Is Robert good enough to go from Class A to Chicago White Sox this season?
He started off talking about top pitching prospect Dylan Cease, but Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn wound up expanding the field when explaining the promotion process Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
"It's a matter of them achieving everything that we set out for them at the given level, whether it's a promotion from A-ball to Double-A, like you just saw with Nick Madrigal, or a promotion to the big leagues, as you saw us do with Eloy (Jimenez) and last year, Michael Kopech," Hahn said.
Do well, move up.
At some point after the all-star break, look for Cease to join the Sox's injury-riddled starting rotation.
Look for catcher Zack Collins to arrive in the same window.
And - as he continues to achieve and pile up impressive numbers - look for Luis Robert to push his way on to the White Sox's roster by September at the latest.
At the end of April, Robert was promoted to Class AA Birmingham after hitting .453/.512/.920 with 8 home runs and 24 RBI in 19 games with high-A Winston-Salem.
Robert was voted the Sox's minor-league player of the month after destroying the Carolina League in April.
"He's creating good trouble," Hahn said at the time of the promotion. "We're OK with guys who are playing the way he's playing, perhaps changing our plans on us."
Limited to 50 minor-league games last season due a left-thumb injury, Robert was expected to be good this year if he stayed healthy.
The 21-year-old center fielder has been much more than that.
In his first 37 games with Birmingham, Robert is slashing .338/.380/.547 with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder also was voted minor-league player of the month for May.
"Of course, I thought I could be a successful player here in the U.S.," Robert said on a conference call late last week. "That was my thought when I left Cuba. Last year, it felt weird for me because I wasn't producing as I know I can."
At his current pace, Robert should be bumped up to Class AAA Charlotte in July, and the White Sox are the final stop.
"I know the people in the organization are checking on me, tracking me, to see how I've progressed," said Robert, who received a $26 million signing bonus after joining the Sox just over two years ago. "I'm just trying to learn and trying to be as prepared as I can for when the team decides to give me that call to the majors.
"Right now, I'm trying to do my job. Learn and be ready and be the kind of player everybody thinks I can be, and of course be the kind of player I know I can be when I get to the majors."