2012 MLB Season: 4 White Sox Players with Best Chance to Win a Postseason Award

The White Sox aren't being picked by anyone to do much in 2012.  They traded one of the best hitters from last season in Carlos Quentin, shipped their young closer to Toronto for a couple of prospects and lost their manager and staff ace to the Miami Marlins.

The reigning AL Central champion Tigers made one of the biggest free-agent splashes by signing Prince Fielder to a multi-year contract and also have the league's Cy Young and MVP in Justin Verlander returning.  

While postseason awards can be harder to predict than what fashion accessory LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will sport next, White Sox fans can watch with bated breath to see if the following players can take home some postseason hardware to call their own. 

Rookie of the Year: Addison Reed

The White Sox organization is thin when it comes to minor league prospects.  The best they have is 23-year-old Addison Reed.  

The 6'4" right-hander has the stuff to be a major league closer and will have a chance this spring training to earn that role.  The White Sox dealt their 2011 closer, Sergio Santos, to the Toronto Blue Jays. Without an heir apparent to the job on the roster, Reed should be able to take the role for Robin Ventura's ball club.

If Reed is given the chance to close in 2012, he will be a contender for the American League Rookie of the Year award.  Sure, he'll have to deal with Tampa Bay's Matt Moore, one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball (as listed here) but nothing won should ever be easy.

Gold Glove: Brent Morel

White Sox fans have been a bit spoiled by really good defensive third basemen over the past couple decades.  Robin Ventura manned the hot corner for ten years and Joe Crede held it down for nine. 

Next in line is Brent Morel.  The second-year pro has made a name for himself with his glove and will only get better with experience.  He will also benefit from having the former 5-time Gold Glove winning Ventura as his manager, helping him with the mental and physical aspects of playing third base.

MVP: Paul Konerko

The White Sox captain has been the steadying force on the southside since his arrival in 1999.  He has provided leadership in the clubhouse and has been one of the most consistent first basemen in the American League.  

There is stiff competition in the AL this season for the MVP award.  Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder have defected from the Senior Circuit and studs Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Evan Longoria, Curtis Granderson and a host of others are all perennial contenders to take home the crown. 

If the White Sox can surprise the baseball world and win the AL Central, Paul Konerko will get serious MVP consideration.  He finished in the top 15 last season on a team that completed the year four games under .500 and 16 games out of first.  He posted his second consecutive 30-home run, 100-RBI season with absolutely no protection in the lineup.

Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn

You simply cannot have a worse season than Adam Dunn had in 2011.  He became the second player to have a higher strikeout total (177) than batting average (.159) and fell a handful of at-bats short of qualifying for the lowest batting average in the history of the game. 

The 177 strikeouts were a White Sox club record and his season totals of 11 home runs, 42 RBI and OPS of .569 were the lowest totals of his career.  Prior to 2011, Dunn had recorded seven consecutive seasons of at least 38 home runs, 92 RBI and an OPS of .855.

Dunn had such a horrible season that winning the Comeback Player of the Year award really won't take much work at all.  If he rebounds with numbers close to his career averages, then the award will be all but his.