Luis Robert’s first two at-bats on Monday were ugly. Ugly at-bats are part of the deal with Robert, but these were especially ugly.
Even for as dominant as Robert was in the minors last year, he still would have some tough looking strikeouts. That may always be a part of his game.
However, his first two trips to the plate against the Detroit Tigers on Monday were somewhat concerning. His first at-bat was a four-pitch strikeout with three swinging strikes, none of which were in the zone.
The next time up was almost an exact replica. A four-pitch strikeout. This time one pitch was in the zone and he fouled that off. Two other whiffs out of the zone for the K.
Robert has shown his potential and ability this season, but was this a sign of pitchers figuring out how to approach him? Is Robert never going to get thrown another strike until he becomes just a bit more patient?
Such of the moment reactions quickly faded after Robert’s next two plate appearances.
Robert was patient in both at-bats. The first bomb was a 2-2 pitch and he swung at one of the first four pitches. The next time up he took four pitches before blasting a 3-1 slider out of the park.
Robert may always have awful looking at-bats every so often, but as long as he has enough at-bats like the next two, that’s just fine.
Steve Stone summed it up on the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast after Robert’s second home run:
“So here’s the thing. Two at-bats. He swings at pitches that are nowhere near the plate. He looks like, literally, he just put on a baseball uniform yesterday. Then he comes up two more times, gets a couple of mistakes and shows you why he is one of the best young prospects in all of baseball.”
This was the first multi-home run game of Robert’s career. He now has five home runs on the season to go with an .877 OPS.
Codi Heuer, Zack Burdi throw gas in relief
Two other rookies, Codi Heuer and Zack Burdi, also impressed in Monday’s win.
Heuer took the mound in the sixth inning and did what he’s done in nearly every appearance since the start of this season. He stayed in control of hitters with an upper 90s fastball and kept them off balance with his slider.
Heuer pitched around a leadoff walk with two groundouts and a line out to get out of the inning. He now has a 3.24 ERA with nine strikeouts and two walks in 8 1/3 innings.
Burdi followed in the seventh and it was more of the same, plus some extra dominance. Burdi fell behind JaCoby Jones with a 3-1 count, but struck him out two pitches later with a 99 mph fastball. He got the next batter, Willi Castro, on a three-pitch strikeout. Then he faced Miguel Cabrera and got him to whiff on two straight sliders before inducing a soft groundout on a third.
Did I mention Heuer and Burdi throw really hard? Both reached 99 mph.
We’ve written about what a draft and development win Heuer is as a sixth-round pick, but seeing Burdi show off the elite stuff he was drafted for in a major league game is a welcome sight for White Sox fans. Burdi was drafted No. 26 overall for a high 90s fastball and a plus slider, but multiple major injuries have severely hampered him the past two years. On top of that, his velocity was slow to come back late last year when he returned to the mound.
Burdi’s stuff on Monday was arguably the best it has looked in any of his four appearances with the White Sox. It also may have been the best it has looked in any game in years.
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With Foster, Burdi, Heuer and Fry throwing 0s the bullpen seems to have the arms to afford Bunmer’s injury.
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