Thumbs-up for White Sox prospect Luis Robert
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Last season, Luis Robert undoubtedly despised Camelback Ranch in the spring. He surely loved it in the fall.
The White Sox's gifted outfield prospect was starting to show why he was deemed worthy of a $26 million signing bonus in his first major-league training camp a year ago, going 3-for-9 and hitting a grand slam early in the Cactus League season.
Before clearing the bases with the home run in a March 7 exhibition game against the Reds, Robert injured his left thumb sliding into second base.
Ligament damage in the thumb sidelined him for three months, and Robert injured the same thumb again making a catch during a June 28 minor-league game with high Class A Winston-Salem.
"It was a season with a few bumps," Robert said Sunday through Sox translator Billy Russo.
The two thumb injuries limited Robert to just 50 games with Winston-Salem, low A Kannapolis and the AZL White Sox, and he combined to bat .269/.333/.360 with no home runs, 17 RBI and 15 stolen bases.
"I started playing good here in spring training and then had the injury," Robert said. "I came back, but I didn't perform the way that I like because of the injury, and then I reinjured my thumb. At the end, I think I finished the season strong. It was a learning experience and I think right now, I'm in a better position to have success this year."
Returning to Camelback Ranch to play in the Arizona Fall League at the end of last season, Robert showed what he can do against some of the top prospects in baseball. In 18 games with the Glendale Desert Dogs, he slashed .324/.367/.432 with 2 homers, 10 RBI and 5 stolen bases.
"It was very important for me because I just played (50) games in the regular season and I had an opportunity to get some at-bats there and perform at the level that I think I can," Robert said of his AFL experience. "It was very, very important for me and for my confidence."
Even though the bum thumb kept him sidelined for much of the minor-league season, Robert did have 208 plate appearances and he didn't hit a home run.
While he isn't expected to lead the American League in HR when he does join the Sox, Robert is big (6-foot-3) and strong and should be able to clear the fences 20-25 times a year.
You can blame last season's power outage on the thumb that sapped much of the power out of Robert's left wrist.
"During the season, when I came back after the injury, my wrist was a little weak and I was feeling some soreness in my thumb," he said. "That lingered during the whole season. When the season ended and I had a few weeks to rest before the Fall League, I think that rest helped the wrist and the thumb become completely healthy and strong. I think that was why I was able to perform at the level I did in the Arizona Fall League."
Robert's 2 HR in the AFL came in only 79 plate appearances.
If the 21-year-old La Habana, Cuba native can stay healthy this season and pick up where he left off in the fall, he could be pushing to break camp with the White Sox in 2020.
"Hopefully this year he gets a complete year under his belt healthy, which will tell us a lot about where he's at," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "I think he's made strides. We all love what he's capable of doing, we all love the physical skill. He had a nice Fall League.
"This year will be a big year for him in terms of his progression. Guys with talent like that seem to progress pretty quickly. Hopefully he's one of those guys that's able to do that, and we'll see how it impacts us moving down the road at the major-league level."
While the Sox are still in the hunt for star free-agent Manny Machado, young players like Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal and Dylan Cease are foundations for the future.
"That's a dream that we all have, just thinking about the good things that we can do, how we can perform," Robert said. "We have a lot of talent. We believe in ourselves and the things that we can do. We're always talking about that, how it would be when we reach the majors, how it would be just to play together and represent this organization. That's a dream for all of us and we always talk about that."