Luis Robert Jr. (more than) an All-Star!!!
On Sunday afternoon, as the White Sox were narrowly defeating the lowly Oakland A’s to avoid a sweep, centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. was named an American League All-Star for the first time! Now, in the era of everyone gets an all-star this sort of thing can be anti-climactic, but given the year LRJ is having, well, we will get to that in a moment. Anyways. The White Sox released a tweet with a video below to capture the moment.
The mini address Luis gives his teammates is impressive for a guy who is nearing his 26 birthday and already is on track to bank in excess of $100 million in current and future potential earnings. However, it’s not nearly as impressive as what he has done on the field in the first half of the lords year of 2023.
Luis Robert and the Robertettes
Look, I didn’t necessarily mean that Luis Robert Jr. is going to become the greatest sportsman of his generation and change the way business is done for athletes. I more or less was focusing on his dominance and the lack thereof from his current teammates. Although, given the way LRJ has started this season, I won’t count the former out just yet. See the chart below for what I mean.
The chart above is from Baseball Reference and details the White Sox hitters by a stat called OPS+. This effectively jams all the hitting stuff together, re-adjusts by park factor and weights it versus the rest of the league. As you can see, LRJ, a centerfielder, mind you and a great defender, is lapping all of the “bat first, no position” guys that Rick Hahn has so carefully assembled. I guess the $50 million spent back in May 2017 is the most effective money on the roster right now.
It’s not just this current cast that he’s lapping. I wanted to see how Luis matched up versus some all-time White Sox greats with his hitting exploits in the 1st half of 2023. The chart below is from Stathead (part of Baseball Reference and well worth the $80 per year I spend on it) takes all White Sox hitters starting in 1978 and pulls in the most extra base hits by players in the 1st half of a season.
Frank, Jose….then Luis. WOW! This is a wild list of all time White Sox hitting seasons and Luis is damn near the top. Just getting edged out by top of his powers Frank Thomas and super-star rookie Jose Abreu. Impressive. That’s just the bat though. Let’s take a look at the other side of the ball.
The Glove Though…
The chart above is pulled from baseball savant and captures Outs Above Average, a defensive measure. I have cut the chart to just include centerfielders. YMMV on defensive stats. There is still a lot to be figured out on that side of the ball. But for just this moment, it appears that Luis Robert Jr. is right there with an all-time great defensive centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier.
Don’t like Outs Above Average? Cool, below is a table that accumulates DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) from the Fielding Bible. Second Verse, Same as the First.
Most people will point to LRJ athleticism and catch-up speed as to why he’s an elite defender, but watching him everyday from one of the best vantage points to watch him, Section 108 in Sox Park, I have another theory. LRJ has a very high baseball IQ. As often as we remember that long run and sliding catch in the left center gap in Houston, we forget the amount of times, he gets a good jump, is positioned perfectly and makes an above average difficulty play look very easy. Reminds me of the greats in center, like Devon White or Andruw Jones, just sort of always being there where the ball is going.
Put It All Together
You put this all together and you get a Luis Robert who is on track for a top 5 MVP finish. Above is a chart from Baseball Reference denoting top bWAR by position players. It’s basically a who’s who of great players and players having great seasons. While looking at a great half season is fun and all, I wanted to see where LRJ is trending in great seasons by a White Sox centerfielder. Let’s take a look at that, since 1978 (an arbitrary year, but also the year I was born).
There’s Luis tightly nestled in at 11, even though it’s only a half year and the rest are full seasons (goddamn Chet Lemon in the strike year….holy shit!). The best of the best that have roamed centerfield at Sox Park over the last 45 years and Luis is on pace to lap them all. What a well deserved nod to the all-star game.
LRJ is coming into his own at 25 years old (26 next month), and is emerging as the White Sox super star to build around. Maybe, my 1986 Bulls comp wasn’t too far off. Or maybe we should just enjoy great baseball by a premier talent at the top of his powers.
-BeefLoaf
About The Author
beefloaf108
Low information White Sox Fan. Big Feet Energy ORIGINAL 108er Like Whore 2019 Opening Day #SoxMath WINNAR Mediocrity Personified