Fangraphs’ Positional Rankings-Sox Rankings.

[JazzyCyclist]

Here are Fangraphs’ positional rankings for the Sox:



C- 2nd MLB; 1st AL; 1st ALC (before McGuire trade).

1B- 13th MLB; 7th AL; 2nd ALC.

2B- 27th MLB; 14th AL; 5th ALC.

3B- 8th MLB; 6th AL; 2nd ALC.

SS- 9th MLB; 6th AL; 2nd ALC.

LF- 7th MLB; 4th AL; 1st ALC (before Meadows trade to DET. TB is 5th MLB and DET is 16th).

CF- 4th MLB; 3rd AL; 2nd ALC.

RF- 23rd MLB; 13th AL; 5th ALC (before Pollack trade).

DH- 11th MLB; 7th AL; 2nd ALC.

SP- 7th MLB; 2nd AL; 1st ALC (as of April 5; don’t shoot the messenger!).

RP- 3rd MLB; 2nd AL; 1st ALC (as of April 4).

Overall: 5th MLB; 4th AL; 1st ALC (as of today; position rankings adjusted for late trades/acquisitions. The next best ALC team is MIN at 14th).

[ChiTownTrojan]

I posted about the rankings, updated with all the recent moves. The big jump is obviously RF.

https://www.wsiforumstoo.com/forum/sox-clubhouse/59204-spring-training-part-ii/page25#post59959

[Hitmen77]

Our free agent 2B replacement brings us all the way up to 27th in the league, 14th in the AL, and last in the division. Not exactly impressive, but it should be fine if the rest of the lineup lives up to its billing and the starting pitching holds up.

I wonder where the Cubs rank with our former 2B of the future.

[ChiTownTrojan]

Our free agent 2B replacement brings us all the way up to 27th in the league, 14th in the AL, and last in the division. Not exactly impressive, but it should be fine if the rest of the lineup lives up to its billing and the starting pitching holds up.

I wonder where the Cubs rank with our former 2B of the future.

Cubs rank 17th at 2B.

The FanGraphs analysis is based on WAR, which I think is fine to get a big picture sense of a player's overall value. But the actual contribution of a player will depend on the fit on a particular team. For this White Sox team, which has a really strong offense but has struggled with infield defense, I think a 2B that is more defensive-minded is more important and will bring more overall value than an offense-first 2B that is a butcher in the field*. Hopefully Harrison is that guy - he was 90th percentile in OAA last year per Baseball Savant.

* Within reason, obviously. Someone like Ketel Marte would bring enough value with his offense to make up for sub-par defense. But probably not as much value as he brings to a team like the Diamondbacks, who rely on him to carry the offense.

[JazzyCyclist]

Interesting note about the overall rankings. All teams have at least one position group in the bottom 3rd of the position rankings, except (you might have guessed it) Tampa, whose lowest ranked group is CF at 19. The Sox are one of only 5 other teams with only one such position group.