Da Windy City
Fansided

Chicago Baseball’s All-City Team

By Jordan Campbell

facebooktwitterreddit

Anytime the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox meet-up for the annual cross-town series, it is a time where the meatball fan in all of us comes out. There is no question that interest has been lacking in the cross-town series in recent seasons, and that could be the result of both teams being irrelevant in their respective divisions.

Despite their irrelevancy, White Sox fans like to hold bragging rights over Cubs fans and vice versa. But, bragging rights is not created by either the Cubs or White Sox winning the coveted BP Cup. No, bragging rights is created by which team has the better players during the respective season.

That is why Da Windy City is revealing for the first time ever Chicago Baseball’s All-City Team.

Catcher: Welington Castillo 

  • Both the White Sox and Cubs hope they found catchers of the future in Tyler Flowers and Welington Castillo respectively. Though, the only team that is seeing encouraging signs from their catcher is the Cubs. Castillo is hitting .279/.327/.379 this season for the Cubs. That is far superior than Flowers, who is hitting .202/.269/.345 for the White Sox this season.

First Baseman: Anthony Rizzo 

  • In terms of the first base position, the Cubs and White Sox are at two opposite ends of the spectrum. The Cubs have a first baseman in Anthony Rizzo that has showed signs during the 2013 season of being the long-term face of the organization. Meanwhile, the White Sox veteran first baseman Paul Konerko has shown signs of aging during the 2013 season. No contest here, Rizzo is the clear winner.

Second Baseman: Gordon Beckham 

  • Both Gordon Beckham and Darwin Barney are in similar positions. Both are top-tier defensive second basemen that need to prove they can be productive on offense. Beckham was doing so this season by hitting .316/.333/.316 for the White Sox before injuring his wrist.  Barney missed the first two weeks of the season, and the second baseman is barely hitting over .200 for the Cubs this season. The nod goes to Beckham at the second base position.

Third Baseman: Conor Gillaspie 

  • Neither the Chicago Cubs nor the Chicago White Sox have third basemen that are considered to be long-term solutions at the position. For that reason, White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie gets the nod by default. Gillaspie has outshined all Chicago third basemen by hitting .291/.355/.433 for the White Sox this season.

Shortstop: Starlin Castro 

  • Both Starlin Castro and Alexei Ramirez have been disappointing this season for the Cubs and White Sox. That would be why Castro gets the nod at the shortstop position based on his long-term potential.

Left Fielder: Alfonso Soriano

  • Neither Alfonso Soriano nor Dayan Viciedo are adept to playing left field defensively. Though, both have the potential to be potent run producers. Soriano has struggled to some degree during the 2013 season as the left fielder is hitting .267/.299/.415 to go along with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs. Viciedo, meanwhile, is hitting .284/.336/.461 to go along with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs. Soriano gets the nod based on games played this season and being the better of the two defensively.

Center Fielder: David DeJesus 

  • David DeJesus is the type of player that a general manager wants on their team. DeJesus is hitting .277/.345/.471 for the Cubs this season. Alejandro De Aza is struggling to hit .250 for the White Sox this season. DeJesus is the clear winner at the center field position.

Right Fielder: Alex Rios 

  • Nate Schierholtz has been a pleasant surprise for the Cubs this season by hitting .288/.320/496  to go along with 5 home runs and 19 RBIs. Though, Alex Rios has been one of the top performers in all of Chicago. Rios is hitting .296/.358/.527 to go along with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs. That would be why Rios gets the nod in right field.

Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale 

  • Both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox have strong starting pitching. However, Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox takes the cake. The 24-year-old Sale is 5-2 this season to go along with 61 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.53. Sale is the best starting pitcher in all of Chicago.

So there is the all-city baseball team for Chicago. Based on 2013 season performances, the Chicago Cubs have the advantage with 5 Cubs making the team as opposed to 4 White Sox.

Home/Chicago Cubs