Number 26: Chicago White Sox
It looks like the White Sox in 2018 will make it an even decade in a row without the playoffs. Outside of the 2005 World Series the Sox have been a pretty sorry team for almost all of eternity. That’s not even a joke, in their 117-year history they’ve made the playoffs nine times. Nine for 117! That means 92 percent of the years in existence they haven’t been a playoff team. That’s rough.
The 2018 product seems to be on-par for their track record. They do have a couple of nice pieces worth mentioning though. One of which is Jose Abreu.
In Abreu’s first four years in the league, he’s had 100 rbi’s each year, hit over .290 each year and has averaged 31 homers over his first four full years in the league. Then there’s polarizing prospect Yoan Moncada.
In 2017, Moncada was the number one ranked prospect in all of baseball. He’s struggled at the Major League level each of the past two years but the potential is clearly there. He’s still just 23-years-old so the verdict isn’t out on him.
The right side of the infield is pretty set, but the rotation is where things get dicey. “Big Game” James Shields is the Sox ace. Shields is 36 and hasn’t had a winning record since the 2015 season in San Diego.
In his now three years in Chicago, he’s 10-21 with a 6.01 ERA. That’s not exactly, ace-like numbers. 2018 is fit to be a long and boring season for those who reside in the South Side of Chicago.