridiculous amount of room for profit at that price, and I’ll be buying all of the shares that I can.

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Fantasy Bust - Yoan Moncada - 2B

Yoan Moncada is one of the top offensive prospects in all the land. I believe in his skillset and think he’s going to develop into a star at the big league level. My issues, are that I’m not sure he’s ready just yet and I believe that he is being over-drafted relative to his expectations. He’s still just 22-years-old and is being thrust into the leadoff role in the White Sox lineup. He’s a career .229/.331/.399 hitter at the MLB level with a cringe-inducing 34.3% strikeout rate. He should be able to slug 10-15 homers and swipe around 25 bases, but the batting average could wind up being a huge negative and he won’t deliver much in terms of RBI. Best case scenario, you’re getting a three-category contributor. At his current ADP of 125, which is the ninth round in 15-team leagues, I’m still looking for solid and capable 4-category building blocks on offense. He could surprise, put it all together and return a profit from this spot, but I’m not betting on it, not this year.

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Team Projection - Breaking News:

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The White Sox are not going to compete for a playoff spot in 2018. Shocking, I know, that a team with James Shields and Miguel Gonzalez atop it’s rotation isn’t set up well to succeed. On a brighter note though, the franchise’s future. There is a wealth of young talent in the mix which will make the White Sox an exciting team to follow both for this year and for the future.

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