Adam Eaton's continued improvement fueling White Sox's hot start

Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton has been surprising people his entire career. Little was expected of the 5-foot-8, slap-hitting outfielder when he was drafted in by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 19th round of the 2010 draft.

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Despite that, Eaton hit at every stop in the minors. Eventually, scouts took notice. Eaton worked his way onto Baseball America's top-100 prospect list prior to the 2013 season. He was ranked 73rd. After a trade to the White Sox, Eaton established himself as a solid top-of-the-order hitter with his new club.

This season, however, he's taken things even farther. The former 19th round pick has turned himself into one of the best players in the majors.

While much of the White Sox's strong start has been fueled by pitching, Eaton has done most of the heavy lifting on offense. His continued improvement at the plate will be the focus of Yahoo Sports' Free MLB Game of the Day on Wednesday.

Eaton and the White Sox will take on Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros. The game, which will take place at 8:10 p.m. ET, can be streamed for free on Yahoo's Sports Home, MLB index and video home, except where MLB blackouts apply.

From an offensive standpoint, Eaton is having the finest season of his career. The 27-year-old is hitting .307/.400/.427 through 37 games. Eaton's 131 wRC+, an advanced stat that measures a player's offensive contributions, ranks him ahead of both Andrew McCutchen and Giancarlo Stanton this year. Eaton's wRC+ also rates him as the best hitter on the White Sox this season.

While he likely won't be a better hitter than either of those guys going forward, Eaton's improvements at the plate are real. He's not only showing more patience during at-bats, a key for a leadoff hitter, but he's also refusing to strike out. Eaton's 9.9 percent walk rate and 9.4 percent strike out rate are currently career bests. His strikeout rate ranks as the eighth-lowest among qualified hitters. 

Defensively, Eaton has looked much more comfortable in right field than in center. After rating as a below-average defender in center the past few seasons, Eaton has saved the most runs in baseball this season according to defensive metrics.

It's important to note that defensive metrics should not be used in small samples, and are likely overrating Eaton's current contribution this season. But the eye test also confirms that he's been better, and it also makes sense that he would perform better at less demanding defensive spot. He's a better defender in right field, but he's probably not suddenly the best defensive player in all of baseball.

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Even if the defensive improvements are a bit fluky, Eaton deserves plenty of credit for his offensive explosion this season. The White Sox offense may have been built around big boppers like Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier, but it's been Eaton who has carried them at the plate thus far.

That might surprise some, but Eaton's been exceeding expectations his entire career.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik