Rios eager to put '11 behind him: White Sox OF Alex Rios, who hit .227 with 13 homers, 11 steals and a .613 OPS in 537 at-bats last year, is looking to bounce back in a big way in 2012, according to ESPN.com. "[Rios] was very frustrated this year and I think the stress it showed on him,” said Rios' agent Paul Kinzer. “I think it just got to be more of a mental issue where it just kept mushrooming. If it would had just been him [that’s one thing], but he and Adam Dunn and some other guys all struggled. It was just all that focus on them. I think mentally it beat him up more than physically.” (Updated 11/15/2011)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 2/12/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Well, that's easy for Rios' agent to say. Kinzer is looking to prop up the value of his client, so of course he's going to make excuses for him. That said, Rios has shown the ability to bounce back from bad seasons in the past. His 2010 season, which was arguably the best of his career, came one year after he hit a career-low (at the time) .247 with a .691 OPS. You wouldn't want to overpay for Rios in Fantasy, but you wouldn't want to dismiss him either. Given his combination of power and speed, he's still worth a look in the late rounds. (Updated 11/15/2011).
12/13/2011 11:23 Top 300 overall for 2012
Our Scott White lays out an initial Top 300 overall list for owners looking to get a jump on Draft Day next spring.
Though big-ticket free agent Adam Dunn got all the attention, Alex Rios was arguably as much of a disappointment for the White Sox in 2011, following up what might have been a career-best season with undoubtedly his worst. What exactly went wrong for him is difficult to pinpoint. At age 31, he's too young for a sudden decline, especially given his athletic build. He dealt with a toe injury that could have passed as a scapegoat if he hadn't been playing through it for the last five years. More than anything, Rios' slump might have simply been the result of trying too hard. His popup rate was abnormally high, suggesting he was over-swinging, and only when he finally came around in September, hitting .307 with five homers and an .875 OPS, did then-manager Ozzie Guillen note his renewed willingness to take the ball the other way. If Rios decided early on that he needed to pick up the slack for underachievers like Dunn, Gordon Beckham and Juan Pierre, you can understand how he might lose sight of what made him successful in the first place. Considering Rios has disappointed two of the last three seasons, he's on many Fantasy owners' avoid lists, but given his history of bouncing back, you wouldn't want sell him short in the late rounds. He's only 18 months removed from a 20-30 season, after all. (Updated 1/11/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
