Konerko tops our White Sox power rankings
So the all-star voting and roster additions are done, and the White Sox’ Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn and Chris Sale are headed for the midsummer classic in Kansas City.
Jake Peavy is on the fan ballot, and A.J. Pierzynski is staying home.
Fair or not, the Sox are going to be well represented.
The All-Star Game is still a big deal because every player in a major-league uniform is judged against his peers.
With that in mind, here are my individual power rankings for the 25-man White Sox roster, from top to bottom:
1. Konerko. The numbers have been impressive enough. But the future Hall Of Famer — he is already there on my ballot — is such an underrated leader.
Call White Sox general manager Kenny Williams what you want, but you can’t criticize him for considering Konerko as player/manager before Robin Ventura got the latter job.
2. Sale. It’s time to scrap the Randy Johnson comparisons.
“I think sometimes guys are just unique enough that it’s their own,” manager Robin Ventura said. “He’s hard to put in a box and say he reminds you of this guy or that guy.”
He is Sale. And he is really good.
3. Pierzynski. Freak of nature. And it’s a crime he’s not going to Kansas City.
4. Alex Rios. He’s starting to remind me of Scott Podsednik, although he has three more tools.
Good year on, good year off. So far, this has been a really good year.
5. Alejandro De Aza. He reminds me a lot of two White Sox leadoff hitters.
He puts the ball in play like Juan Pierre, when he was locked in. And he works the count, battles and hits the ball over the fence on occasion like Tony Phillips used to do.
6. Peavy. Please boys, score this man some runs.
7. Dunn. Matt Spiegel nailed it in Sunday’s Daily Herald column. If you missed it, check the archives.
8. Dayan Viciedo. He’s still figuring it out. When he does, watch out.
9. Alexei Ramirez. His batting average, home run total, on-base percentage and slugging are substandard. But is there another American League shortstop you’d rather have for the stretch run?
10. Jose Quintana. What a find for the White Sox, and what were his old teams (Yankees, Mets) thinking?
11. Gordon Beckham. He’s getting back to where he should be. That’s a good thing, considering the can’t-miss kid was batting .153 at the end of April.
12. Addison Reed. A clean save here and there would be nice. Overall, the rookie right-hander has handled the closer’s role with few complaints.
13. Gavin Floyd. If he can pitch like Good Gavin for the next two months or so, the White Sox probably win the AL Central.
14. Kevin Youkilis. He’s been an upgrade at third base, although that’s not saying much. A show of some of that old power will move Youk up the list.
15. Nate Jones. After two amazing months, the AL has adjusted to the rookie reliever. If Jones can adjust back, he’ll be a real keeper.
16. Jesse Crain. He’s a great veteran presence in the clubhouse and still a very good relief good pitcher. However, the health issues are becoming a concern.
17. Matt Thornton. He’s still a solid vet out of the bullpen, and he is still much better when pitching with the lead.
18. Dylan Axelrod. He’s just filling in for the injured Philip Humber, but Axelrod is trying to win a permanent job and doing a pretty good job.
19. Orlando Hudson. He’s right where he should be — utility infielder.
20. Hector Santiago. He opened the season as the Sox’ closer and pitched himself into middle relief. The screwball is difficult to throw, so the rookie left-hander should probably look into a new out pitch.
21. Eduardo Escobar. He doesn’t play much, but the utility infielder brings good energy to the field when he does get a chance.
22. Tyler Flowers. The backup catcher has impressive power, when he connects. But Pierzynski is still a major roadblock and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
23. Leyson Septimo. He’s already showing he’s not Will Ohman. That’s a good thing.
24. Jordan Danks. John’s little brother is finally in the big leagues, but he’s been buried on the bench.
25. Brian Omogrosso. To be determined.
sgregor@dailyherald.com