NP: ADAM COLE BAY-BAY!!!!!!!
So in part 1, I went over the history of the last decade of the Chicago White Sox and everything that led up to this season. To summarize, The Sox spent a lot of effort revamping their development system to have a farm that can bring up competent players on a regular basis. With that, the team would have to take some lumps along the way. Starting this season.
That said, this year, there were no expectations of this team. Nothing was on the line for the coaches or the players. Just play ball. The team that was coming out on the field... wasn't going to be good. Not in the... "we're throwing these games" type of way... but they signed bad players, had young players that didn't have high expectations, and just basically putting on band-aids for the next up coming seasons as the youth grows and right free agents get signed.
But you know what happened? They became a fun team to watch, they were loose, they were having fun and whether they won or lost, they knew there wasn't any pressure to do any better.
Some highlights:
Avisail Garcia. Those who know me, know that I just did. not. like. him. He came from a trade for Jake Peavy several years ago. Touted with the nick name of "Little Miggy" (after the great hitter Miguel Cabrera) he showed none of the power or speed they claimed he had, his defense was awful and he spent most of 2014 injured. While I have no problems with the original trade, Avisail just frustrated the shit out of me. This year though, he became an actual baseball player! Made the All-Star squad, an over 4.5 WAR... will probably garner a couple MVP votes (top 10 for sure). Bad season aside, its nice to see a player that is supposed to be good.... BE good.
Yolmer "Carlos" Sanchez. Not in the same vein as Garcia, since Sanchez wasn't supposed to be a top tier player... but he performed his balls off this season. Especially on defense. As a utility player, he showed a lot of heart, wanting to play. He won't be an All Star or anything, but one of the fun players to watch!
Tommy Kahnle & Anthony Swarzak. Before the two of them were traded near the deadline, they were contributing from the bullpen. Where as the rest of the pitching staff was sort of a mess, these two were reliable and fun to watch. Also, they were moved for younger players that can contribute for longer!
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The Sox also started bringing some of the previously mentioned youngsters up to start getting them in front of major league players to start seeing how they really are:
Yoan Moncada The unspoken Crown Jewel of the Sox farm system. Was already the #1 prospect when the Sox traded for him and stayed that way all the way to when he was called up. It's funny that a lot of people think patience is just a Guns N Roses song, as Moncada didn't really hit the ground running and was struggling for a while. HOWEVER, he was drawing walks, he was working counts and he was learning. He was struggling with a .150ish BA for a long time... but will be finishing with a .235ish BA, an OBP of like a billion (.341) and a SLG of .417. All said and done, a WAR of about 1.8 isn't bad for a guy getting his first GOOD look at the majors (He had some playing time last year in Boston, but not a lot to judge from.) He'll break camp in 2018 and will look to really punish pitchers.
Reynaldo Lopez. The first of 2 pitchers called up. Lopez finishes the season looking very promising. He wasn't impressive, but there is still plenty of time to throw like he did in the minors. He should be one heck of a contributor.
Lucas Giolito Giolito, like his Nationals teammate above, was solid, but nothing too impressive. And like Lopez, that doesn't mean anything one way or another... its a positive in a sense... as not being bad... is good! Him and Lopez should more than likely break camp in 2018, so we'll see plenty of these dudes next season.
Other young players seeing significant major league time for the first time: Nicky Delmonico, Matt Davidson & Kevan Smith
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The Sox will be finishing up their season this weekend and won't be playing past October 1, well below .500, which is fine. This season was a step in the right direction, letting the youngsters develop, and developing well... look at Eloy Jimenez! The team didn't contend, so there wasn't any panic moves, Hahn stayed the course and the Sox will be looking at a top 5 pick in this upcoming draft, which is supposed to be one of the more deeper drafts in a long time, meaning, there's a LOT of high end quality players that can, and should be drafted. That's a different story for a different post.
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