Benetti: For Moncada, that first plate appearance said a lot
Around 3:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, 22-year-old Yoan Moncada took a step toward the new locker with his name emblazoned on the top. His path, though, was blocked by a phalanx of reporters interviewing Jose Abreu in the adjacent locker about Moncada.
Moncada, according to MLB.com and Baseball America, is the top prospect in baseball. He is one of the foundations of the hope coursing through Guaranteed Rate Field's offices and seats. Hope that morphed into multiple standing ovations on Wednesday night.
The difference between Moncada the prospect and Moncada the long-term star may only be time. If you ask evaluators, though, the major obstacle for Moncada - other than getting past Abreu's media throng Wednesday - is contact.
Moncada's strikeout rate in Triple-A this year was 28.3 percent, meaning that he struck out in more than a quarter of his at-bats. Each of his final nine at-bats for in the majors for Boston last season (out of 19) ended in strikeouts.
And that's a substantial reason why Moncada's first trip to the plate for the White Sox on Wednesday was important.
Very soon after the crowd stood to acknowledge the young Cuban, the count quickly rolled to 0-and-2 as Kenta Maeda slathered the low portion of the strike zone with fastballs that Moncada watched.
Moncada was 67 percent of the way to a strikeout to open his White Sox career. Once he got to two strikes for the Red Sox last year, Moncada was 1-for-11 with 10 strikeouts.
Wednesday at 0-2, he fouled off a fastball. He took a changeup fluttering down and away. He fouled away another fastball. Then he eyed a cutter that caught half the strike zone but was called a ball. The seventh pitch was a fastball outside. Number eight another foul.
And on pitch number nine of his White Sox career, Yoan Moncada declined to swing and walked.
He got another standing ovation.
A good majority of the crowd likely was on its collective feet because of Moncada's status as Rebuild Ringleader. Some, certainly, were cheering this early signal of disciplinary transformation.
In a game that generally rewards improvement of weaknesses, Moncada's first trip to the Guaranteed Rate Field plate was a very positive sign.
More important, it's the first piece of evidence that the primary cause of Moncada's strikeout bugaboo might have been the situation. He may have been the honors student who gets a C in a remedial class because he was bored.
A hallmark of minor league pitching is unpredictability. Throwing strikes is a major challenge for young pitchers.
The goal remains the same for Moncada and everyone in both dugouts: a long career in the big leagues. But when a person knows he is gifted with immense skill, the urge to deploy it - even at an improper time - can be very strong.
So, the pitch that the prodigy may be on the fence about swinging at gets strike three when he's trying to show that he belongs at the highest level. When he's there - especially when he knows that he's there for good - it's easy to see why that same pitch ends up in the glove without a breeze surrounding it.
It was one plate appearance of likely many thousands, but it's a hint that the new White Sox marvel might be much closer to self-actualization than he has ever been.
• Jason Benetti is a play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox, as well as ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @jasonbenetti.