Chicago, IL- Baseball seasons first month is over, and the White Sox are proving everybody wrong. They currently stand at 14-15 in third place in the AL Central. The two teams ahead of the White Sox are the Royals and the Tigers, who also have fourteen wins. Rick Hahn & Co. had a successful off-season, and so far those moves are paying off. Core players such as Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu are producing at the Major League level. However, they aren't the only guys carrying this White Sox team.
Lets take a look at some of the players who have contributed to the White Sox early success:
Chris Sale- Even though he's on the disabled list, he has lead the rotation so far this year. He is currently 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He has only started three games, but has pitched 27.1 innings. He is holding opponents to a .168 average, and has a WHIP of .84.
Zach Putnam- Even though he's only twenty-six, Putnam has been a journeyman in his career. He has spent time with the Indians, the Rockies, the Cubs, and now the White Sox. However, it looks like he has found a home on the south side of Chicago. He has appeared in five games this season, and owns an ERA of 1.80. He is holding opponents to a .206 average, and has a WHIP of 1.00.
John Danks- Mr. Danks has been a pleasant surprise this season. After ending the 2013 season with a 4-14 record and ERA of 4.75, it looks like John Danks has recovered from Tommy John Surgery. He has started this year with a 2-1 record and a ERA of 3.48. He's only holding opponents to a .233 average, but his WHIP is a little high at 1.42.
Tyler Flowers- The average just hasn't dropped for Tyler yet. He has 29 hits so far, which is close to the 50 he had last season. He's been taking pitches, as shown in his .398 OBP. His fielding percentage is good at .989, but he has allowed 13 stolen bases this season.
Jose Abreu- Abreu is looking like the player the Sox thought they signed to a six-year $68 million dollar deal. Currently Abreu has 10 HR and 32 RBI. He is first in home runs, and broke the record for most RBI by a rookie. If the season ended today, he would be a top choice for the AL ROTY Award and the AL MVP.
Adam Dunn- The White Sox Designated Hitter is looking to cash in another big payday this off-season. He is currently batting .269/.402/.513/.915 with 5 HR and 12 RBI.
Alexei Ramirez- The thirty-two year old shortstop is off to a hot start. Alexei has a line of .351/.375/.535/.910 with 4 HR and 19 RBI. He has been solid fielding with a .993 fielding percentage and twenty-one double plays.
Adam Eaton- The White Sox center fielder has looked like a steal this season. Acquired in the Hector Santiago trade, Eaton came over from the Diamondbacks. He is currently batting .281/.364/.385/.749 with 1 HR and 14 RBI. He has a .981 fielding percentage in CF, which is pretty good.
Dayan Viciedo- The Cuban Missile has launched this year. Viciedo is batting .348/.410/.528/.938 with 1 HR and 9 RBI. He hasn't been that well this year in the outfield though, as he has four errors.
With all the success of these hot players, there has been some cold ones too:
Ronald Belisario, Scott Downs, and Matt Lindstrom. These arms have not been successful this season. Belisario is 1-3 with a 6.32 ERA and a WHIP of 1.28. Opponents are embarrassing him with an average of .271 against him. Scott Downs hasn't been more effective, as he is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. Opponents are hitting .286 against him with an awful WHIP of 1.89. Matt Lindstrom, the White Sox closer, has already blown three saves in six opportunities.
Felipe Paulino- The former Royal who was a low-risk high-reward signing for Hahn, hasn't been successful this season. He is on the disabled list currently, but his numbers before were a 0-2 record in four game starts with a 11.29 ERA and an average against of .389 with a WHIP of 2.56.
Alejamdro De Aza- De Aza has not looked like the career .268/.331/.405/.736 hitter he has been. He is currently batting .185/.255/.359/.614 as the everyday left fielder. He may have 4 HR and 11 RBI, but for him to be playing everyday the average needs to increase.
So far, the White Sox have been playing average baseball. For the team to get better, the cold players need to pick up the production this team needs along with the hot players continuing their success. There is still five months left of the baseball season, so this team has time to figure out what needs to be done in order to make the playoffs.
-Daniel (All statistics used in this article are from MLB.com)
