Chicago White Sox fans should be a happy camper right now.  Not only did the South Siders discover that they have a top-five hitter in the league on their team as of last year, the Sox also went out and addressed the one thing they needed to improve most on last year, their bullpen. With the off-season moves Chicago has pulled off the past few months, they might be on the brink of contending in the A.L. Central along with the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals despite their lackluster 2014.

Some notable personell changes they made include...

Additions

  • Adam LaRoche
  • Melky Cabrera
  • Jeff Samardzija
  • David Robertson
  • Rob Brantly
  • Geovany Soto
  • Zach Duke
  • George Kottaras
  • Emilio Bonifacio
  • JB Shuck
  • Brad Penny
  • Dan Jennings

Subtractions

  • Paul Konerko
  • Marcus Semien
  • Matt Lindstrom
  • Felipe Paulino
  • Josh Phegley
  • Ronald Belisario
  • Scott Carroll

Biggest Weakness... Second Base... And maybe third base.

There is still a question mark at second base for the White Sox. Having traded away both Gordon Beckham and Marcus Semien, it looks like they will try out prospect Carlos Sanchez this year. Sanchez does not look like he provides much offensively, but he is known for having a great glove, and he can swipe the occasional bag. They can also play Micah Johnson or move Connnor Gillaspie over there if Sanchez can't hold the job.

Biggest Strength... Chris Sale and Jose Abreu

Chicago will lean on their two top players in Sale and Abreu this season. Some are saying that Jose Abreu has overtaken Miguel Cabrera as the best corner infield hitter in the American League, and they might be right. In his 27-year-old rookie season, Abreu posted a .383 OBP% with a .582 SLG%, and he hit 36 homers. That's a .964 OPS for anyone that doesn't want to do the math. Abreu could very easily contend for an MVP sometime over the next few years.

Chris Sale is just as elite a player on the mound as Jose is in the batter's box. There have always been questions about whether Sale would be able to stay healthy due to his wirey frame, but he has stayed healthy as of late.  He is a strikeout king, and some think he is the best inning-for-inning pitcher in the league. He will have to be on the Cy Young radar again for the White Sox to contend.

Something to keep an eye on... Matt Davidson

Matt Davidson should have a path to the Big Leagues this year, and his pop could help the team immensely. If the Carlos Sanchez experiment doesn't work out, they might move the versatile Connor Gillaspie to second to make room for Davidson. In addition, Gillaspie had a career year last season, so he is not guranteed to hold down the position at third base either. Matt Davidson should get the call up sooner or later, and he should hit a few home runs.

Potential Lineup... * denotes lefty, ^denotes switch hitter

1. Adam Eaton - CF*

2. Melky Cabrera - LF^

3. Jose Abreu - DH/1B

4. Adam LaRoche - 1B/DH*

5. Avisail Garcia - RF

6. Alexei Ramirez - SS

7. Conor Gillaspie - 3B*

8. Tyler Flowers - C

9.Carlos Sanchez - 2B^

Potential Bench

Emilio Bonifacio^

JB Shuck*

Dayan Viciedo

Geovany Soto

Potential Rotation... *denotes lefty

1. Chris Sale*

2. Jeff Samardzija

3. Jose Quintana*

4. John Danks*

5. Hector Noesi

Potential Bullpen...

Closer - David Robertson

Zach Putnam

Jake Petricka

Javy Guerra

Zach Duke*

Daniel Webb

Maikel Cleto

Injured to start the season

Nate Jones

Fantasy Bargain - Melky Cabrera and Adam Eaton

Behold the assumed first two hitters in the White Sox lineup this season.  Both are amongst the best in the league when it comes to the ability to get on base, and neither of them is a liability on the base paths. With a talent like Jose Abreu hitting third, expect both of these guys to approach 100 runs scored this season if they and Abreu all stay healthy.  

Overvalued Fantasy Player - Alexei Ramirez

Every year around this time, things become very confusing as to why Ramirez gets taken so highly in so many drafts. Some thought brings forth the realization that people are seeing how great a shortstop he is for his real-life team, and they think it should equate into fantasy somehow. A look at his career track record, though, shows there is nothing that makes him stand out offensively with regards to fantasy baseball. Yes, it is attractive that he always seems to stay healthy, but this writer and fantasy player personally never tries to draft anyone who consistenly puts up an OPS in the low .700's and is an overall below-average hitter.

Yes, shortstop is one of the thinnest offensive positions out there. One solution to this problem is to wait for him to fall to where he belongs in drafts and take him there, not to reach for someone like Ramirez in a fantasy draft out of panick or the mere lack of shortstop at that point.

Conslusion...

It is safe to say that when adding elite pitchers such as David Robertson and Jeff Samardzija to the roster in one off-season, it is a successful one. Add in the #2- and #4-hole hitters on top of that, and the White Sox have completely changed the face of their team. It seems as if the sky is the limit for this White Sox team.

It will get even more exciting for this team when #3 overall pick Carlos Rodon gets the call up. It might even behoove the Sox to start him in the rotation instead of Hector Noesi. Overall, it looks like Chicago has taken several steps forward this season, and they will be a fun team to look unfold in 2015.

This writer predeicts that White Sox will finish third or fourth in the A.L. Central with a win total in the mid 70's and miss the playoffs in 2015.

Tyler interviewd Michael Spillan @MichaelSpillan about the White Sox on the radio. See what Spillan had to say.

Read more of Tyler's team previews.