Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Juan Pierre, LF
2. Gordon Beckham, 2B
3. Paul Konerko, 1B
4. Adam Dunn, DH
5. Alex Rios, CF
6. Carlos Quentin, RF
7. A.J. Pierzynski, C
8. Alexei Ramirez, SS
9. Brent Morel, 3B
The White Sox pitching staff looks very good this season and is hoping to improve on their success last season. They had 94 quality starts (where a pitcher throws at least six innings and lets up no more than 3 runs) last season, which ranked 6th in the MLB. White Sox fans are energized about their young pitcher John Danks. The fifth year starter had his best season last year with career highs in nearly every category including wins at 15 and strikeouts at 162. The former number 9 overall pick looks like he will improve his numbers from 2010, as he has improved his command and added a nasty changeup to compliment his great cutter and fastball. Danks also proved that he can be the work horse for the Sox's, as he pitched 213 innings last year, which ranked in the top 10 out of all AL pitchers. Ozzie Guillen said about Danks, "Well, you know, obviously I think he should be cautious and try to find the plate around. But I mean assume is as soon as the ball come out of his hand I feel good about it. Because you could see his stuff was there. This kid's been battling... Another game for him the way he battled... The kid's got a chance to be a hell of a pitcher." Danks will have to step up because Buehrle looks like he is coming to the end of his career, as he was five hundred last season with only 13 wins and had his highest ERA at 4.28 since 2006. The X-factor for the White Sox will be former NL Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy. He has been hampered by injuries since 2009. After struggling with a 2-5 record and a 6.05 ERA, Peavy finally looked very good winning five straight starts last season. However, he only pitched in 17 games, as he injured his right arm pitching against the Angeles on July 6th. Peavy tried to rebuild his arm strengthen during the off-season and spring training. He looked impressive until he began to have rotator cuff tendinitis this spring, which has caused him to start the season on the 15 day DL (a place he has become used to). After a rehab outing Peavy said, "Here we go again, trying to build it back up. It felt good. I felt OK. Obviously, there is fatigue there. But that's part of building your arm up and getting it strong. But like I said, here we go again. We tried it before and hopefully we can sustain it this time. When I can do that [throw 100 pitches] and bounce back and do it again in five days later, I'm going to say I'm ready to pitch in the big leagues and give it all I can to get back to Chicago. When I get to Chicago, I want to stay there."
Projected starting rotation:
1. Mark Buehrle
2. Edwin Jackson
3. John Denks
4. Gavin Floyd
5. Phil Humber
* Jake Peavy will take his place back in the rotation when he returns from a shoulder injury.
Projected closer:
Matt Thornton
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