Expectations
Championship contention. The offense is just too good not to warrant it, even if moves need to be made in the pitching corps.
Best Case
The offense continues as one of the very best in the league, and enough pitching is found to navigate the postseason.
Worst Case
The fringe of the offense–Freddy Parent, Mike Fiore, whomever is run out there in LF–reverts and the pitching collapses.
Key Questions
- How is the rotation going to fall out? Can Ed Walsh handle a fulltime starting role, and can Mark Buehrle and Ben Sheets handle the back end of the rotation?
- How long do the American Giants stick with Parent–he’s fine, but his level of play over the second half of the season (after the American Giants picked him up from Ottawa) was below championship.
Trade Bait
There are some pieces in the minors, and this is a team that needs pitching, so there is some potential here.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Fisk | Nilsson | ||||
| 1B | Thomas | Konerko | ||||
| 2B | Collins | |||||
| 3B | Allen | |||||
| SS | Parent | Jackson | ||||
| LF/ RF | Jackson | Lewis | Doyle | |||
| CF | Fiore | Torriente | Wells | |||
| SP | Nichols Price Walsh | Sheets | Buehrle | |||
| End | Minter | Wilhelm | Otsuka | Loes | ||
| RP | Lilly | Twitchell |
Table says it all: if the pitching comes through, this is a championship contender.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | 1B Frank Thomas | OF Rocky Colavito |
| Batting Eye | 2B Eddie Collins | 3B Paul Schaal |
| Contact | OF Joe Jackson | OF Bibb Falk |
| Running Speed | 2B Eddie Collins IF Damian Jackson | OF Mike Cameron |
| Base Stealing | U Jack Doyle | OF Jack McGeachey |
| IF Defense | 1B Paul Konerko | 1B Ruben Amaro Sr |
| OF Defense | CF Vernon Wells | CF Lance Johnson |
| Stuff | SP Ed Walsh | RP Bob Ferguson |
| Control | SP Ben Sheets | RP Bob Bruce |
| Velocity | RP Akinori Otsuka | RP Alex Reyes |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (29) | 22 | OF | Walter Davis |
| 2 (69) | 21 | OF | Lenny Dykstra |
| 3 (87) | 24 | P | Jacob deGrom |
| 4 (110) | 22 | P | Doc Sykes |
| 5 (146) | 23 | P | Ted Lyons |
| 6 (158) | 24 | P | Harry Buckner |
| 7 (175) | 23 | IF | Jorge Orta |
The table says it all: this is a weak farm system in need of replenishment.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | OF Steve Braun, 36 P Jamie Moyer, 36 | OF Cristóbal Torriente, 18 |
| Height | P David Price, 6’6″ | OF Ned Cuthbert, 5’6″ |
| OPS | OF Carson Bigbee, 1.028 (—) | C Tubby Spencer, .499 (—) |
| HR | OF Carson Bigbee, 42 (—) | 2B Danny Murtaugh, 0 (AAA/AA) |
| SB | 2B Eddie Collins, 61 (WBL) | Many with 0 |
| WAR | 2B Eddie Collins, 6.5 (WBL) | C Tubby Spencer, -3.2 (—) |
| W | Tricky Nichols, 15 (WBL) | Lee Meadows, 2 (WBL/AAA/AA) |
| SV | Rich Garces, 35 (WBL) | |
| ERA | Frank Smith, 3.01 (WBL/AAA) | Lee Meadows, 7.48 (WBL/AAA/AA) |
| WAR | Joe Lake, 5.7 (WBL/AAA) | Will Smith, -0.9 (—) |