The Chicago White Sox had a rough week on the field as they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles, but their top prospect continued to chug along as Yoan Moncada was named the International League’s Batter of the Week.
Moncada, who is batting .352 with six home runs and 11 RBI in 27 games with the Charlotte Knights this season, won the award after a week that saw him go 11-for-22 with a pair of home runs and eight runs scored.
His dominance wasn’t just limited to the last week of action. Moncada is in the top-five players in the league in runs (first), hits (second), batting average (third), and stolen bases (third), and despite the fact that this is his first experience at the triple-A level, he’s already smashing expectations and grabbing the attention of the front office in Chicago.
“We’re real pleased with where he’s at,” White Sox G.M. Rick Hahn said on Sunday. “His development is by no means complete at the minor league level, but he certainly is making a great deal of progress and we’re thrilled with where he’s at.”
With Moncada’s strong play at the minor league level, and with the White Sox up near the top of the standings in the American League Central, there are growing calls for the team to bring him up and get his bat into what has otherwise been a lackluster lineup. The White Sox are among the worst teams in baseball in runs scored (24th), batting average (21st), and home runs (26th), and they could sorely use a bat like Moncada’s in the lineup.
Unfortunately for Sox fans, it doesn’t appear that a Moncada call-up is imminent. The team is much more focused on the future than they are on the present, and although they could call up Moncada next week and still get an extra year of control over his contract, it doesn’t seem that they are in a rush to do that.
For fans wanting to check out Moncada in action, Comcast SportsNet will air five more Charlotte Knights games this season, including a pair of games over Memorial Day weekend on May 27 and May 28.
