Fantasy Take: The Chicago White Sox

Fantasy Take – The Chicago White Sox 2006

You would expect that a team that at one point in the season last year had a 15 game lead, roared through the playoffs, and then won the World Series in a dominating sweep would be just stacked with All-Star talent. Welcome to the dichotomy otherwise known as the White Sox; they really do epitomize the word team. Don’t get me wrong, this team has players that will rack up points in most leagues, but not as many as you would expect. They got it done the hard way; that being a new brand of baseball called “Ozzie-Ball”.

In Ozzie-Ball, you play solid defense, have an above average pitching rotation, an outstanding bullpen, and an offense that will score you just enough runs. This is apparently good enough to win the World Series, but not all that good for a fantasy player.

Top Tier

Paul Konerko – 1B – Konerko has established himself as one of the premier 1B in Major League Baseball. He was in the top 10 in Runs, HR, and RBI last year and since he won't have to worry about any contract negotiations this season, he should be able to raise those numbers.

Tadahito Iguchi – 2B – Iguchi didn’t exactly have a monster year last season, but there are three things to consider when it comes to draft day. First, this will be his second season in American Baseball, so as his comfort level rises, his offensive production will too. Second, the 2B position isn’t what it used to be in the fantasy world, Iguchi ranked in the top 10 in numerous categories even though he didn’t have a banner year. Third, he is still somewhat unkown so you may be able to get him in the draft in later rounds or engineer a trade on the cheap. But his numbers will get better this year, mark my words.

Scott Podsednik – OF – Two things make Podsednik worth having on your team, and it isn’t his power or batting average. Flat out, he will be lucky to knock in 30 Runs and hit above .300; don’t plan on it and you wont be upset when it doesn’t happen! But what he will get you are Runs and Stolen Bases. This being his second year, he should be more comfortable in Chicago and more comfortable in the American League. He stole 59 bags last year and came across the plate 80 times. If you can put up with his low RBI output, he will produce for you in other categories.

Second Tier

Mark Buehrle – SP - The mail comes in the afternoon, the sun rises in the morning, you have to pay taxes, and Mark Buehrle will get you 16 Wins, 140 Ks, and an ERA around 3.50, it is that automatic. With the Sox team getting stronger than last season, believe it or not, Buehrle’s numbers should actually improve.

Javier Vazquez – SP – Vazquez to me is amazing; he has played with some really ugly teams on the field behind him.  Montreal for a long time and the Diamondbacks last season (he did get to play with the Yankees in 2004 though).  But through those years with really bad offensive teams, he was solid.  You can expect that his numbers to jump up since this team will put some runs on the board.  I would expect a 15 W, 190K, 3.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP season and that may be a low estimate.

Jermaine Dye – OF - Dye epitomizes the term “under the radar”. The bottom line is that, barring an injury, he will most likely get you 27 HR, 85 RBI, .275 BA, and 75 Runs. He just quietly goes about his business and doesn’t make a lot of news. Chances are, you will be able to wait until late in the draft, pick him up, keep him in your lineup all year long, and not think twice about it. If you find yourself short on OFs, barring injury Dye will not hurt you that’s for sure. Again though, this comes with the disclaimer of him not having an injury which is becoming a habit for the 31 year old.

A.J.Pierzunski – C – Chicago is loaded with middle of the road types for fantasy baseball and Pierzynski falls among the higher ranks of them. He isn’t a superstar but he certainly isn’t going to hurt your stats at the Catcher position. 18 HR, 56 RBI, .257 BA, and 61 Runs isn’t bad for his position these days.

Third Tier

Joe Crede – 3B – If Crede would have had a complete season last year, he would be at least a second tier player. But as it stands, he is a solid 3B or DH who has the potential to hit 30 HR and 100 RBI, depending on where he is in the order.

Juan Uribe – SS – The problem Uribe faces is that there are so many American League Shortstops that are flat out better than he is. But still, 16 HRs, 71 RBI, 58 R, and a .252 BA are better than most. If you miss out on all the rest or you run into an injury on your fantasy team, Uribe could be a nice replacement.

Freddy Garcia – SP – Garcia could be in the question mark category, every year! The bottom line is that he is usually going to give you14-15 wins, 150 Ks, and an ERA and WHIP in the neighborhood of 3.87 and 1.25 respectively. He has been doing it for years now, I always worry about Freddie and he always proves me wrong.

Rob Mackowiak – INF/OF – Mackowiak’s biggest asset is that in most leagues, he will be listed as a 2B/3B/OF and in some he may get credit for the games he played at 1B.  He is a throwback player in the sense that he is a hard as nails type player, but that won’t get you many points.  He's a good backup player for fantasy teams as he is pretty solid with the bat, averaging around 13 HR, 45 RBI, .260 BA, and about 55 runs with a handful of SBs as a bonus.

(Depending on how you play fantasy baseball, the following RPs could be listed as Top Tier or Second Tier. Some players will use short relievers for consistent and easy Ks, low ERA, and low WHIP numbers.)

Neil Cotts – RP – Cotts had 69 appearances last season in which he had four wins, 58 Ks, and an ERA of 1.94 and an excellent WHIP of 1.11 that put him in the league leaders in those last two categories.

Cliff Politte – RP – Like Cotts, Politte played in 68 games, but had seven wins which is worth noticing. His 2.00 ERA and miniscule 0.94 WHIP will help you and 57 Ks is nothing to complain about either.


Question Marks

Jim Thome – DH – There are two things going against Thome before the season even starts. One is that he is coming off a major injury so the even though he passed the physical, the jury is still out. The other is that he isn’t the youngster that we all remember from the 90’s. Thome is 35 and coming off not one but several injuries so it could go either way. Chances are, he will hang out in the DH spot all year and produce about 25 HR and 75-80 RBI, which is a lot more than some people expect.

Brandon McCarthy – SP – The bottom line with McCarthy is that there is no track record to go on. He looked good in his call up last season and has done well in the minors, an optimistic projection calls for 10-13 wins, 125 Ks, and an ERA and WHIP of 3.75 and 1.40 respectively.

Bobby Jenks – RP – Jenks will be one thing for sure this coming year, fun to watch. It will either be great from the fantasy point of view watching him pile up saves and strikeouts with his 100mph fastball, or it will be a train wreck when teams figure him out and light him up like a pinball machine. He was labeled a head case before he came to Chicago for having gotten himself into some off the field problems. And a head case doesn’t usually handle failure all that well. But he got rocked once in the World Series and bounced back nicely so hopefully it is a sign of things to come. Look for him to crank out upward of 35 saves or more if all goes well. If not, look out!

Jose Contreras – SP – With a phenomenal 2^nd half of the season, Contreras officially fell into the enigma club. Who is going to show up at the start of the ’06 season? Will it be 4-5, 4.26 ERA, 1.32 WHIP Jose or 11-2, 2.96, 1.14 Jose? He seemed to put it all together after the all-star break and we'll have to see if that carries over to the first pitch he throws this year, but it’s anyone’s guess which Jose will show up.

Jon Garland – SP – All one needs to do is to look into his numbers from last year and you will see why he is in the question mark category. On the surface, an 18 win, 3.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP season would be top tier, no doubts. But look a little closer; things get cloudy. 13-4 in the first half of the season, 5-6 in the second half. August and September were particularly horrible. 1-4 and 4.78 ERA/1.51 WHIP in August and 1-2 with 3.89 ERA in September. If you pick him up, keep a close eye on him and don’t hesitate to sit him if things get ugly. I imagine it was a hiccup since I really think he has finally put it all together and should be better than last year but like I said, watch him closely.

Rob is AHP's resident White Sox blogger