2060 - Chicago Black Sox Preview

[handaspencer]

2059 record 73-89
2060 prediction 86-76

Could 2060 be the season, to return Chicago to their winning ways? Chicago has spent the last decade in the bottom half of the standings and have endured 11 consecutive losing seasons. The preseason predictions are showing love to Chicago this season and we will take a look at the roster and see if this can be a playoff team or not.

Outfield
The Black Sox did lose last years starting CF Pedro Rosales Pedro Rosales who signed a new contract in Madison this offseason. Stepping into that role this season will be CF Bill Barrett Bill Barrett Barrett looks like a decent utility OF but Chicago might have took a step backwards this season in CF. Chicago has some nice corner OF's in their outfield. RF Ragheb Burhan Ragheb Burhan is such a nice fit into this lineup. Known for his speed and defense he is the type of player every organization would like to have. He had 44 SB's last season with a .347 OBP clip while defensively having a 7.7 zone rating last season. The Black Sox also have veteran Hasheem Makin who a decent power and excellent splits against RHB. The Black Sox have a decent OF but might look to upgrade CF at some point.

Infield
The infield should get a big boost this season as the #9 prospect Angel De La Cruz is expected to debut at some point. Curious what Chicago does if he is on the opening day roster or if De La Cruz gets some additional seasoning in the minors at the start of the season. SS Ayyad Faisal is a real nice defensive SS who can also provide some speed on the base paths. 3B Jeremy Starks will return to man the hot corner and has been a staple starter the past 7 seasons in Chicago. 1B could be open for competition but Candranibha Saswata looks to be the leading candidate. Behind the plate Todd Tatlock will be the opening day starter. This infield has some potential here especial with the arrival of De La Cruz. It would be nice if the Black Sox could pump a little more into the infield and make some upgrades here. But this roster is filled with speed and great defensive guys.

Pitching Staff
Chicago has put together a playoff caliber pitching staff. Chicago made a $119 million dollar investment this offseason by bringing in SP Adam Hines known as "nasty boy". This is a big time addition for Chicago as he leaves Valencia. The scary part is Hines is going to be the #3 SP because this staff is so good. 24 year old Stevie Bodine will be the ace after going 8-10 last season with an 3.38 ERA. At his age look for him to continue to just get better. The #2 SP is going to be Carlos Moya as he returns from a 11-12 4.07 campain. Chicago has depth in the rotation and can go 6 deep if necessary. Azim Bin Ghabib returns after going 10-9 with a 3.49 ERA and will be competing for a spot this season. 23 year old Dhrtatman Seshadri seems to be the guy that could miss the 5 man rotation if they go with 5 SP. He might start the season in the minors but it won't be long until he makes his debut if not by opening day. Bobby Sherman is back this season after going 3-9 with a 7.81 ERA and is hoping for a bounceback campain which I think he can do that. The bullpen will be bullpen by committee and they are hoping for some breakout guys as the bullpen is always a luck of the draw anyways. If Chicago is going to be a serious playoff threat they may need to upgrade the bullpen some. With the defense behind this pitching staff it could be very tough to score on Chicago this season. Although this staff is not perfect they do have some nice top end arms in the rotation.

Expectation
The predictions are saying it will be +13 gain in the win column this year. Is that possible it sure is but that is a very big jump for a team from one season to the next. I certainly think .500 is possible they have some nice talent in Chicago. There is not a lot of depth here yet so a few injuries can have a big impact and of course its just not always easy to win. But don't sleep on this team, this club is to be taken serious and if they make the playoffs I won't be surprised one bit. Good defensive clubs seem to alwasy be able to compete and if you can take 3 legit starters into the playoffs anything is possible. I am excited for this club this year and looking forward to see what they do.

[JimSlade]

Defense and pitching sure do pay their way!

[BaseClogger]

Health will be a huge variable for them but it’s a balanced, young team.

[Dington]

I think the Sox improve, but closer to .500. They’ll be a playoff soon, if not this season.

[R.Umali]

Thank you so much for the consideration and analysis. Getting Hines was a big get for me, especially after missing out on 31 year old SP Ollie Lowry last year, who went for 6 years / $78m. 26 year old Hines got 6 years / $119m. You identified some key areas that I'm considering - specifically what to do with Angel de la Cruz. The 21 year old had a good taste late last year (18 games started, .279 / .329 / .392) but will indeed start the year at AAA Rockford. 23 year old SP Dhrtatman Seshadri will also start in the minors, despite also getting a good taste of the BBA last year. He went 2-1 over 3 starts and 20 innings, but had a poor spring. I treated SP5 as a real enough competition between Seshadri and a couple of other guys, including the frustrating 28 year old Bobby Sherman, who had a terrible 2059 with the big club (3-9, 7.81 ERA and a 48:78 BB:K) and a disappointing spring. So 24 year old Juan Mendez will make the Opening Day roster.

I think main keys offensive bets are Tatlock playing 100+ and hitting like he did when he was in New Orleans, and Jorge Gutierrez hitting 30+ HR, like he did pretty much every year he played over 125 games except with Chicago.