White Sox player review: Carlos Quentin

October 21, 1:39 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

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Carlos Quentin carried the White Sox offense early in the year.

The player:

Carlos Quentin

Position: Left field

Vital statistics
Batting average: .288
OBP: .394
SLG: .571
OPS: .965
Home runs: 36
RBI: 100
Runs: 96
BB/K: 66/80

When the White Sox acquired Quentin from the Diamondbacks for Single-A first baseman Chris Carter in early December, nobody exactly knew what to expect from the 25-year-old outfielder who had surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in October. Quentin was a 2003 first-round pick out of Stanford, and everybody knew he had the ability to be a very good major league player. The question for Quentin was his health, and that (combined with the Diamondbacks believing their outfield was set with Eric Byrnes, Chris Young, and BJ Upton) led the Diamondbacks to sell low on Quentin in the offseason.

Granted, Carter is certainly not a bad prospect—he hit 39 home runs with the A's high Single-A affiliate in 2008—but with the kind of season Quentin had in 2008, Carter was a necessary casualty of the farm system.

Quentin led the White Sox in nearly every offensive category, and outside of a bad stretch in June, he was the hitter the White Sox could always count on to get a big hit. For example, take the two-game stretch of July 23 and 24. On the 23rd, Quentin hit an eighth inning three-run home run off Rangers' closer CJ Wilson that put the White Sox up 10-8, which ended up being the final score. On the 24th, Quentin pushed a soft single to right off Tigers' closer Todd Jones with two outs in the ninth inning, allowing Jermaine Dye to hit his dramatic go-ahead home run that took most of the air out of the Tigers' comeback attempt in the AL Central.

There were countless other times where Quentin drove in all the White Sox' runs—for example, the May 25 game against the Angels in which Quentin hit two home runs, one of which was a walk-off blast, off John Lackey to give the White Sox a 3-2 win. Without Quentin in April and May, when the rest of the White Sox offense was having major problems creating runs, the White Sox likely do not win the AL Central.

Quentin unequivocally was one of the best offensive players in baseball in 2008. His .283 ISO was the fourth-best in baseball, only behind Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick, and Ryan Howard. Only seven players (Pujols, Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Lance Berkman, Ludwick, and Alex Rodriguez) had a better OPS than Quentin. Had Quentin not injured himself in early September, he likely would have won the AL MVP.

And that brings us to the one blemish on Quentin's season—his self-inflicted wrist injury. On Sept. 1, Quentin fouled off a pitch from the Indians' Cliff Lee and did something that, according to Quentin, he had done "thousands of times." He punched his bat with his right hand in frustration, but this time that act was not innocuous. It fractured Quentin's wrist, which caused him to miss the rest of the regular season and the ALDS against the Rays.

The White Sox still made the playoffs, but if Quentin was still in the lineup, maybe they could have at least forced a game five the the Rays. Losing Quentin's 8.06 runs created/27 and 3.77 WPA/LI were big blows to the offense, but in the end, the Rays still probably win the ALDS.

Overall, Quentin's 2008 should be remembered for his offensive heroics when healthy. Having Quentin in the lineup in April and May erased many of the painful memories of the 2007 offense that were still prevalent every time Paul Konerko grounded out to third or Jim Thome struck out in a big situation.

Kenny Williams has made some good trades in his tenure as GM—but none may turn out as well as the Carter-for-Quentin trade. Quentin's line drive rate/BABIP ratio of .154 to .280 indicates that he was only slightly lucky, but Quentin also had the third-lowest LD rate of any player in baseball last year. If that goes up in 2009, his BABIP should make a slight jump and lead to a better season than he had in 2008.

Staying healthy is going to be a concern for Quentin, but he proved in 2008 that his surgically repaired shoulder was fully healthy. If he can avoid the disabled list, the 26-year-old should continue to hit around .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI for an extended period of time. He's under the White Sox' control until 2013 and will make near the league minimum next year before he become arbitration-eligible in 2010.

To say that Quentin had a good season in 2008 would be a vast understatement. Even though he missed the final month of the season, Quentin was the most important part of the offense that helped the White Sox win their first division title since 2005.