This is the first of two installments in which I’ll be looking back and evaluating all of the players that had a significant role as members of the 2019 White Sox. These grades are more art than science due to the subjective nature of how much expectations for a player should affect their grade. My goal is to balance actual player performance against their expectations and probable role (both short-term and long-term) entering the season.
Per usual, I consider an average grade to be someplace on the C/C+ borderline.
This post will include only position players with at least 100 plate appearances, so everyone from Daniel Palka (last year's leader in class rank) on down is getting the axe. In ascending order of plate appearances…
Zack Collins (DH/C/1B): 102 PA, .186/.307/.349, 3 HR, 38.2% K, 13.7% BB, -0.3 fwAR / 0.0 WARP
Say what you want about rest of the stat line, but the most inexcusable number listed above is the 102 plate appearances. The Sox called up Collins in June as an infrequently-deployed replacement when Welington Castillo hit the DL. They then demoted him without giving him any consistent at-bats. Granted, Collins was horrible when he played, so it wasn't totally crazy to send him down. Back at Charlotte, Collins made some adjustments and seemed better for it when he resurfaced in September, as he hit a respectable .233/.343/.417 the rest of the way, albeit with a strikeout rate north of 35 percent. Heading into 2020, the long-standing questions surrounding Collins' profile (contact rate, defense) still remain, in large part because the Sox didn't seem interested in getting answers this year. Grade: D
Jose Rondon (UTIL): 156 PA, .197/.265/.282, 3 HR, 24.4% K, 7.1% BB, -0.7 bWAR, -0.6 fWAR
Rondon entered the season as an interesting breakout candidate, as a power surge in 2018 put him on the map as a possible future contributor. He ended the season as likely the toughest name on a future "Guys Who Played for the 2019 Baltimore Orioles" Sporcle quiz. It's hard to spin anything from your season in a positive light when 31-year-old futilityman Ryan Goins winds up taking your job. Grade: F
Charlie Tilson (OF): 157 PA, .229/.293/.285, 1 HR, 24.2% K, 6.4% BB, -0.8 bWAR, -0.2 fWAR
Would you believe that Tilson's 2019 batting line was actually significantly worse than his lackluster one from 2018? Although his batted balls seemed to have a little more 'oomph', his quest to hit the ball with more authority cost him his formerly elite contact rate. Tilson was a BABIP-fueled mirage in May that predictably came crashing down in June, and his strange routes in the outfield didn't help his case. To end on a happier note, his one home run was a grand slam from one of the more fun games of the season. Grade: F
Ryan Goins (UTIL): 163 PA, .250/.333/.347, 2 HR, 27.0% K, 10.4% BB, 0.2 bWAR, 0.2 fWAR
Called upon to fill in first for Tim Anderson and then Yoan Moncada, Goins initially performed far better than his career numbers might have suggested. He actually maintained an OPS over 1.000 after his first couple weeks on the team, which made us wonder whether his strong Charlotte numbers weren't actually just a product of the environment. Alas, Goins faded hard, but he served his purpose well enough and saved his worst play for when the left side of the infield had healed up and the team didn't really need him anymore. Grade: C
Jon Jay (OF): 182 PA, .267/.311/.315, 0 HR, 16.5% K, 4.4% BB, -0.8 bWAR, -0.9 fWAR
Given the transparent ploy of bringing in Jay to lure his friend Manny Machado to Chicago, expectations for Jay's actual performance were somewhat secondary. He spent most of the first half of the season injured, but upon his return hit .330/.357/.404 through August 4. Just when it looked like the White Sox might have succeeded by accident on a free agent acquisition, Jay spent the remainder of that month obliterating his major league career. He posted a putrid .369 OPS from that point on until he was mercifully put on the disabled list and shut down prior to September. Jay's touted corner outfield defense never showed up in Chicago, and he looked extremely slow-footed when breaking for fly balls. This signing was a disaster. Grade: F
Ryan Cordell (OF): 247 PA, .221/.290/.355, 7 HR, 27.9% K, 7.7% BB, -0.6 bWAR, -0.2 fWAR
The position-player roster yo-yo of the 2019 White Sox, Cordell was about as 26th man-ish as they come. Other than a strong showing in Statcast's Outs Above Average leaderboard (which didn't mesh with other defensive metrics), Cordell didn't stand out in any particular way. He'll turn 28 years old at the start of next season, which will make it hard to convince anyone he deserves another shot. Grade: F
Adam Engel (CF): 248 PA, .242/.304/.383, 6 HR, 31.5% K, 5.6% BB, 0.7 bWAR, 0.9 fWAR
Engel is a fairly divisive player among fans, but if we look below the frustration of the White Sox failing to provide a compelling alternative in center field the last few years, it's easy to see that his performance in 2019 was an improvement. An 84 wRC+ is nothing to write home about for most players, but it's a step up from the 69 he posted last year and the 39 from 2017. Couple the more-competent bat with his typical great defense in center, and Engel looked very much like a guy who could be a worthwhile bench player in the years to come. Grade: B-
Yonder Alonso (DH): 251 PA, .178/.275/.301, 7 HR, 21.1% K, 11.6% BB, -0.9 bWAR, -1.3 fWAR
Nothing about Alonso's 2019 made much sense, from the reason he was acquired, to the explanation we were given, to his BABIP suddenly dropping below .200, to his power fading, to the White Sox keeping him on the roster as long as they did, to the White Sox designating him for assignment a few days before his charity event, to his sudden snap back to his regular self upon being picked up by the Rockies. For White Sox fans, the failure here goes beyond the on-field disappointment. In our minds, Alonso is going to be forever tied to the front office's ploy to make a lowball offer to Manny Machado. That failed too. Grade: F
Welington Castillo (C): 251 PA, .209/.267/.417, 12 HR, 29.5% K, 6.4% BB, -1.0 fWAR, -1.3 WARP
Signing Castillo before the 2018 season seemed like a good idea, but it just didn't work out. Castillo's defense behind the plate was atrocious this season, clocking in at -10.5 framing runs and -3.1 blocking runs. The alleged bat-first catcher didn't do much damage in the aggregate with the lumber either. It's worth pointing out here that Castillo was fairly clutch this season, as some huge hits enabled him to rank fourth on the team in Win Probability Added. It's not going to save his grade or anything, but at least he did a few neat things. Grade: F
James McCann (C): 476 PA, .273/.328/.460, 18 HR, 28.8% K, 6.3% BB, 2.3 fWAR, 1.0 WARP
In complete contrast to Castillo, signing McCann before the 2019 season seemed like a thoroughly bad idea, but it worked out rather well. McCann's unforeseeable breakout featured a line drive stroke and good power that made him a plus bat at the catcher position. His second half fade (.226/.281/.413) is a little concerning, as is the fact that xwOBA and WARP see him as closer to a .250 hitter than a .270 hitter going forward.
On defense, McCann was as bad as advertised, costing his pitchers too many strikes to outweigh the benefits of his throwing arm. I'm not sure I buy into him as a chief cause of Lucas Giolito's turnaround, as McCann's powers of pitcher-whispering seemed to be confined to one guy (who made very obvious and very beneficial mechanical changes). That said, Giolito did seem to have some mental struggles on the mound in 2018, and a catcher who can keep him calm and comfortable is a good thing.
McCann started the year as a guy who didn't look like a major league player and ended it with a little above league-average production. I'm not sold that he's a guy you want starting for a good team going forward, but McCann played well enough for the Sox to be able to justify focusing their offseason on non-catcher needs. Grade: B
Eloy Jimenez (OF): 504 PA, .267/.315/.513, 31 HR, 26.6% K, 6.0% BB, 1.4 bWAR, 1.9 fWAR
If I knew in March that the above would be Jimenez' line, I would have been rather disappointed. However, this is a player who showed real growth over the course of the season. Jimenez had a painful adjustment period in April and May that would continue to weigh down his overall numbers. He then began learning to prepare for major league pitching and did much better the rest of the way, with a .340/.383/.710 September hopefully serving as a teaser of things to come. Jimenez' defense was even worse than advertised, and it will likely be a drag on his value going forward, but by the end of the year, Eloy was looking like every bit the lineup anchor that everyone hoped he would be. Grade: B
Tim Anderson (SS): 518 PA, .335/.357/.508, 18 HR, 21.0%, 2.9% BB, 4.0 bWAR, 3.5 fWAR
In his fourth major league season, Anderson broke out not by changing his hacktastic ways (if anything, he leaned into them harder), but by getting the most out of his aggressive approach. Tim slashed line drives all over the field in 2019 en route to an MLB batting title, a thrilling achievement even in this era of focus on more advanced statistics. Years after Sale's jersey-cutting and L'Affaire LaRoche, Anderson finally put the White Sox back on the national stage, this time for a good reason. His bat flips and enthusiasm drew the eyes of baseball fans everywhere, and he emerged as an emotional leader for the team.
The knock on Anderson's season is that he led the major leagues in errors by a healthy margin, despite missing a substantial chunk of the season. We've seen Anderson defend better than this, so one could optimistically view this as a plausible way for him to improve upon 2019. On the flip side, defensive improvement is probably a necessity if he wants to scratch 4.0 WAR again, as he's much more likely to hit .300 than .335 in future years. Grade: A-
Yolmer Sanchez (2B): 555 PA, .252/.318/.321, 2 HR, 21.1% K, 7.9% BB, 2.1 bWAR, 1.0 fWAR
In his third season as a utility infielder masquerading as a major league starter, Sanchez finally cracked. At a time when homers were flying out of the yard at astronomical rates, Sanchez' power completely disappeared, as he posted an ISO just north of Charlie Tilson territory. He has a great case to win a Gold Glove, and Sanchez' defense is what kept second base from becoming yet another replacement-level sinkhole for the Sox. However, that bat simply doesn't play in an everyday major league lineup. It's not Yolmer's fault that the Sox over-exposed him, and he'll likely keep hanging around major league benches for years to come. Grade: C
Yoan Moncada (3B): 559 PA, .315/.367/.548, 25 HR, 27.5% K, 7.2% BB, 4.6 bWAR, 5.7 fWAR
Moncada's 2019 was one of the player-seasons you occasionally see around Major League Baseball that can significantly change the trajectory of an organization. While he was a fine player in 2018, Moncada took his play to a level more befitting the centerpiece of a Chris Sale trade. He entered the season with two significant concerns in his offensive profile: strikeouts and hitting left-handed pitching. A more aggressive approach early in the count helped him reduce the former, and a strong .299/.345/.500 line against southpaws put the latter issue to rest. While the move to third base seemed premature, it worked out well enough, as Moncada's defense was comparably stronger at his new position (plus, Nick Madrigal's play ensured that it would have happened anyway). It looks like we've got a superstar on our hands, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Grade: A
Leury Garcia (UTIL): 618 PA, .279/.310/.378, 8 HR, 22.5% K, 3.4% BB, 1.6 bWAR, 1.3 fWAR
On the plus side, Leury Garcia getting 618 plate appearances means that he stayed uncharacteristically healthy. On the minus side, Leury Garcia got 618 plate appearances. A team in the third year of its rebuild should have guys who are either younger, more interesting, or better than a 28-year-old utility player soaking up all that playing time. As was the case with Sanchez, that's not Garcia's fault. Leury is a great fit on a contender that can provide capable defense at many positions and can hit well enough to be a good insurance policy. He acquitted himself as well as could be expected given the demands of everyday play in the leadoff spot, and was an admirable beacon of respectability amidst a sea of Cordells, Tilsons, and Jays. Grade: C+
Jose Abreu (1B): 693 PA, .280/.330/.503, 33 HR, 21.9% K, 5.2% BB, 2.4 bWAR, 1.9 fWAR
Abreu's WAR-sapping weaknesses are well-known by now. He's limited to first-base, he doesn't play that position very well, and he's one of the worst baserunners in the league. Through two-thirds of the season, you could've also added "OBP below .300" to that set. Fortunately, a roaring August (.356/.409/.593) dragged Abreu up from what had been a concerning start to the season, and he followed it up with a strong September (.286/.360/.520).
That said, even when Abreu's aggregate numbers were down, he was still very reliable at driving in runs. His AL-leading 123 RBI were partially a product of him getting more RBI opportunities than ever before, but what mattered more was his .337/.368/.590 line with runners in scoring position. We can't expect Abreu to continue to magically gain 57 points of batting average in run-producing situations, but he managed to do it in 2019. That means WAR undervalues Abreu's contributions to the 2019 White Sox, even if it provides a fair idea of what to expect going forward. Grade: B+
The Class Rank:
- Yoan Moncada, A
- Tim Anderson, A-
- Jose Abreu, B+
- Eloy Jimenez, B
- James McCann, B
- Adam Engel, B-
- Leury Garcia, C+
- Yolmer Sanchez, C
- Ryan Goins, C
- Zack Collins, D
- Ryan Cordell, F
- Charlie Tilson, F
- Jose Rondon, F
- Welington Castillo, F
- Jon Jay, F
- Yonder Alonso, F
