Tag / Todd Frazier

by admin

Fire Sale

csaleChris Sale’s tenure on the South Side came to an end yesterday when he was traded to the Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz, officially starting the rebuilding phase for the White Sox for the first time since the late 1980s.

Sale was the 13th overall selection by the White Sox in the 2010 draft.  After 11 total games in the minor leagues, Sale made his major league debut on August 6, less than 2 months after being drafted, giving up a hit and a walk before getting pulled.  Sale worked out of the bullpen for the remainder of the year, earning 4 saves in 21 appearances.  Sale returned to the bullpen in 2011, picking up another 8 saves while posting a 2.79 ERA.

In 2012, Sale moved in to the starting rotation full time, where he racked up 5 straight All Star nods and finished between 3rd and 6th in Cy Young award voting each season.  In 2015, Sale set the White Sox franchise record with 274 strike outs.  Last year, he tied his career high with 17 victories and threw a career high 226 2/3 innings pitched in between spats with the front office over Drake LaRoche and 1970s throwback jerseys.

Moncada, ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball, is the centerpiece of the deal.  A 21 year old switch hitter, he’s expected to start next season in the minor leagues but should take over second base by 2018.  Kopech, a 20 year old power pitcher, has some baggage, including punching a teammate and a PED suspension, should find a spot in the White Sox rotation should he continue to progress as he has.  Basabe and Diaz are further away, but do help bolster a White Sox system that is on the rise.

With the White Sox now officially moving towards a full-on rebuild, Sale may not be the last name out the door.  Rumors have already started swirling around Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, and David Robertson.  Will Sale be the first domino of many to fall this offseason?  Only time will tell.

Sale’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

2016 Final Batting Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother baseball season has come to an end, with a 108 year World Series championship drought broken on the North Side of town and yet more disappointment on the South Side.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 39 games, including the post-season, that I attended this season:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 8
Todd Frazier 5
Adam Eaton 5
Tim Anderson 3
Avisail Garcia 3
Manny Machado 3

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 37
Melky Cabrera 35
Adam Eaton 30
Tim Anderson 26
Todd Frazier 23

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 17
Adam Eaton 17
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by admin

2016 All Star Break Batting Leaders

baseballs3With the All Star Game on tap for tonight in San Diego, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 18 games I attended:

Home Runs

Name Total
Todd Frazier 5
Jose Abreu 4
Adam Eaton 2
Tim Anderson 2
Cheslor Cuthbert 2
Dioner Navarro 2
Brett Lawrie 2
J.B. Shuck 2
Jeff Francoeur 2

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 21
Melky Cabrera 18
Brett Lawrie 15
Todd Frazier 12
Adam Eaton 12

Runs

Name Total
Todd Frazier 11
Jose Abreu 8
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by jim

All Stars

13641138_10155133635628298_1460960993873466313_oMinutes before today’s game against the Braves, the White Sox announced that Jose Quintana will join fellow starter Chris Sale in San Diego for Tuesday’s All Star game, replacing Danny Salazar, who is suffering with a sore right elbow.  Quintana will be making his first All Star appearance, and will be the third Colombian to appear in the Mid Summer Classic.

Third baseman Todd Frazier, who won the home run derby last year as a member of the Reds, will get the chance to defend his title despite not being named to the team.

On the other side of town, Dexter Fowler, voted in to start for the National League, will miss the game due to injury.  He is currently on a rehab assignment in Class A and hopes to return in the next 2 weeks.

by jim

Upgrading The Hot Corner

todd_frazier1cThe White Sox continued their attempts to upgrade their offense by acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier in a 3 team deal yesterday.  Frazier, who hit 11 more home runs last year than White Sox third baseman managed in the past 2 seasons combined, comes to the from the Reds.  The Sox send Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas, and Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, who, in turn, will send  Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler back to the Reds.

With this move, the previously acquired Brett Lawrie will move to second base, filling two long-term holes for the south siders.  If Frazier is able to match his production for the Reds over the past few years, he will easily surpass any White Sox third baseman since Joe Crede went down with a back injury in 2008.

Of the 3 prospects going to the Dodgers, the only big loss would appear to be Frankie Montas, a young pitcher acquired in the Jake Peavy deal.  Montas put up a 2.97 ERA for AA Birmingham last year while also appearing in 7 games for the White Sox.  He likely would have found a spot at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen in 2017.  Micah Johnson was the Opening Day second baseman for the White Sox last year, but defensive problems sent him back to the minors and injuries took part of the season away from him.  Trayce Thompson also spent time with the big league club in 2015, despite a middling minor league career.  He was red hot as a platoon player at first, but cooled down and seemingly looks to be a fourth outfielder at best.

To be fair, the White Sox appeared to be much improved last winter as well, and the 2015 season did not play out as anyone would have anticipated.  One can only hope that, with the upgrades at catcher and now second and third base, the 2016 season will turn out much different.