Grading the White Sox: Danny Mendick

Nov 24, 2022 - 5:43 PM

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At midseason, the SSS staff graded the 46-46 White Sox, from head of the class Dylan Cease all the way down to Dallas Keuchel. We invented a WARsss metric that could very well be just a cute way to trot out our special site grades — but really for all you know could be the product of years of research in a stats lab.

Our expanded report card will take us through everyone who saw time in uniform for the White Sox, plus some front-office types. Most of our writers will take on a couple of players, with final grades and short writeups, running through the end of November. Enjoy!

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Danny Mendick
Infielder
Midseason: 3.1 WARsss
Final: 4.4 WARsss

Does Danny Mendick wake up in a cold sweat at two in the morning, plagued by dreams (memories?) of having registered for some kind of baseball thing at the start of the season, but he can’t remember quite when it was and even if he could, he’s not even prepared, when was the last time he even played baseball, where is he supposed to be right now??

It’s hard to grade Mendick on his performance this season, which encompassed only 31 major-league games before his knee met Adam Haseley’s on the field of play-turned-combat and came out the loser, like in that game where you bash two hard-boiled eggs together until one of them breaks. The resultant tear to his right ACL ended his season, although his 12-game on-base-streak should be preserved for whenever he plays again next year (much rejoicing, etc).

Mendick’s Sox career has had ups and downs in limited time over four seasons; in 120 total games in the big leagues before 2022, Mendick slashed .239/.298/.342 as he shuttled between Chicago and Charlotte. His 2021 was particularly strange [derogatory]; he slugged just .287 in 71 games, his only extra-base hits five doubles and two dongs, despite hitting a perfectly fine .271/.327/.406 in 25 minor-league games with the Knights (four doubles, three home runs).

But 2022 was much better, his storied mindset and disciplined approach to the game finally seeming to pay off for real, especially after Tim Anderson went down with the groin injury in May and Mendick started to get consistent time at primarily one position. Mendick played three separate stints in the majors in 2022: from April 10-27 (.250/.318/.500 in 10 games), May 8 (0-for-3, womp), and from May 29 to June 22, the date of The Incident (.311/.363/.446 in 20 games). He hit three homers, four doubles, and a triple, and saw playing time mostly at shortstop but some at second, third, and, uh, left field.

Mendick, who turned 29 in September, really seemed to be finding a groove since his return from the minors, and it surely would have been welcome consistency anywhere in that lineup in the second half.

Unfortunately, it’ll always be a big what-if, one of many from the 2022 season that, viewed from afar, just blend together into a big WTF.

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2022 White Sox Grades

Danny Mendick, UTIL, 4.4
Ethan Katz, PIT COACH, 4.3
Tanner Banks, LHRP, 4.27
Andrew Vaughn, “LF,” 4.25
Davis Martin, RHSP, 4.1
Seby Zavala, C, 4.0
Luis Robert, CF, 3.7
Lance Lynn, RHSP, 3.5
Miguel Cairo, Bench Coach/MGR, 3.48
Tim Anderson, SS, 3.43
Kendall Graveman, RHRP, 3.1
Josh Harrison, 2B, 3.0
Gavin Sheets, RF-1B, 2.5
Jake Burger, 3B, 2.2
Romy González, IF, 2.0
Aaron Bummer, LHRP, 1.8
AJ Pollock, OF, 1.3
Matt Foster, RHRP, 1.2
Yoán Moncada, 3B, 0.92
Lenyn Sosa, SS, 0.85
José Ruiz, RHRP, 0.83
Mark Payton, OF, 0.6
Carlos Pérez, C, 0.399
Lucas Giolito, RHSP, 0.392
Adam Engel, OF, 0.237
Vince Velasquez, RHP, -0.4
Reese McGuire, C, -1.1
Kyle Crick, RHRP, -1.65
Joe Kelly, RHRP, -1.75
Daryl Boston, 1B Coach, -2.0
Anderson Severino, LHRP, -2.2
Jerry Reinsdorf, OWN, -2.321
Jake Diekman, LHRP, -2.366
Rick Hahn, GM, -2.401
Bennett Sousa, LHRP, -2.425
Frank Menechino, BAT COACH, -2.469
Yasmani Grandal, C/DH, -2.549
Leury García, UTIL, -2.7
Adam Haseley, OF, -3.146
Joe McEwing, 3B Coach, -3.167
Ryan Burr, RHRP, -3.4
Tony La Russa, MGR, -3.5
Dallas Keuchel, LHSP, -3.9

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