Chicago White Sox 2018 season review
2018 White Sox: What went right?
One of the few positives this year was Omar Narvaez, who was the backup catcher to start the season but ended up playing 97 games and getting 322 plate appearances because starter Welington Castillo served an 80-game PED suspension, then was put on the DL immediately after the suspension ended. Narvaez led all regular players with a 122 wRC+, meaning he was 22 percent better than average on offense after league and ballpark effects were considered.
The main driver of Narvaez’ offensive production was a team-leading .366 on-base percentage (for players with at least 50 PA). He also hit for more power than he had in his first two years in the big leagues, finishing with a .429 slugging percentage. Welington Castillo will likely be the number one catcher in 2019, but at least the White Sox know they have a solid backup in place.
Other than Narvaez, only two White Sox position players finished with 2 Wins Above Replacement, which is essentially league average production. The middle infield tandem of Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson each finished with exactly 2 WAR (per Fangraphs).
Moncada hasn’t busted out like fans hoped he would after being acquired in the Chris Sale trade, but he’s still young enough to make a big leap forward in the near future. Anderson’s value was largely based on his defense. He still struggles mightily to get on base (.281 OBP).
It should be mentioned that Daniel Palka hit 27 home runs and Matt Davidson hit 20, but both struggled so much on defense that they were below average player. The power is a positive, the defense a negative. At least Davidson did well in double-duty. He had three scoreless outings from the pitcher’s mound and the White Sox have told him to work on his pitching over the offseason.
The Chicago White Sox pitching was mostly a dumpster fire this season, but Reynaldo Lopez was a sliver of sunshine with potential rain clouds looming. On the surface, Lopez looked much improved from his two partial seasons in 2016 and 2017. He had a 3.91 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. A closer look reveals a 4.63 FIP, which isn’t much better than the 4.75 FIP he had the previous season. Lopez makes the “positives” list for his 3.91 ERA, but that FIP suggests caution should be exercised when thinking about his future.
As you’d expect from a 100-loss team, there were more negatives than positives. Here are a few of the problems the White Sox experienced in 2018.