With the White Sox season over, we're looking back on the top 10 moments of the club's minor league season. We'll unveil one per day for 10 days, showcasing each moment in chronological order. First up is a grand slam from Luis Robert in spring training.
The moment: Luis Robert hits a grand slam in his first start of spring training, March 7.
Robert fueled up his own hype train early in spring training. He had come in as a late-inning replacement in two games before this, but on March 7 he got the start and made a bang.
Robert stepped up to the plate, wearing one of those weird spring training numbers (92), and dumped a first-pitch slider from Reds reliever Jackson Stephens over the left field wall at Camelback Ranch. The eighth-inning grand slam gave the White Sox a 14-12 win.
Stephens isn't minor league fodder either. The 24-year-old has been up with the Reds in the bigs in both 2017 and 2018.
Robert's season: The grand slam did plenty to build on the excitement White Sox fans had about his potential after he signed for a $26 million signing bonus in May of 2017. However, Robert had a hard time showing the potential that garnered that signing bonus due to multiple injuries the rest of the season.
Later in spring training the Cuban outfielder injured his thumb and didn't make his regular season debut until June 5 with Single-A Kannapolis. Robert hit .289/.360/.400 in 13 games with the Intimidators and the White Sox moved him up to Single-A Winston-Salem after that. After nine games with the Dash a ligament sprain in his left thumb kept Robert out of action again.
MLB
Robert missed nearly four weeks before beginning a rehab stint with the White Sox rookie level affiliate in Arizona. Robert finished the season with the Dash and hit .244/.317/.309 in 32 games with Winston-Salem.
For a young and raw prospect like Robert, the missed playing time was not what the White Sox wanted. He finished the season without hitting a home run and his overall numbers were below expectations, but the talent is still there. More will be expected out of Robert in 2019 if he stays healthy.