Alex Avila Looks To Be Serviceable Platoon Bat In 2016

Alex Avila was in line to get the bulk of the starts for the White Sox in 2016 for a little bit, but it wasn’t long before they also brought in Dioner Navarro to form a platoon. Avila is your typical lefty swinger who has performed much better against right-handed pitching, whereas Navarro hits lefties better. Avila only got 219 plate appearances in 2015 for the Tigers, but his insatiable bloodlust for striking out (30.1% K rate) really helped his cause for ending the year below the Mendoza line at a crisp .191. He failed to hit for any noticeable power, and all we have is another year that leaves us asking ourselves where did 2009 Alex Avila go? Avila and Navarro may negate each other’s fantasy relevance with their platooning, but Avila getting to face righties at the outset does give him an edge.