The Chicago White Sox released their ALDS roster on Thursday afternoon and there were quite a few surprises. Tony La Russa met with Rick Hahn on Monday to discuss which 26 men would make the trip to Houston. Here is what they came up with.

Pitchers

Aaron Bummer
Dylan Cease
Garrett Crochet
Lucas Giolito
Liam Hendriks
Craig Kimbrel
Micheal Kopech
Reynaldo Lopez
Lance Lynn
Carlos Rodon
Jose Ruiz
Ryan Tepera

The big surprise here is that Dallas Keuchel was left on the taxi squad. Tony La Russa alluded to the fact that a spot on the postseason roster had to be earned. Keuchel certainly did not earn a job with his performance on the field.

Opponents shelled Keuchel to the tune of a .290 batting average. Keuchel finished the year with a bloated 5.28 ERA. At the beginning of September Keuchel acknowledged the fact that he was the weakest link in the starting rotation and that he needed to be better. Instead, things got worse. During his last seven appearances, he has an 8.20 ERA.

It was clear the White Sox were trying to do everything in their power to include Dallas Keuchel. After all, they are paying him for his playoff experience. Keuchel has a career ERA of 3.71 in the playoffs along with a World Series ring. They even tried him out of the bullpen to see if they could squeeze him on the roster as a long reliever. He failed miserably in his audition. As a result, he will watch the playoffs from the couch.

The other big battle was between Ryan Burr and Jose Ruiz for a spot in the bullpen. Ruiz gained the edge on Burr despite the fact Burrs 2.45 ERA was better than Ruiz’s 3.05 mark. But Burr only threw 36.2 innings while Ruiz tossed 65 innings. La Russa trusts Ruiz slightly more which is why he gained the nod.

Catchers

Zack Collins
Yasmani Grandal

No surprises here. Grandal was swinging one of the hottest bats in baseball down the stretch. He hit .337 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs during his last 30 games. Grandal also finished the season with 23 home runs despite missing a large chunk of the season with an injury. He figures to get the majority of the playing time behind the plate.

Collins had to beat out Seby Zavala. Zavala was a good defensive catcher but Collins since Grandal will be taking the lion’s share of duties behind the plate the backup catcher needed to provide offense as a possible pinch hitter. Collins .210 batting average gave him the edge over Zavala and his .183 average. Neither are great hitters but Collins was slightly better.

Infielders

Jose Abreu
Tim Anderson
Leury Garcia
César Hernandez
Danny Mendick
Yoan Moncada
Gavin Sheets

Gavin Sheets was gunning for a roster spot ever since he got called back up from Charlotte in September. He finished the year hitting .250 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs in 54 games.

He figures to platoon at DH with Andrew Vaughn. Sheets has killed left-handed pitching all season, batting .254. However, when he faces southpaws, he has struggled to the tune of a .111 batting average. Meanwhile, Andrew Vaughn is hitting .274 against lefties but only .220 against righties. Both of these young hitters can provide the White Sox with valuable power.

The big surprise here is Danny Mendick making the cut. Mendick is a versatile defender who was a finalist for a Gold Glove Award last season. He also has some speed and can be used as a pinch-runner. However, his offense leaves much to be desired.

Outfielders

Adam Engel
Billy Hamilton
Eloy Jimenez
Luis Robert
Andrew Vaughn

Brian Goodwin is the notable omission from the list. He was a solid player for the White Sox this season but missed the last few regular-season games with an injury.

But his name being kept off the list makes sense. Adam Engel is a better fielder and has offensive upside. Billy Hamilton is an ideal pinch-runner and defensive replacement late in games. Andrew Vaughn provides more power. Luis Robert and Eloy Kimenez are budding superstars.

The choice was between an extra infielder or an extra outfielder and they opted to go with Mendick because of his versatility.