Aaron Rowand: Breakout star

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In an off-season known for a lack of activity on the South Side, the White Sox have acquired a quality offensive starter and very few fans even realize it. In 522 at bats, he hit .289 with 27 doubles, 17 home runs, 71 RBIs, and an On-Base Percentage of .340.

Striking Rowand's first 60 2003 at bats from the record books creates a more accurate picture of the offensive player the White Sox should expect this season. Rowand brings decent power, average, and on-base percentage to a White Sox offense that is already among the top in the American League. Barring injury in the next few days, he will get his first legitimate shot at roaming center field on the regular basis.

Injury is one of the biggest questions concerning Rowand. Just as recently as a couple weeks ago, he injured both wrists in a game. Before the 2003 season, he was injured in a well-publicized dirtbike accident. In spring training he was hit on the finger, and during his minor league stint in May he was hit on the hand. He has missed significant time due to injury, but he appears to be 100% going into 2004.

Defensively, Rowand has shown to be one of the top center fielders in the game. He is not on the level of Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones, but he fits into that second tier with Mike Cameron, Carlos Beltran, and others. While not the speediest, Rowand gets excellent jumps and his routes are precise.

If there is one drawback to Rowand's defense, it is his arm. In a sense, his arm is too good. He knows he has a gun, so he sometimes uses poor judgment in trying to throw runners out (thus allowing other runners to advance bases). This is something he'll undoubtedly need to correct, but with less than three years in center field he is still rather inexperienced at the position.

White Sox fans frequently speak of Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Lee as the team's major offensive forces. It is not much of a stretch to predict that Aaron Rowand will creep into the conversation. His impressive spring further supports the belief that Rowand is ready to break out in 2004. He no longer has veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. He is healthy. His swing is as solid as ever. If Rowand does break out this season, he will have overcome very stacked odds.