White Sox thrilled with Yoan Moncada but don’t plan to move him yet
The Chicago White Sox top prospect 21-year-old Yoan Moncada is having a stellar season thus far.
After a rough September call-up straight from the Double-A level last season in which Yoan Moncada struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances and alongside a somewhat ugly, however meaningless spring 2017 training, the Chicago White Sox are finally seeing the player they thought they were getting when they traded their ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox over this past offseason.
On top of his strong batting average (.330), the second baseman hit five home runs in 23 games for Triple-A Charlotte this April.
The speedy Moncada stole 6 bases (in eight attempts) and posted 11.3 percent walk rate, according to CSNChicago.com.
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Moncada was named the White Sox minor league player of the month for April, and posted some other encouraging numbers with Charlotte.
For example, his OPS is at .938.
The White Sox have no immediate plans to bring up their new star super-threat anytime soon, however, and it is hard not to wonder exactly why?
Despite a strong start to the season the White Sox are now sitting in fourth place in the AL Central, still they are five games up on the Kansas City Royals but that really isn’t saying much.
The White Sox want to take it slow with Moncada which is usually the way to go with younger prospects.
Calling them up too soon, rushing them to the big leagues, can and has turned into nightmare scenarios for teams over the years.
A good case in point would be the Seattle Mariners and catcher Mike Zunino. They rushed him to the majors and he’s been supposed to “break-out” ever since, but as recently as Friday the Mariners once promising prospect has landed himself back in Triple-A, again.
Moncada is taking the whole situation in stride, however. Even though he feels that he is ready for the show, he is not actively thinking about when that call will come.
Moncada spoke Friday, through an interpreter, saying,
"“My focus right now is just to play and do my job in Charlotte because that’s something I can control. They’re going to make that call whenever they think it’s the right time. For me, it’s just about doing my job in Charlotte.”"
According to another article on CSNChicago.com, Moncada has been vastly improving in his defensive skills as well. Still, Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn had this to say,
"“The fact is he does remain a 22-year-old that coming into the year with fewer than 200 plate appearances above A ball. His development is by no means complete at the minor league level but he certainly is making a great deal of progress and we’re thrilled with where he’s at.”"
Mocada is not sitting and waiting by the phone for that call and plans to continue to contribute to and help his current team win.
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Still, at the same time he knows that he feels ready for the majors and will be ready when the Chicago White Sox finally do make that important call.