An elite slugger and an ace are the South Side's fantasy headliners, but this team has plenty of interesting players.
(Note: When a player's fantasy draft status is mentioned - e.g., "he's an SP4" - the number is based on 12-team mixed leagues.)
ALSO SEE: TEAM PREVIEWS ARCHIVES
Key additions: 1B Adam LaRoche, OF Melky Cabrera, IF/OF Emilio Bonifacio, SP Jeff Samardzija, RP David Robertson
Key losses: IF Marcus Semien, OF Dayan Viciedo
Projected Lineup
Eaton seems likely to bat .300 and score close to 100 runs, so he could be your OF5. It would be nice if he ran more often, though ... Cabrera is a better real hitter than fantasy hitter, but he can still play as a low-end OF3 ... Abreu will be gone by the middle of your first round, and there's no reason why he shouldn't repeat last season's breakout success ... The move to a homer-friendly ballpark should help LaRoche maintain his power at age 35 ... Early drafters seem to be betting on a full power/speed season from Garcia, but he hasn't posted one of those since the low minors ... A solid BA with a dozen homers is about all Gillaspie might bring to the table ... Ramirez was terrific last season, and should again be a top-six fantasy SS. He'll go in the first eight rounds of your draft ... Flowers has power, but last season's .241 BA seems like the best we can expect ... Let's hope Johnson wins the second-base job, as he projects to have impact-level speed.
Projected Rotation
CL: David Robertson
Sale's weird mechanics haven't caused his arm to fall off yet. He's being drafted as a top-three starter, and can anchor your fantasy staff even if his foot injury causes him to miss Opening Day ... Samardzija might be a top-20 starter, but the move to The Cell will hurt his numbers. Don't expect a repeat of last season ... Quintana is underrated after a season in which he ranked 28th among starters in strikeouts (178) and 30th in ERA (3.32). He'll be a fine SP4 for you ... If you draft Danks or Noesi, don't come crying to us when your fantasy team's ERA is 4.75 at the end of April.
Robertson is about as stable as they come at the closer position. Lots of Ks, and virtually no job security issues.
Sleeper: Quintana is our pick. You know who he is, but he's better than you think.
Top prospects
Carlos Rodon, SP - Rodon is an elite pitching prospect, and if he starts well in the minors, he should replace Danks or Noesi in short order (if he doesn't beat one of them out in spring training). Grab him in dynasty leagues if you still can, but don't expect miracles right away.
Tim Anderson, SS - Anderson is probably a couple of years away, but has nice power/speed potential.
Micah Johnson, 2B - Johnson stole 84 bases as a minor leaguer in 2013, but was slowed last season by a troublesome hamstring. If he wins the second-base job, he could earn ownership status in all formats.
ALSO SEE: TEAM PREVIEWS ARCHIVES
