1. Alejandro De Aza, 28 (Opening Day Age), CF
De Aza is coming off a solid 2012 season as the White Sox leadoff man. A rib injury caused him to miss the second half of August, but De Aza was atop the Sox’ lineup just about every day when healthy. De Aza doesn’t do one thing particular great, but does enough to be a productive player. He has some surprising pop, above-average speed, solid fielding skills, and an average throwing arm. While De Aza is a good major leaguer, he is likely going to be pushed aside for one of the White Sox promising outfield prospects in the future, maybe as early as next season. But, until then De Aza is a more than serviceable leadoff option. Given his age, turning 29 in mid-April, expect De Aza to post similar numbers to last season’s.
2012 Stats: 131 G|524 AB|.281 AVG|.349 OBP|9 HR|50 RBI|81 R|26 SB
2013 Projection: 151 G|576 AB|.283 AVG|.347 OBP|10 HR|54 RBI|92 R|28 SB
2. Jeff Keppinger, 32, 3B
The White Sox signed Keppinger in the offseason to a three-year; $12 million contract to be their starting third baseman. While Keppinger certainly does not provide the power you would typically want from your corner infielder, he does give the White Sox a more ideal number two hitter with a history to make contact at an elite rate. Keppinger has been a utility player for the majority of his career, but has always performed well when given an opportunity to play. The White Sox like the versatility that he can provide, but also feel as though he can contribute enough offensively to be an everyday player. Whether or not he can do that remains to be seen, but I think he can.
2012 Stats: 115 G|385 AB|.325 AVG|.367 OBP|9 HR|40 RBI|46 R|1 SB
2013 Projection: 145 G|553 AB|.297 AVG|.341 OBP|13 HR|62 RBI|83 R|2 SB
3. Alex Rios, 32, RF
After spending most of the time in the fifth spot of the White Sox lineup in 2012, Rios will now bat third. Robin Ventura probably wants more speed and a higher average player out of his third spot. Rios is coming off of his best season as a White Sox, and should be able to produce similar numbers. He is the only player that the Sox have capable of putting up 20/20 numbers, and is the closest thing the White Sox have to a five-tool player. Rios will be looking to avoid having a poor year like he did in 2011, after a strong 2010 campaign. In addition to his offensive skills, Rios has also provided above-average defense by being a capable centerfielder that plays rightfield.
2012 Stats: 157 G|605 AB|.304 AVG|.334 OBP|25 HR|91 RBI|93 R|23 SB
2013 Projection: 154 G|612 AB|.282 AVG|.329 OBP|23 HR|84 RBI|97 R|25 SB
4. Adam Dunn, 33, DH
After a historically bad 2011 season where he batted just .159 with 11 HRs and 42 RBIs, Dunn fared much better in 2012. While his batting average was still a dismal .204, Dunn was able to hit 41 HRs while driving in 96 runs. Obviously, the White Sox were hoping for much more when they signed Dunn to a four-year; $56 million deal prior to the 2011 season. Dunn may never be the .240 to .260 AVG hitter that he typically was before joining the White Sox, but it was reassuring to see his power numbers restored in 2012. In a surprising move, manager Robin Ventura is moving Dunn to the clean-up spot this season to hit in-between Alex Rios and Paul Konerko. Hopefully the move pays off by providing Dunn with more protection, but I personally feel he should be hitting fifth, behind Konerko.
2012 Stats: 151 G|539 AB|.204 BA|.333 OBP|41 HR|96 RBI|87 R|2 SB
2013 Projection: 150 G|535 AB|.219 BA|.348 OBP|38 HR|93 RBI|84 R|1 SB
5. Paul Konerko, 37, 1B
Konerko is entering the final year of his current contract, and it could possibly be the final season of his career, let alone in Chicago. Konerko has been a mainstay in the White Sox lineup since 1999, and has also been the captain of the team for several years now. In 2012, Konerko saw his home run and RBI totals drop off quite a bit to his career seasonal averages. Part of that was because of some nagging injuries throughout the season, and Konerko was even placed on the 7-day disabled list for suffering a concussion. As Konerko enters the final year(s) of his career his numbers won’t likely reach the 30 HR/100 RBI plateaus, but I believe he still has a few very productive years left in him.
2012 Stats: 144 G|533 AB|.298 AVG|.371 OBP|26 HR|75 RBI|66 R|0 SB
2013 Projection: 147 G|541 AB|.289 AVG|.362 OBP|28 HR|90 RBI|73 R|0 SB
6. Dayan Viciedo, 24, LF
Viciedo enters the 2013 season as my favorite White Sox player as in terms of trying to project his statistical performance. Viciedo’s offensive tools are highlighted by his raw power and bat speed that are arguably unmatched by any player in the American League. His strength and the way the ball jumps off his bat has given him the nickname of “Tank” every since he put on a White Sox uniform. Viciedo’s only weakness at the plate is his tendency to swing at everything. If he could ever learn how to lay-off of the low-and-away breaking balls, then his numbers would sky rocket. Viciedo, like many Latin-born players, will likely never walk at a high rate, but the fact that he hits the ball hard nearly every time will most likely lead to a higher average than most free-swingers. In addition, Viciedo appears to be very comfortable with his new “leg-kick” that he has implemented this offseason to help time his swing. If Viciedo can build on an impressive 2012 season and make adjustments, then the 24-year-old may be in for a breakout 2013 campaign. I believe that will prove to be the case.
2012 Stats: 147 G|505 AB|.255 AVG|.300 OBP|25 HR|78 RBI|64 R|0 SB
2013 Projection: 152 G|523 AB|.278 AVG|.323 OBP|33 HR|92 RBI|69 R|1 SB
7. Alexei Ramirez, 31, SS
Ramirez enters the 2013 season coming off of slightly-down 2012 campaign. The “Cuban Missile” had the lowest production of his career in terms of runs scored, home runs, batting average, and on-base percentage. Surprisingly, at age 30, Alexei was able to swipe a career-high 20 bases last season. Ever since defecting from Cuba, Ramirez has been a pretty consistent performer offensively and defensively. During the first couple seasons, Ramirez would have a dazzling play a shortstop, only to have a head-scratching play the next inning. Fortunately, the errors have been declining the last three years now and over that time, Ramirez has become one of the best defensive shortstops in all of baseball. At age 31, expect Ramirez to put up similar numbers across the board in 2013.
2012 Stats: 158 G|593 AB|.265 AVG|.287 OBP|9 HR|73 RBI|59 R|20 SB
2013 Projection: 156 G|585 AB|.269 AVG|.301 OBP|12 HR|67 RBI|56 R|17 SB
8. Tyler Flowers, 27, C
Flowers will begin his first season as a full-time catcher in 2013, and he is probably the hardest player on the White Sox to project. Since Flowers has spent the majority of his time in the majors backing up A.J. Pierzynski, he has never received enough consistent at-bats to show what he can do offensively. All we do know is that his power is legit. Flowers possess a ton of raw power and has already shown an ability to hit some mammoth home runs. The only question mark with Flowers is his ability to make contact at high enough rate to produce a decent batting average. Really, I could see Flowers hitting anywhere from .210 to .270 just based on the fact that we don’t know what he is capable of hitting. Flowers did only hit .213 last year, but that was in just 136 at-bats. What’s encouraging is that Flowers’ minor league statistics suggests that he could hit for a much higher average. Over six seasons and 1,852 at-bats in the minor leagues, Flowers owns a .275 AVG with an impressive .391 OBP. Many White Sox fans are very concerned about whether or not Flowers can replace the void left by Pierzynski. While Flowers may not have the leadership and intangibles that A.J. had, Sox fans should give him a chance before completely writing him off.
2012 Stats: 52 G|136 AB|.213 AVG|.296 OBP|7 HR|13 RBI|19 R|2 SB
2013 Projection: 132 G|424 AB|.241 AVG|.326 OBP|20 HR|51 RBI|48 R|4 SB
9. Gordon Beckham, 26, 2B
In 2012, Beckham had his best season since his rookie year in 2009. Beckham’s batting average and on-base percentage left a lot to be desired last season, but his power numbers returned closer to where they should be at. Although it was a better season for Beckham, I still believe his is capable of much more. Last season, particularly in the second half, Beckham improved both his walk and strikeout rates which should have lead to more contact and more opportunities to get on base. Unfortunately, an extremely low BABIP (.254 and .235 in the second half) didn’t help Beckham’s cause. If Beckham can keep improving his walk and strikeout rates while seeing some normalization in BABIP, then he could be in for a career-year. My blog last weekend examined this theory in much greater depth.
2012 Stats: 151 G|525 AB|.234 AVG|.296 OBP|16 HR|60 RBI|62 R|5 SB
2013 Projection: 153 G|532 AB|.271 AVG|.332 OBP|21 HR|72 RBI|69 R|5 SB
Bench:
Hector Gimenez, 30, C: Gimenez has been a minor leaguer for the majority of his career, and has only appeared in 11 games over the course of three seasons. Gimenez will serve as the White Sox back-up catcher to Tyler Flowers. He is batting .378 this spring in 37 at-bats, but obviously that won’t continue while only playing once a week.
Conor Gillaspie, 25, 3B/1B: Gillaspie was acquired at the beginning on the spring from the San Francisco Giants. Gillaspie was brought in to compete for a roster spot, and won that spot with an impressive spring. Gillaspie hit just .234, but did have two home runs and ten RBIs in 47 at-bats. Gillaspie mainly made the roster because he bats left-handed, and he can play both third and first base.
Angel Sanchez, 29, SS/2B: The White Sox acquired Sanchez during the 2012 Rule 5 draft to add depth to their infield. Sanchez was also brought in to compete for a utility role, and won that role while having a good spring. Sanchez hit .350 with two homers and five RBIs in 40 at-bats. More importantly, Sanchez can play both shortstop and second base while providing adequate defense.
Dewayne Wise, 35, OF: This will be Wise’s fourth year (second-stint) as a member of the White Sox. Wise was re-acquired last season to give the Sox outfield depth, and played a lot when Alejandro De Aza missed time due to an injury. Wise provides the White Sox with another left-handed hitter off of the bench with some surprising pop, and can play all three outfield positions. Wise will likely play twice a week while giving days off to the starting outfielders.
-Eric Tichelbaut
Follow me on Twitter @etichel07
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