Luis Robert is back and more dangerous than ever. “We did miss him,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters after Monday’s 5-2 win over the Oakland A’s. Robert did it all and practically carried the team to victory.
After tearing his hip flexor in May, it was fair to wonder if La Pantera would have the same explosion that made him a Gold Glove Winner in 2020. Those fears have been alleviated.
Two days after recording a multi-hit game against the Yankees on Saturday, which included a home run and a clutch RBI single in extra innings Robert was back at it.
On Monday night he contributed in every facet of the game. Getting on base? Check. Robert went 3-4 and scored a run after every one of them.
Baserunning? Check. Robert stole second base with an athletic slide sneak in safely before the tag was applied. This put him in scoring position and allowed the White Sox to push home another run.
Defense? Check. Robert ran down a deep fly ball in the left-center field gap with ease to end a scoring threat in the sixth inning with White Sox clinging to a one-run lead. Had that ball dropped then the A’s likely would have tied the game.
Rober is such a smooth fielder that these tough plays are starting to become routine for the young Gold Glove winner.
“It’s just him doing his thing,” Micheal Kopech, who was the beneficiary of Robert’s great catch said. “You hate to expect that out of a player every time because when they don’t do it, you can be a little disappointed. But he shows up more than he doesn’t. So it’s a lot of fun to just watch a guy like that be himself out there.”
Power? Check. Robert then decided to flex his power, provided a huge insurance run in the eighth inning. Luis Robert may be the most complete player on the Chicago White Sox. Saturday night he provided a taste and on Monday he put on a clinic on just how good he can be. He has the potential to develop into the best player in baseball.
Luis Robert makes it look so easy.#ChangeTheGame | @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/PLUNRKQOig
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 17, 2021
“It’s so fun to watch him really take good at-bats, where he’s laying off pitches and swinging in the strike zone,” Tony La Russa said. “The last two-out slider, he just gets the head out and hits it a ton. But he’s a complete player. He stole a base where you can’t steal it, with his speed, and trackballs down.”
The Oakland A’s know first hand just how good Robert can be. He victimized them last postseason. He had four hits and scored three runs. One of those hits was a jaw-dropping 487-foot bomb at the Coliseum. In a playoff setting, Robert is a guy you want on your side.
He has changed the whole complexion of the lineup. The defense he plays in centerfield improves the team defense as a whole. It allows Brian Goodwin and Adam Engel to shift over to the right field. Both of them were capable center fielders, but with less ground to cover in right the chances of a ball finding the gap is very low.
He also churns out production at the bottom of the order. From the seventh spot, Robert can start a rally or provide some pop if the four five and six hitters fail to drive in runs.
In his last seven games, Robert is hitting .400 with ten hits, four RBIs, two home runs, is slugging .720. That will play no matter where you put him in the lineup.
