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Chris Sale Joins a Monster Rotation in Boston

To this point, the Chris Sale blockbuster is the biggest move of the offseason. Sale will join fellow lefty David Price and 2016 Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello atop Boston rotation, giving Boston one of the best starting pitching trios in the game.

Sale certainly didn’t need much help to be fantasy relevant – he was already one of the top five pitchers drafted in fantasy leagues in 2016 – but the move to Boston could help pad his numbers even more, especially the win total. Sale won 17 games for the 78-win 2016 White Sox, matching his career high.

But in joining a Red Sox team that won the AL East last season and featured 22-game winner Porcello, Sale’s chances of reaching the 20-win milestone for the first time are fairly good.

Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2017, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

 

2017 Fantasy Baseball Outlook - Chris Sale

The change in parks shouldn’t affect Sale too much, though Fenway Park is a haven for right-handed hitters and doubles, thanks to the Green Monster. Still, righties have hit .230 off Sale in his career, so it is not likely to be something that will have a great impact. Sale has an extremely small sample size of just three career starts at Fenway, but he’s 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.12 WHIP there, and hasn’t allowed a homer in 22 1/3 innings pitched. Any potential negative side effects from the change in ballpark could also be negated by Sale gaining two 2016 Gold Glove fielders in Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland to gobble up batted balls behind him.

The bigger fantasy implications on the Red Sox side of this deal will likely come further down the starting pitching depth chart, as someone is going to lose a rotation spot with the addition of Sale. Despite his season ending with injury, Steven Wright’s rotation spot is likely safe after a 13-6, 3.33 ERA season and an All Star nod in 2016. The impact will probably come down to Clay Buchholz and Drew Pomeranz, both of whom had injury issues in 2016. Pomeranz was a bit of a disappointment after being acquired in trade at the deadline from San Diego.

The most likely scenario, however, is the Red Sox dealing Buchholz and freeing up the $13.5 million in salary that he is set to make in 2017. The Sox should be able to find a market for a veteran righty with postseason experience like Buchholz, and then they can keep Pomeranz, who was an All Star himself in 2016 during a breakout season. That would give Boston four-fifths of a rotation of 2016 All Stars, and the guy who wasn’t – David Price – isn't too shabby himself. There’s also the possibility of the team using Pomeranz in a long-man role, as he was with Oakland for two seasons, but that would seem like a waste of a well-above average pitcher.

On the White Sox side of things, the top prospect they acquired has some big time fantasy potential in keeper and dynasty leagues. Yoan Moncada is a 21-year-old infielder who is regarded as one of the best position player prospects in the game. He could make some noise at the big league level in 2017, especially if Chicago can find a new home for Todd Frazier, opening up the big league third base job for Moncada.

The White Sox may also have him play second base, which would give him positional flexibility in fantasy leagues. Last season he hit .294/.407/.511 across two minor league levels. Even though he struggled in a late-season call-up to the bigs, there should be no reason for concerns that he’s not ready. The White Sox should be able to give him the opportunity, and he should be worth the gamble for fantasy owners with their eyes on the long term, beyond 2017.

The White Sox also added exciting young fireballer Michael Kopech in the deal. Kopech is just 20 years old. After pitching no higher than high A-ball last season, he is unlikely to reach the big leagues in 2017. There’s a lot to like about a hard-throwing right hander who pitched to a 2.40 ERA and 13.7 K/9 across two levels of minors last season. Noah Syndergaard comps have been thrown out there in regard to Kopech, and that’s enough to keep him on fantasy radars. Dynasty and keeper league fantasy owners will want to remember his name for the future.

At the big league level, the White Sox now have an open rotation spot with Sale departing the South Side. The beneficiary of this opportunity might be one of the best prospects acquired in another White Sox blockbuster, Lucas Giolito, acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade. The 22-year-old righty with electric stuff pitched to a 6-5 record and 2.97 ERA in 22 minor league starts across three levels before being promoted to the majors late in the season. A move to a rebuilding team should give him all the opportunity he needs to start making his presence known in the majors sooner than later, especially if the White Sox continue dealing veterans, as expected.

Chicago also recently hired Derek Holland on a one-year contract. Holland isn't a particularly good fit for U.S. Cellular Park, but there may be a few opportunities to use him as a spot starter when on the road.




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