White Sox intrasquad takeaways: Luis Robert keeps hitting baseballs hard

The White Sox played the White Sox Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field and the White Sox won 2-0.

Yes, the intrasquad portion of this wacky 2020 baseball season is upon us.

It would be foolish to put too much stock in one scrimmage, but considering the White Sox are just two weeks away from their first regular season game, these intrasquad games do hold some value, especially in determining the readiness of individual players who have been scattered all over the country for months trying to stay prepared for some sort of baseball season.

"Guys are getting their work done under tough circumstances," White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing said. "I think they are understanding that it's a sprint. It's a sprint to Opening Day, it's a sprint to the season."

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Making matters worse, manager Rick Renteria missed Thursday's activities because he had to return to California for a family funeral. Renteria is not expected to be gone long, but he will have to clear MLB's COVID-19 protocol upon his return. With testing results taking a day or two to come back, Renteria could miss a few days.

In the meantime, McEwing led the team Thursday. I'll spare you the play-by-play, but here are some notable events from the game:

- I don't know the exact number of Luis Robert at-bats I've seen in person, but it's probably only around 15 to 20. That's an incredibly small sample size, but in each game I've seen him play – going back to spring training in 2018 -- Robert always hits the ball hard. Thursday was no different as he just missed a home run to right-center in the first inning and then hammered a ball off Steve Cishek in the third inning. That ball looked destined for left field, but third baseman Yermín Mercedes made a really nice snag to record the out.

It will be interesting to see how quickly Robert adapts to Major League pitching once the games start because he certainly looks good in camp. My personal expectations continue to be sky high.

- It's no secret that Eloy Jiménez needs to improve as a left fielder, but he sure looked comfortable going back on a line drive hit by Luis Basabe Thursday. Off the bat, it looked like the ball would easily fly over Jiménez's head, but he tracked it well and made the catch over his left shoulder.

"Outstanding play on a ball to his left, going left into the gap off the bat of Basabe," McEwing said. "Hard hit ball."

- Tim Anderson looked smooth fielding a ball up the middle, but McEwing's comments about his defense were even more interesting. Anderson spent the hiatus doing exercises to open up his hips in an effort to be able to bend more.

"They did specific exercises to open up his hips to put his body in a better position," McEwing said. "And you can see it going to his backhand, like today, going up the middle, he was low the whole time. And in. Being able to throw from different angles while carrying something on it with his legs still underneath him. He looks amazing."

McEwing has worked closely with Anderson on his defense for years, and while Anderson won the American League batting title last season, they'd both like to see his defense take off in 2020.

"He's grown into a man – not just on the field, but off the field," McEwing said. "I couldn't be prouder of him. It's like, OK, you can leave the nest now. You're on your own."

- There wasn't a whole lot of offense in Thursday's scrimmage, but Edwin Encarnación finally delivered in the fourth inning with a solo home run to center field off of Aaron Bummer. Encarnación continues to be praised by coaches and teammates and figures to be a big piece of the puzzle during this 60-game sprint.

RELATED: Encarnación thrills White Sox with homer celebration: 'Do the parrot!'

- One odd site to see Thursday? A Nick Madrigal strikeout. Granted, it was looking, and I believe balls/strikes were being called by the catcher. Madrigal only struck out 16 times in 532 plate appearances across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season.

- Drew Anderson, a non-roster invitee, pitched two perfect innings and was the one who punched out Madrigal to start the game. In fact, he struck out three of the six batters he faced, including James McCann and Andrew Vaughn. Anderson is a former 21st round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies and only made nine major league appearances over the last three seasons before getting an opportunity with the White Sox.

Stay tuned, as the White Sox are also scheduled to play intrasquad games on Friday and Saturday. 

 

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White Sox intrasquad takeaways: Luis Robert keeps hitting baseballs hard originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

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