The 2022 series on team offense continues with the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox finished seventh in the majors and fifth in the American League in 2021 with 4.91 runs scored per game.
This season I am using FanGraphs Roster Resource Depth Charts* as the source of default lineups. That Tony La Russa batting order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):
- Best lineup: 5.38
- Probable lineup: 5.28
- Worst lineup: 5.10
- Regressed lineup: 4.78
The default lineup and the LAT agree perfectly on the bottom three slots. Those three go to the weakest hitters in the lineup, so the White Sox did a good job of separating their six best hitters from the worst three.
Where the two lineups diverge is at the top, where the LAT puts catcher Yasmani Grandal. Catchers in the lead-off slot are not a good idea no matter how well they get on base. The default lineup puts him sixth, which is likely too low given his OBP. It may be correct, however, to give him some rest as a catcher.
The White Sox remain a solid lineup. Personally, I really like Tim Anderson and Luis Robert at the top of the order.
You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.
Previous posts in this series:
- Introduction
- Houston Astros
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Boston Red Sox
- San Francisco Giants
*This is the best version of this information I’ve seen, with everything you might want to know on one page.