Luis Robert Jr. hit home run No. 28 on the season on Thursday against the New York Mets, giving him the third-most dingers in all of Major League Baseball.
How many RBIs does the All-Star center fielder have?
57.
"That should be 28 home runs, 70 RBIs, at least," Chuck Garfien said on NBC Sports Chicago's White Sox Postgame Live show.
That's abysmal. And it's not entirely Robert Jr.'s fault. Though, he's not hitting well with runners in scoring position (RISP). He holds a .237/.330/.461 slash line with RISP. Just four of his home runs and about half of his RBIs (28) are with runners in scoring position.
But it's the White Sox offense that's hurting his chances at propelling his RBI numbers during an outstanding, dazzling season at the plate for the Sox center fielder. A solid number of his homers are solo shots.
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"It's a lot of wasted home runs," Garfien said.
This season, the White Sox are averaging 4.23 runs and 13.42 bases per game, good for 22nd and 21st in the league, respectively. Their offense comes and goes, but it's not consistent enough to generate traffic to home plate.
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And it's unfortunate for the reputable hitters on the White Sox. Similarly, Jake Burger has 21 home runs this season, and just 47 RBIs.
To put it into perspective a step further, Shohei Ohtani leads MLB with 35 home runs; he has 76 RBIs. Matt Olson's 30 home runs rank second in the league; he has 77 RBIs.
How's this? There are 26 players who have equal or fewer home runs than Robert Jr., but more RBIs. Robert Jr.'s RBIs this season ranked 26th in the league.
It's a microcosm of the White Sox offense this season and one of the reasons they have struggled to capture ground in the AL Central.
