Fantasy baseball: 2020 Chicago White Sox fantasy preview
By Mike Marteny
2020 Chicago White Sox projected starting lineup:
Tim Anderson, SS (.335, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 17 SB in 498 AB)
Yoan Moncada, 3B (.315, 25 HR, 79 RBI, 10 SB in 511 AB)
Jose Abreu, 1B (.284, 33 HR, 123 RBI, 2 SB in 634 AB)
Yasmani Grandal, C (.246, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 5 SB in 513 AB with MIL)
Edwin Encarnacion, DH (.244, 34 HR, 86 RBI, 0 SB in 418 AB with SEA/NYY)
Eloy Jimenez, LF (.267, 31 HR, 79 RBI, 0 SB in 468 AB)
Nomar Mazara, RF (.268, 19 HR, 66 RBI, 4 SB in 429 AB with TEX)
Luis Robert, CF (.328, 32 HR, 92 RBI, 36 SB in 503 AB in high A-AAA)
Leury Garcia, 2B (.279, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 15 SB in 577 AB)
The White Sox beefed up their offense and rotation this year, so chances are they are going to win more than 71 games this year unless they only play 120. There is a lot of fantasy goodness on this team starting with Abreu.
He’s no longer a first-round pick, but Abreu is a solid middle of the second-round pick. Anderson and Moncada are great picks in the fifth or sixth if you miss out on the elite tier of SS and 3B. The high average really helps. Anderson especially stands out since he could have a 20/20 season while scoring 100 runs. That’s fantasy gold.
Edwin is 37 years old. The 30 home runs come at a price now with the average sinking by the year. He can still be a fantasy asset, but for the pick it will take to get him, I would rather go with Eloy Jimenez. He quietly smacked 31 homers as a rookie and could eclipse that depending on how many games are played. At the very least, I expect more from Eloy and he wont clog up your UTIL slot.
Mazara will mostly likely be part of a platoon unless he hits lefties better than he did in Texas last year. He still has some fantasy value, but only as a bench outfielder in daily leagues.
The wild card here is Robert. If you pay attention to prospects, he is old news for you. Robert has been atop the White Sox prospect list for over a year. He blew through the minors last year, ending with 16 homers in just 47 games at AAA Charlotte. And that speed. The speed is intoxicating and will have us having to pay dearly for Robert.
Here’s the thing though: how often is a prospect actually worth a third-round pick? Think about the last few highly touted guys. Kikuchi was a bust. Ohtani got hurt. Don’t even get me started on Byron Buxton. The last guy who lived up to expectations might have been Alex Bregman. Is Robert like Bregman? The minor league numbers suggest he is going to be something special, but how much are you willing to pay to find out? I’m okay taking him in the third round in a dynasty league, but not in standard ones.
Prospects to watch:
The scary part for the White Sox is that they have more help on the way. The number four pick in 2018, Nick Madrigal, tore up AA and AAA last year. There is a chance that he could start at 2B whenever the season starts, especially since the Sox love the versatility of Garcia off the bench. Madrigal is more of an asset in average and steals, but this could be a potent lineup. He’s worth a look if you are thin at MI when he gets the call.
Danny Mendick could also open the season at 2B for Garcia. At worst, he probably part of a platoon at second base anyway. Mendick hit two homers in 39 September at bats last year while hitting .308. He is a good enough hitter to keep an eye on if he nails down the starting job.