Yoan Moncada’s absence less noticeable in National League parks
Yoan Moncada returns from the disabled list today for the start of the second of two two-game series against Pirates. This one’s at PNC Park, which means that another productive hitter will have to sit, at least assuming Moncada starts in his first game back.
If Moncada could’ve picked the timing of his injury the way players can strategically drop appeals to suspensions, it probably would’ve been best to cover consecutive series in National League stadiums. Matt Davidson and Yolmer Sanchez simply refuse to cave in to larger sample sizes, so the Sox are capable of fielding a major-league infield despite Moncada’s absence, and the DH spot comes in handy.
Not to say the Sox are fine without Moncada, because even if there’s no DH spot to feel a pinch, pressure also shifts to the leadoff spot.
| 2B | 3B | DH | No. 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5 | Garcia | Sanchez | Palka | Garcia |
| May 6 | Rondon | Sanchez | Davidson | Garcia |
| May 8 | Garcia | Sanchez | Davidson | Garcia |
| May 9 | Garcia | Sanchez | Abreu | Garcia |
| May 11 | Sanchez | Davidson | n/a | Delmonico |
| May 12 | Rondon | Davidson | n/a | Engel |
| May 13 | Sanchez | Davidson | n/a | Engel |
| Line | .233/.233/.267 | .385/.433/.808 | .167/.312/.250 | .241/.267/.276 |
Leury Garcia dragged both the the first and last columns down by going 3-for-16 with no walks or extra-base hits over the first four games. Sanchez went 1-for-4 with both of his starts at second, and he’s hit safely in each of his nine starts this month. Adam Engel improbably gave the last column a boost. He’s now batting .280/.357/.360 over his first 29 plate appearances this May, just when the Sox had run out of all other reasons to play him.
The White Sox lineup is a whole lot stronger with Moncada, obviously, but the injury didn’t mean a whole lot to the week’s worth of action he missed because he can’t pitch. The White Sox staff posted a 6.79 ERA in his absence, allowing a Moncada-like line of .267/.374/.461.
The Sox’ infield depth is enviable by comparison, and it came to mind when watching Tyler Saladino hit his first homer for the Brewers on Monday. Good for him, and bad for A.J. Pollock, who messed up his thumb on the play.
???? Inside-the-parker. ???? pic.twitter.com/N9if93RiIE
— MLB (@MLB) May 15, 2018
It also came to mind when seeing FanGraphs’ most recent mock draft, which sends Oregon State second baseman Nick Madrigal to the White Sox with the No. 4 pick.
4. Chicago White Sox – Nick Madrigal, 2B, Oregon State
The White Sox had their scouting director, GM Rick Hahn, and president Kenny Williams at the Mize/Singer matchup three weeks ago, and Singer has emerged as one of their preferred options here. That said, we’ve been told Madrigal is the guy they’ve wanted for over a month, and they’ve been on Swaggerty all spring in the event Madrigal doesn’t get here.
The White Sox already have three legit starters for two infield spots when there isn’t a DH to use as a release valve, which makes it a curious time to add a top-five pick to the three-year scenario. However, it’d be premature to even call it one of them good problems, because Davidson and Sanchez still have to prove they can hold up over the course of a full year. If the Sox take the best player available and it leads to the best-case scenario, the Sox will have options, but they’ll have to choose wisely.
* * *
Other second baseman news:
*Gordon Beckham took Robinson Cano’s place on the Mariners’ roster, and this is what Beckham looks like to markets who never invested time and energy into him.
I suppose that's the way to describe him. pic.twitter.com/mGFjRoOVha
— Jim Margalus (@SoxMachine) May 15, 2018
And this is what Beckham looks like in general:
https://twitter.com/megrowler/status/996193695387938817
Beckham went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his 2018 debut.
*Jake Peter is hitting .281/.349/.386 for Triple-A Oklahoma City, which is what his production in Charlotte might have looked like in a ballpark that wasn’t so conducive to home runs. There isn’t one reason to bring this up, but he looked like a potential breakout candidate entering the season and I hadn’t checked on him.
I’m stepping on pnoles corner, and hopefully he won’t send Chris and Snoop after me, but I decided to have some fun with xwOBA!
Hopefully this formats okay:
xwOBA 2017 2018
Matt Davidson 0.308 0.450
Yoan Moncada 0.315 0.401
Tim Anderson 0.272 0.314
Yolmer Sanchez 0.284 0.310
Adam Engel 0.232 0.265
Leury Garcia 0.295 0.263
I’m rethinking my rethinking of Yolmer after looking at this.
It didn’t, but hopefully it’s readable.
More work for you I guess, but could you add the observed wOBA (ie wOBA) for 2018?
You could also look it up yourself! https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/expected_statistics
Great, thanks!
Beckham might be able to get comfortable.
Seattle should trade for Yolmer Sanchez.
That makes all kinds of sense for the Mariners, but what would they give up that would make sense for the White Sox? Is there anyone in the system aside from Evan White, Kyle Lewis, or Sam Carlson who might contribute to the next good White Sox team?
Depends on how valuable you think Yolmer Sanchez is moving forward?
At this point, I’d rather have Yolmer than a B- or C+ prospect who might turn out to be as valuable as Yolmer.
Well I forgot about Dee Gordon. He can play 2B.
Mariners said they’re keeping Gordon in CF.
Let’s see how much Gordon Beckham it takes for them to change their mind.
They should play both Gordons at 2nd and have no centerfielder!
Seems they’re ahead in Gordons Above Replacement now, perhaps the GAR foreman? *ducks tomatoes*
I’m just waiting for the Seattle FO to tell their fans how he’s turned a corner. #BSOHL
Sam Carlson would be nice!
I have no idea what kind of return Yolmer could get, but the only other prospect in their Top-10 that interested me was Braden Bishop. Plays a good defensive CF, has hit well and is in AA (although slow start this year). Buuuut we already have Tilson, Engle, May, Cordell, etc so Yolmer is still a better fit for us probably.
Charlie Tilson: .541 OPS in AAA
Jacob May: .570 OPS in AAA
Ryan Cordell: .334 OPS in AAA (and injured)
Adam Engel: .515 OPS in MLB
None of these guys should block anybody who can be an even remotely fungible center fielder.
“Fungible” isn’t the word you’re looking for.
“Cromulent” fits better
“succulent?”
Yes, it was not appropriate for this situation. I think Milkohol nailed it with “cromulent”.
Ass-kickin’ is the word.
Seattle should have prospects teams want.
Let them have Leury Garcia.
This I could probably get behind if they sent back a guy who could pitch 5 innings without embarrassing himself.
No…let’em have Beckham. Yolmer should stay here
“Joint” drug agreement apparently is nothing of the kind.
Seeing Engel in the leadoff position has given me new doubts about Renteria’s capacity to manage a contender, which is not a welcome feeling right now.
Encouraging, though that comment about Davidson’s line against non-Royals opponents is a bit disconcerting.
Or not disconcerting at all. There’s nothing about opposing players wearing a uniform that says “Royals” that magically makes Davidson better.
But even if you don’t believe that, we still play them 19 times per year, and those games count.
Well, given the Royals have arguably the worst pitching staff in the league, it does give me pause. Bumslaying is all well and good, but he can’t be the same old Matt Davidson we’re used to 140 or so games out of the year.
Imagine what Davidson could do against the Sox staff…
Look at Jim, casually dropping The Wire references.
MY FIVE FAVORITE QUOTES FROM THE WIRE:
5) “It’d be premature to even call it one of them good problems.”
4) “This is beautiful.”
3) “I’ll wait for you down here.”
2) “All right, let me know.”
1) “It’s a bad time for newspapers, as you all know. The news hole is shrinking as advertising dollars continue to decline.”
The best part of this whole schtick is that I have no idea whether you’ve ever seen The Wire or not. I think it’s better that I don’t know.
Moncada’s absence might be less noticeable in National League parks from an on the field perspective, but from an observers perspective, it’s EXTREMELY noticeable. This team is borderline unwatchable right now even with Moncada; take him out of the lineup, and you’re probably better off just changing the channel.