Chicago White Sox: 2017 Season Review and Offseason Preview
What Went Right
The White Sox didn’t enjoy the “year of the home run” as much as most teams. They were tied for 13th in the AL in long balls, beating out only the Boston Red Sox. That being said, they did have two guys who combined good power with above-average on base ability to produce good seasons.
Right fielder Avisail Garcia led the team in Wins Above Replacement, with a 4.2 WAR season (per Fangraphs). It was a surprising development from a guy who hit .250/.308/.380 in 314 games over the three previous seasons. This year he hit .330/.380/.506 and set career highs in hits, runs, homers, and RBI.
One caveat with Garcia’s performance was a .392 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP), which was the highest in baseball among players who qualified for the batting title. Over the three previous seasons Garcia’s BABIP was .309, so it’s unlikely he’ll be able to replicate the high BABIP he had this year. He did improve his strikeout rate from around 25% in 2016 to 20% in 2017. When he makes solid contact, he can really crush the ball, as he did on this home run.
First baseman Jose Abreu led the team with 33 homers and 102 RBI and was right there with Garcia with 4.1 WAR. Abreu’s been with the White Sox for four years and has been a well above average hitter all four years, but his defense at first base has cut into his value. Even with the subpar defense, he’s been a good value for the team so far.
Catcher Omar Narvaez only played 90 games and his .373 OBP was one of the best on the team. Yolmer Sanchez split time between second base and third base and hit .267/.319/.413, with 63 runs scored. He was third among position players with 2.1 WAR.
After trading Adam Eaton and Chris Sale, it was no secret that the White Sox would be trading Jose Quintana sooner rather than later. When the deal happened, Quintana didn’t have far to go. He was traded across town to the Chicago Cubs for the Cubs’ top two prospects, outfielder Eloy Jimenez and pitcher Dylan Cease, along with two other prospects. Jimenez was the Baseball America #14 prospect heading into this season and is likely to be higher on the list after the year he had in the minors (.312/.379/.568).
The other big trade made by the White Sox was sending closer David Robertson, setup man Tommy Kahnle, and third baseman Todd Frazier to the Yankees. The key player they got back was Blake Rutherford, who was the #45 prospect before the season. Prior to the trade, Kahnle was a dominant force in the bullpen. He struck out 60 batters in 36 innings and had a 2.50 ERA. Anthony Swarzak was also very good, with a 2.23 ERA (2.74 FIP) and 52 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in late July.