Many stars from the MLB are committing to their respective countries or heritages, as this may be the most profiled World Baseball Classic to date. Some stars include Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles (Dominican Republic), Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros (Venezuela), Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Mexico), and Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies (USA).

While most are excited that baseball is back and would rather wait for the MLB season to start, hear me out. The World Baseball Classic is a great opportunity to see a lot of great things. The WBC provides us with the opportunity to enjoy talent from other countries who do not play in Major League Baseball. In the past we have seen current MLB stars like Masahiro Tanaka, Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes, and Kenley Jansen play in the WBC before they were signed to big league contracts. Fun fact about Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who is arguably the best closer in baseball right now, played catcher for the Netherlands in the 2006 WBC. Here is a GIF of Jansen throwing out Ryan Braun from his knees.

Another opportunity that the WBC presents is competitive baseball in March. In the month of March, spring training games are just merely for the players prepping themselves for the season. Most of the game’s best players are out of the game by the fifth inning. With the WBC, the game’s premier players are in game action for nine innings. More star studded players as mentioned previously are going to play in the Classic.

Lastly, the WBC has an incredible fan atmosphere. Like the Soccer World Cup, the fans of international teams are loud, rowdy, excited, and prideful for their team. A sense of nationalistic pride comes together in one tournament, on one diamond, in between the foul lines, 60 feet 6 inches away with the winner-take-all in LA.

The first game for Team USA is on Friday, March 10 at 11 AM against Colombia, while the first official game of the WBC is between Israel and South Korea, which begins Monday, March 6 at 4 AM CT in Seoul, South Korea.

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Notable Additions: Gordon Beckham 2B, J.B. Shuck OF, Melky Cabrera OF, Emilio Banifacio IF, Adam LaRoche 1B, Dan Jennings RP, David Robertson RP, Zack Duke RP, Jeff Samardzija SP

Notable Losses: Paul Konerko 1B, Marcus Semien IF

The White Sox could be the real deal this season. It looks like they have all the pieces in place to contend, and are ready to make their run. The starting rotation struggled a bit in 2014. The starters finished with a 4.29 ERA collectively. Chris Sale was the one pitcher that did not struggle. In fact, he did the opposite of struggle…he thrived. Sale pitched in 174 innings and finished with a 2.17 ERA. He led the league with a SO9 rate of 10.8. Sale provides the White Sox with a true ace, and has the ability to carry this team. The Sox decided to get Sale some help in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija signed with the team, and is looking to contribute in a big way. He finished last season with a 2.99 ERA through 214.1 innings. Jose Quintana now becomes the number three. I don’t think there are any teams that would be dissatisfied with Quintana as a third pitcher. He is only twenty-six years old, and has showed consistency throughout his first three seasons. Quintana has thrown 200+ innings in back to back seasons. He finished with a 3.51 ERA in 2013, and a 3.52 ERA last season.

The Sox added depth to their offense this offseason. We can start by looking at Melky Cabrera. The outfielder brings a contact bat to the lineup from both sides of the plate. Cabrera hit .301 last season, and hit 16 home runs. Next up is Adam LaRoche. The lefty will take on the role of designated hitter for the first time in his career. LaRoche hasn’t lost his source of power. He finished with 26 home runs and 92 RBI’s in 2014. The Sox also added a utility player in Emilio Banifacio. He can play anywhere in the outfield, and most places in the infield. He brings speed to the lineup, and will be used situationally in 2015. These added players should make a big difference offensively. Jose Abreu will still be the main offensive threat in 2015. The slugging first baseman finished with 36 home runs, and 107 RBI’s. He led the league with a .581 slugging percentage, and was a unanimous decision for Rookie of the Year Award.

The addition of David Robertson might have been the smartest move that the White Sox made this offseason. Robertson was the closer in New York last season, and finished with a 3.08 ERA with 39 saves. He will give the White Sox someone to rely on late in games.

Breakout Player: Micah Johnson 2B

Micah Johnson hasn’t reached the the Major Leagues yet, but should get time at second base in 2015. He is a contact hitter with little power. He won’t get much recognition in 2015, but he will have the opportunity to make a significant impact. He hit .275 last season in AAA. If healthy I expect:

.271 BA, 36 RBI’s, 19 2B, 5 HR

Game Changer: Tyler Flowers C

Flowers will have an important role in 2015. He will man the rotation of starters, and have the opportunity to drive in runs. If Flowers is able to drive in runs consistently, the offensive will have the opportunity to thrive. He drove in 50 runs, and hit 15 home runs in 2014. Flowers won’t have a lot of pressure on him in 2015 which may work to his advantage.

The White Sox will be a good team in 2015. Their starting rotation is now strong enough to get the team into the postseason and make a solid run. The offensive will be much better than years past. Chicago fans should be excited about the Sox heading into 2015.

Make sure to check back in on March 31st for my complete standing predictions along with a few other fun pieces of news. Until then, you will be able to find a new preview of an individual team from March 1st through the 30th here at KRUI.FM.

The post Chicago White Sox 2015 Preview Edition #9 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

After finishing with 99 losses in 2013, Hahn started his rebuild by acquiring one of Detroits top prospects, right fielder Avisail Garcia, and opening up some cap space by dealing Jake Peavy.

More big contracts including Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and Paul Konerko were cleared from the books and the gears to Hahn’s plan were in motion.

The next steps consisted of signing the 2014 AL ROY Jose Abreu and trading for prototypical leadoff man and center fielder Adam Eaton.

Expectations for the 2014 season were not high, as it was seen as just a stepping-stone for bigger things to come. Though young and exciting, the ’14 squad was also a frustrating group to watch thanks to a bullpen that was not invested in and a couple key injuries to guys like Nate Jones and Matt Lindstrom which left manager Robin Ventura with slim pickings.

Those injuries, however, forced youngsters like Jake Petricka, 26, and Zach Putnam, 27, to pick up the slack which they did… and then some. Petricka finished the year with a 2.96 ERA and 14 saves in 18 opportunities while Putnam was the proud owner of a 1.98 ERA in 54.2 IP.

Although they finished with 89 losses, the MVP caliber season from Abreu, another CY Young worthy performance from Sale, the continued progression of hurler Jose Quintana, the emergence of Conor Gillaspie at third base, the presence of a real leadoff man for the first time since Scott Podsednik in Adam Eaton, combined with an All-Star season from maybe the best SS in the AL, Alexei Ramirez, gave Hahn and the White Sox the feeling that they were closer to contending than people realized.

This confidence, along with the owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s willingness break the piggy bank, allowed the Sox to tackle some big necessities. Hahn’s shopping list was made up of a Right handed starter to slot between Sale and Quintana, a lefty power bat, left fielder, and a bullpen renovation.

Hahn wasted no time getting started, and signed 1b/DH Adam LaRoche in late November. Not only will his bat take some pressure off Abreu, the Gold-Glover will also be able to spell Abreu at first when needed.

The 35 year old batted .259 with 26 long ones, 92 driven in, and a .362 OBP in 2014 with the Nationals and will bring a nice veteran presence to the clubhouse after the retirement of Paul Konerko.

Lefty power bat? Check.

The LaRoche signing was just the beginning. Next to bolster a rotation that had two great pieces in place with Sale and Quintana but fell off from there. Hahn worked his magic once again and without giving up any major prospects acquired Jeff Samardzija. Now with a three-headed monster at the top of the rotation and the possible call up of Carlos Rodon who is said to be the best lefty drafted since David Price the Sox rotation is looking “Very nice. Very nice.”

Right-handed starter? Check.

Next was the bullpen. Disastrous in 2014, the Sox ranked last in nearly every category and blew 21 saves. So what does Rick Hahn do? He goes and brings in Zach Duke, a lefty specialist who had the best season of his career last year and then on the same night he gets Samardzija he shocks everyone and signs David Robertson.

David Robertson is the guy who was given the task of replacing the greatest closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera, in the dog-eat-dog city of New York. None of this seemed to faze Robertson as he posted a 3.08 ERA and converted 39 of his 44 save attempts.

With those two additions, the signing of Dan Jennings from Miami, the emergence of Putnam and Petricka, and the possible return to dominance of Jesse Crain, who signed with the team in January, and Nate Jones, a once depleted Pale-Hose bullpen now looks fairly deep and reliable

Bullpen help? Check.

Last was the gaping whole in left field. Another position where the Sox had been experimenting for a while. The platoon of Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo surely hadn’t been the answer a year prior as the Sox ended up DFA’ing De Aza towards the end of ’14 and Viciedo this offseason.

The aggressive moves Hahn made early had paid off and caught the attention of Melky Cabrera as he turned down a four year offer from an unannounced team to accept the White Sox three-year $42 million contract.

Left Fielder? Check.

With all those moves including the constructing of a super bench with utility man Emilio Bonifacio, defensive specialist Gordon Beckham, and a dependable backup at catcher in Geovany Soto the Sox are sitting in the catbird seat.

As Detroit’s championship window closes and after the Royals failed to make any moves of big impact this offseason, and the Indians being, well, the Indians, it’s time for the Hahn Dynasty to start conquering the Central.

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