The One Hitter – Luis Robert

Good evening, it’s your old pal BeefLoaf and this is The One Hitter, don’t forget to exhale.

With the Hot Stove ostensibly cooling off after the completion of the GM Meetings and narry a signing to be seen, we turn our attention to any little bit of beisbol that might catch our eyeballs.  The US vs Japan all-star games are going on, I literally saw 3 pitches before Bonita Steakie told me, “turn this off, baseball is boring!”  I did also happen to notice (via twitter) that the Arizona Fall League is going on and one White Sox prospect appears to be having quite a hoot down there.  Between crushing long, LONG home runs and stringing together a 14 game hitting streak, Luis Robert appears to be doing thangs down there in ‘Zona.  I’ve seen short videos of mammoth blasts and bursts of speed, it has been fun to catch little bits of Robert playing to a tree slash line of  .324/.367/.432 (that’s Batting Average / On-Base Percentage / Slugging Percentage).  The entire twitterverse appears to be head over heels in love with this version of Robert.  For a second, I was pretty thrilled too…..then, I was struck with a pang of anxiety as I struggled to remember another former Arizona Fall League legend draped in White Sox clothing.

Ooooooh, Yea……..this guy right here, remember him?  He almost won the Gold Glove this year.  His major league bat (tree slash line again) of .235/.279/.336 probably cost him that Gold Glove (everyone knows Gold Gloves are partially won with hitting).  Well, back in 2015, this fine fella hit hisself a .403/.523/.642 line in that same old Arizona Fall League.  Look, don’t panic, but there is some evidence that the Arizona Fall League might not be the stiffest competition in the land.  I’m not a prospect hound, but someone who is, and someone who has previously had a near bromancish love affair with Robert had this to say about viewing Robert’s AFL performance.

Look, let’s all take a step back, whether it be us fans getting tight pants over long bombs or Mr. Longenhagen downgrading his bromance over something he might have seen in a 19 game sample and focus on Robert being healthy and playing everyday to get the necessary reps to start to chip into his potential.  It’s gonna take TIIIIIIIIME..

…..so for those of yous (this is Bridgeport) that had him in the 2020 Opening Day lineup, lets pump the brakes and just enjoy the ride with Robert, if all goes right, he’ll be the cherry on top, the prospect that brings it all home and helps them win their first pennant in nearly 2 decades.