Fantasy Baseball 2012: Adam Dunn, 3 More Hit-or-Miss Chicago White Sox Picks

Some players take a good hunch to pick. With these players, fantasy owners just have to know what to expect out of them. The Chicago White Sox have their share of these players.

Several White Sox players are hit-or-miss picks in fantasy drafts. They have the ability to put up big numbers. Players like Adam Dun and Alex Rios have produced good numbers before, but recently have given reason not to be hopeful.

Following is a short list of White Sox players who may do very well or may flounder.

Adam Dunn

Many fantasy owners are surely concerned about Dunn’s future. No fantasy owner would pick someone who would surely tank his or her team—unless that owner is masochistic.

Thus, no one of the calculated mindset believes Dunn will be able to bounce back from his historically bad numbers of 2011 (.159/.292/.277). His age (32) and home runs from last year (11) are concerning as well.

On the other end is the group that believes that Dunn’s 2011 season was either an adjustment to the American League or the worst he could possibly do. Some might believe that he needed time to learn to produce in the tougher league. Others would believe that Dunn, who has hit 30 home runs seven times, wouldn’t do that miserably again.

The gulf is wide when it comes to Dunn. At his best, he’s remarkable, as he once hit 46 home runs in a season. At his worst, Dunn can look like anything but a major-league designated hitter.

Alex Rios

Alex Rios is a similar case to Dunn. Last season, Rios was next-to-last in the majors with a .265 OBP. His 13 home runs and 44 RBI were underwhelming. Like Dunn, Rios’ age (31) is a concern.

Rios has hit 20 home runs twice and has shown an ability to get on base a fair amount. Some may believe he can get back to that level.

However, he might not be inspired to do so.

Alejandro De Aza

Alejandro De Aza showed an amazing ability to smack the ball in a limited amount of time. De Aza had a .520 slugging percentage, four home runs, 11 doubles, 23 RBI in 152 at-bats.

Also, De Aza had a .400 on-base percentage.

These numbers might be outliers since De Aza had a .404 BABIP, which is considered unsustainable.

To be sure, one wouldn’t expect De Aza to put up a .920 OPS. He won’t put up Prince Fielder numbers.

The ceiling for De Aza is probably an .850 OPS for a full season. He may also be able to hit 20 home runs, but one wouldn’t want to make a solid bet on it.

Conversely, if his ridiculous BABIP from 2011 is a true indicator, De Aza might end up with much lower rates and power numbers. He just might have played so far over his head in 2011 that he could end up with a .310 OBP and a .380 slugging rate. That De Aza will hit 10 home runs is a conservative guess.

One wouldn’t set him for less than 10 since he plays at U.S. Cellular Field.

The potential is there for De Aza, but the possibilities could hit either end.

Dayan Viciedo

It’s hard to tell what Viciedo’s potential is at this point. He might still have a shot at being a stud outfielder, or he might have already seen his star pass. After hitting five home runs in 110 at-bats in 2010, Viciedo didn’t do much in his spot towards the end of the 2011 season. Viciedo hit only one home run and drove in only six runs while posting a .314 slugging percentage.

That’s a far cry from the power numbers he posted in the minors in 2010 and 2011 (23 home runs each year).

As people are left to wonder what Viciedo could do as a major leaguer, he may still become a serious power hitter, or he might struggle to jack the ball off big-league pitchers.