Chicago White Sox
2017 Record: (67-95) 4th in AL Central
Off Season Transactions:
Signed: Willington Castillo (C)
Projected Starting Rotation:
James Shields – As our boy Wisco would say… stack James Shields. But seriously, this guy was terrible last year and whenever he was on the mound 50% of the field would stack against him, he was that bad. The real sweet spot is vs Lefties where he almost gave up 3 home runs/per 9 innings pitched. With that being said, everyone knew this and the ownership on the lefties vs his was high as hell. It made sense from a tournament standpoint to pick right handed hitters vs him as he still gave up about 1.5 home runs/per 9 innings pitched and they held way less ownership. Lick your chops when Shields is on the mound.
Miguel Gonzalez – Another White Sox pitcher you can stack against. He is bad vs both sides of the plate and doesn’t strike anyone out. Fire up bats vs him.
Carlos Rodon – The White Sox now actually have some good young kid’s pitcher for them after we get past Shields and Gonzalez. Carlos Rondon has some pretty good strikeout stuff and his numbers look pretty solid as well. After getting experience in the bigs last year I think he is only going to get better and is someone we need to take a look at and have on our radar.
Lucas Giolito – Another young kid who when he got called up last year wasn’t bad but wasn’t good either. He doesn’t have the stuff Rodon has but I would expect him to improve some again this year.
Carson Fulmer – Yet again another young starting pitcher for the Sox who should get an opportunity to solidify a role like many of them will this year. Just writing him up because it looks like he might be the guy who gets the first chance. I wouldn’t have a problem stacking hitters against him as he struggled in the MLB last year in a limited sample.
Bullpen:
God was their bullpen brutal last year due to the fact that they traded away their good veteran relievers for prospects and the fact that they then had minor league pitchers pitching in the MLB. They made somewhat of an effort to get some decent arms in the bullpen this year so I wouldn’t expect it to be as bad as last year but it still won’t be good.
Starting Lineup:
Yoan Moncado (2B) – It took him awhile to get going last year after being traded to the White Sox from the Red Sox and then getting called up but damn he turned it on and I loved rostering this guy! He has power, speed, and can hit for extra base hits as well. Will get you runs and can swipe bases. He should be considered every slate
Yolmer Sanchez (3B) – He is a fine option but nothing spectacular. Doesn’t have much upside at all and at 3rd base this year I really don’t like him. Liked him better at a weaker 2nd base spot like he was last year.
Jose Abreu (1B) – I really like Abreu and he is never really too expensive. He is a solid mid-tier 1st baseman when you want to get off the studs who can still get you that 40-point upside.
Avisail Garcia (OF) – I really like him too for the same reasons I like Abreu. He is never really too expensive and has the upside with the home run power. He usually is a good mid-tier option at the OF position.
Matt Davidson (1B/3B) – He is a guy with a lot of power but won’t put the ball in play consistently, He is usually very cheap and in the right spots can be a great candidate to get you a cheap home run.
Wellington Castillo (C) – Coming over from Baltimore he is going to bring power to the catching position in Chicago. I like him as a cheap catching option on slates where I want to pay down. He moves to a pitcher’s ball park now when before he was hitting in a major hitter’s park in Baltimore.
Nicky Delmonico (OF) – When he got called up last year to the Majors he actually had a pretty decent remainder of the year. The weird thing with him is he showed power and home run ability he never really showed all that much of in the minors. He is an okay option but I’m going to want to see more of him before I start betting my money with him in a lineup.
Tim Anderson (SS) – He has games where he produces but he isn’t consistent enough for me to consider all that much. Maybe a flyer in tournaments but that is about it.
Adam Engel – He sucks.
Playing Field:
Guaranteed Rate Field
Ball Park Factor- 6th
This is definitely a hitter’s park and the winds can get pretty gusty in Chicago which is an even bigger boost for the hitters.
“Must Knows” of the Chicago White Sox going into 2018 MLB DFS:
Although the White Sox are rebuilding and will not be a good ball club for the next couple of years, that doesn’t mean we ignore them completely in DFS. There is a lot of value on this team when we consider than we can get Yoan Moncado, Jose Abrea, and Avisail Garcia for relatively cheap when these players at the end of the season last year were going for 4.5k-5k on FanDuel, sometimes even over 5k.
