The White Sox offense is finally coming alive. After sputter for much of September, the South Side Hitmen have erupted for 15 runs in the past two games. During Tuesday night’s 7-1 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds, the White Sox hit four home runs and were inches short of a Leury Garcia inside the park homer.
All four White Sox home runs traveled 400 plus feet. Gavin Sheets and Yoan Moncada each hit majestic home runs. However, it was Luis Robert that got the fireworks started. In the first inning, he victimized Reds starter Riley O’Brien, who was making his MLB debut. Robert greeted him with a 415-foot drive to center field that left the yard in a hurry.
He then tacked on a 445-foot moon scraper in the bottom of the eighth inning. The two-run blast was Robert’s 12th home run of the season. In total, Robert hit 860 feet of home runs. Each was different in stature but both showcased his talent.
Robert’s goal entering the 2021 season was to become the first White Sox player to ever join the 30-30 club. A right hip flexor tear suffered on May 2nd derailed his mission.
WOW! LUIS ROBERT GOT ALL OF THAT ONE! pic.twitter.com/Lb2C21lBzt
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 29, 2021
But since returning to the lineup on August 9th, Robert has been on a tear. The second-year star is slashing .367/.403/.645 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 33 RBIs, and 29 runs scored in 39 games.
Had he been healthy for a full 162 game season, Robert would be on pace for just over 30 home runs. That includes a very slow start to the season for Robert that only saw him hit one home run in his first 25 games.
“I’m trying to just carry this moment to the postseason,” Robert said after his brilliant performance on Tuesday. “And honestly, that’s what everybody in the clubhouse is trying to do, just get there, [do] our best, and have a good performance there.”
Some simple adjustments have helped Robert break into the player everyone knew he could be. Robert has shorted his swing and gaining a better understanding of the strike zone.
In 2020 Robert whiffed on roughly 44% of his swings and hit just .169 against four-seamers. These are alarming numbers for someone with Robert’s incredible bat speed. But the culprit was the high fastball. Robert could not lay off of it and pitchers took notice.
This season Robert has shorted his swing and taken these letter-high fastballs the other way. The results have been astounding. His K% has dropped by 12 points and his average against four-seamers has shot up to .359.
Robert has also made major strides against offspeed pitches, specifically curveballs. Robert has chased fewer curveballs that fall off near the bottom corner of the strike zone. The curveball low and away is a tough pitch to do damage with as it is. Most good hitters swing through it. If they do manage to get a piece of it then it usually induces weak contact.
Robert’s aggressiveness at the plate has not suffered due to these tweaks either. In his first two season’s Robert has ranked near the top of the MLB in total swings. Yet his strikeout percentage is a mere 20.1%. A vast improvement from last season’s 32.2% rate. Only Matt Olson and Gregory Polanco are hovering near 12% drops from 2020.
Tony La Russa talked about Robert’s growth as a hitter in mid-September.
‘What [Robert has] done at the plate has been impressive,” Tony La Russa said, “as far as cutting down the chasing and really hitting strikes, being more aggressive when he’s got the count in his favor and shortening up a little bit to put the ball in play. That’s veteran stuff. The fact he’s doing it this early is very impressive.’’
Robert is developing into a star before our very eyes.
