The Cubs and White Sox were both bad last year. They select 3 and 4 in the next amateur draft. Baseball was sad in 2013. It could be just as sad in 2014.
Using the team's own web page depth charts, it is time to play "who would you rather have" on your team?
White Sox/Cubs
LF: Viciendo or Lake
CF: Eaton or Ruggiano
RF: A. Garcia or Schierholtz
3B: Gillaspie or Valbuena
SS: A. Ramirez or Castro
2B: Beckham or Barney
1B: J. Abreu or Rizzo
C: Phegley or W. Castillo
Rotation:
1. Sale or T. Wood
2. Quintana or E. Jackson
3. Danks or Samardzjia
4. E. Johnson or Rusin
5. Paulino or Arrieta
Closer: N. Jones or Veras
Analysis:
Viciendo had a down year and may platoon with De Aza, and Lake does not have a full season of performance, so this is probably a close call toward Viciendo.
Eaton will play center and lead off, while Ruggiano is a change of scenery player. Eaton.
A. Garcia or Schierholtz, probably the best outfielders on either club. Because of the upside and youth, Garcia.
Gillaspie and Valbuena are both caretakers at the position. White Sox rookie Davidson may actually earn the spot; but Valbuena's low average and platoon with Murphy will make this a wash. If I had to choose, then Valbuena.
A. Ramirez had a down year. Castro had a down year. Ramirez is a better defensive shortstop than Castro. Advantage, Ramirez.
Beckham also had a down year. Barney was terrible at the plate. Both play defense at a high level. I'd go with Beckham, since he has a better chance of coming back to hit.
New signee Abreu or disappointing Rizzo at first. Rizzo had a regression year which makes some believe he may not adjust long term to major league pitching. Abreu is a wild card Cuban signee who is expected to perform well immediately. I'd go with Abreu based on reputation.
Phegley was a mid-season call up because Flowers was bad at the plate. Castillo has emerged as one of the more steady NL catchers. Easy choice: Castillo.
Rotation:
Number one starter Sale is an All-Star and clearly "ace" potential. T. Wood had a career year. Advantage Sale because of his make up and past history.
Number two starter Quintana has been a pleasant surprise and steady force in the rotation. E. Jackson has been a terrible disappointment. Easy choice: Quintana.
Number three starter Danks is coming back from surgery 18 months ago. If he can rebound, he could be a better than average #3. Samardzija is in the front office dog house. He could be the #1 Cub starter, or fresh trade bait. But at this time, I'd take Samardzija for innings eating over Danks, but just by a hair.
Rookie E. Johnson or semi-rookie Rusin is another toss-up choice for 4th starter. Johnson may have more upside. It is interesting to note that new acquisition Hammel is not listed by the Cubs on the depth chart yet. He would probably fit in here. Whether it is Rusin or Hammel, I'd go with pitching guru Cooper and take Johnson.
5th starter candidate Paulino, newly acquired in the off-season, and last year's acquisition Arrieta are both players looking for career rebounds. Arrieta has high velocity stuff but can he control it. Baltimore gave up on him. Injuries hurt Paulino, who last pitched in 2012. Advantage: Arrieta.
Both teams will have new closers: Nat Jones for the Sox and Veras for the Cubs. Veras has more experience from his Astro days, so he would be the choice over an untested rookie closer.
So in the bad team draft, the results are:
LF: Viciendo
CF: Eaton
RF: A. Garcia
3B:Valbuena
SS: A. Ramirez
2B: Beckham
1B: J. Abreu
C: W. Castillo
Rotation:
1. Sale
2. Quintana
3. Samardzjia
4. E. Johnson
5. Arrieta
Closer: Veras
9 White Sox players vs. 5 Cubs.
The opening day lineup for Bad Chicago would be:
1. Eaton, cf
2. A. Ramirez, ss
3. A. Garcia, rf
4. Abreu, 1b
5. Castillo c
6. Viciendo, lf
7. Beckham, 2b
8. Valbuena, 3b
9. Sale, sp
