Yoán Moncada was at one time the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to most outlets who put out annual rankings. So when he was acquired by the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade, Moncada brought a whole heap of high expectations.
When he made his first appearance at Guaranteed Rate Field in July of 2017, there was a huge ovation by the White Sox faithful; the awaiting of a golden prospect is something the fanbase was not accustomed to. This was a different kind of thing, and it was cool.
He drew a nine-pitch walk against the Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda in his first plate appearance with the White Sox, and the crowd went nuts. This was the beginning of something. His second game with the Sox featured a triple and four RBIs. It was real, and it was spectacular. But three days later came that first four-strikeout game. There were growing pains, but there were also undeniable flashes of greatness.
Then came 2018. More flashes of greatness, but it seemed like a step backward. Things didn’t go as planned. Of course, as they say, development isn’t linear. There were a variety of concerns. Sometimes it’s therapeutic to just talk things through, so let’s try it.
In 2018, Moncada had 217 strikeouts, which is one more than Hall of Famer Nellie Fox had in his career.
Yes, but the game has changed. Moncada is a near lock to pass Fox’s career home run total in 2019 (Fox had 35; Moncada is already at 25). Furthermore, Moncada’s career wRC+ of 97 is already better than Fox’s 96. While Moncada struggled in 2018, he’s only 23 and still possesses the tools to be a franchise cornerstone.
Moncada had a 19-game strikeout streak in 2018.
MLB
It didn’t even lead the team. Daniel Palka had a 21-game strikeout streak. Second of all, during that 19-game streak, Moncada had a slashline of .250/.318/.450, which believe it or not was better than his overall season slashline of .235/.315/.400. One more thing. The longest strikeout streak in MLB history is nearly double that. 37 games. And it was by Aaron Judge in 2017, when he hit 52 home runs with a .422 OBP and finished second in AL MVP voting.
But he struck out looking 85 times… 29 more than the next player (the historically bad Chris Davis).
Take the good with the bad. Moncada has a very critical eye at the plate. He also led the team in walks with 67 – 15 more than the next player. The White Sox desperately need a player who draws walks. In 2017, Todd Frazier led the team with 48 walks. And he was traded to the Yankees on July 19. This is something Moncada will have to work through, but plate discipline is tough to teach, and while it is excessive at the moment, it’s a better to start with a player who is too passive than it is with a player who swings at everything.
Only a .209/.287/.297 slashline in 168 plate appearances against lefties.
True, he struggled mightily against southpaws in 2018. But he started to turn the tide on that late in the season. Beginning with Aug. 21 when he homered off the Twins’ Gabriel Moya, he was 13 for his final 39 (.333) with a .395 OBP in his final 43 plate appearances against lefties to finish the season. A small sample to be sure, but progress nonetheless, and something to build on for 2019.
No home runs in September???
Right, but stretching back and including the last week of August (his last home run was Aug. 31), Moncada hit .303/.370/.434 over his last 32 games with that one home run. He finished strong, though with a highly inflated .434 batting average of balls in play, but it’s good for his confidence to end the season well. There were 13 extra-base hits over that span, so there was good contact. His 37 batted balls of at least 95 m.p.h. led the team over that span. The power will come.
I’m excited to see what Moncada can do in 2019. There is still a certain feeling whenever he comes up to bat that he could do something special at any moment. A disappointing 2018 didn’t change that. I think the arrival of Eloy Jiménez will be a big boost for Moncada. It will give the White Sox another impact bat to pitch to. It will divert some of the focus on Moncada as THE guy of the rebuild. He was once a No. 1 prospect for a reason. Let’s see what he’s got this season, then we’ll have another discussion a year from now.
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