With each game — and home run — Oscar Colas’ amazing power surge is looking less and less like a hot streak and more like the start of a legitimate breakout. The White Sox must agree because they reportedly are calling him up today.
After his demotion on May 2, Colas hit just two home runs in his first 41 games. Then, something clicked and he socked an astounding seven homers in his next seven games.
ICYMI: Oscar Colás = 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 2, 2023
7⃣ 💣 over his last 6⃣ games! pic.twitter.com/QptD1i1YpN
It begs the question: What’s the catalyst for this turnaround?
I can only guess that Colas made a change in his swing to boost his launch angle. He’s consistently hit the ball hard all year in Charlotte but rarely generated anything other than line drives. I am looking forward to catching up with hitting coach Cam Seitzer this week to get some insights.
Immediately after his demotion, the White Sox stressed pitch selection and plate discipline for the young outfielder. But Colas admitted several weeks ago that he’s an aggressive hitter by nature and it is a difficult adjustment.
Perhaps Colas has become the more patient hitter the Sox sought. And with those new skills in place, maybe the Sox hitting instructors were ready to add the final piece to the puzzle — launch angle.
As far as the promotion to Chicago, it isn’t enough that Colas has been called up — he needs to be in the lineup day in, day out. I’d have to think the White Sox agree.
What Happened To Jimmy Lambert?
Jimmy Lambert went on the IL on May 29 with an ankle injury, and returned 10 days later to begin a rehab in Charlotte. After four appearances, with mixed results, he was recalled to Chicago. He surrendered three hits and a walk against Texas, and was demoted to Charlotte the next day.
He’s pitched three times for Charlotte since, and was ineffective in all three outings. I have to wonder if he’s he trying to pitch through an ankle that isn’t fully recovered, or did the layoff throw off his mechanics?
Roster Comings And Goings
It was a busy week: reliever Lane Ramsey has returned from the IL; outfielder Tyler Neslony has been promoted from Birmingham for what will be his second stint with the Knights; Adam Haseley has returned to Charlotte and catcher Carlos Perez has been called up; and Bryan Shaw has been summoned to fill in for Michael Kopech. Today, it seems, Oscar Colas is on his way to Chicago.
And pitcher AJ Alexy has also been released.
The White Sox had high hopes for AJ Alexy when they signed the former Dodger, Ranger, Nat and Twin this past off-season and gave him a prized spot on the 40-man roster.
But control was a huge problem and he was eventually taken out of the rotation and used sparingly out of the pen as Matt Zaleski and Donnie Veal sought to fix him.
Alexy finished his time in the White Sox organization with 41 walks in 21 innings pitched.
The Sox not calling up Colas reminds me of this scene at the end of “Dumb and Dumber”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku1Xc6NT6m8
Which one is Rick and which one is Kenny?
Was compelled to finally post something as I have not seen one mention of Victor Reyes on this site, although it is more than possible that I missed it. They picked him up before the season and stuck him down at Charlotte, where he’s hitting .312 with 15 home runs, 60 RBI and an OPS of .901. Sure, it’s AAA, but he’s only 28 and has multiple years in the majors. Why bother even acquiring him in the first place if you’re not going to ever bring him up – even as he leads AAA in RBI’s? RF on the big league club has been a tire fire since Avi Garcia left. Do they even know that they have Reyes in the organization?
This is just a theory, but it could be because Hahn isn’t bright, or has no plan.
Frazier was doing even better than Reyes at AAA so I’m sure they know the results will be the same with Reyes. Colas on the other hand is baffling. Last year at AAA he had an OPS vs lefties of over 1, and is .900 against them this year. No reason to believe he will not hit them. During his brief stint Grifol platooned him against lefties for bleeping Romy! They are just dumber than you know what. I’m sure they will call up Reyes before Colas, because Reyes has no future.
Grifol is the worst manager we’ve ever had. At least Robin was funny in interviews and he was a fantastic player, which should have given him some clubhouse cred. We could have had Hinch, but why not save a few bucks managing your $184 million payroll, that which is largely populated by head cases and/or hyper-fragile bodies. Detroit will be much better than the Sox next year after the expiration of the ridiculous Miggy contract. Final thought on their manager choice: Twins take a flyer on a first-time manager and it’s Baldelli, who comes from the smartest organization in baseball, hands down. He wins AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Sox take a flyer on first time manager, and it’s a yes man from the worst team in their division, and a team that is not known for innovation.
“Grifol is the worst manager we’ve ever had”. You left out “other than Tony”. Maybe he is close to as bad. But he is not worse than La Clown.
Does the name Terry Bevington ring a bell? I am no Grifol fan, but it’s a little early in his career to say he is the worst the Sox have ever had.
More than fair point, but could you imagine Grifol putting another manager in a headlock to protect a player? TB gets a couple of points for that,
I couldn’t agree more about Reyes. He was passed over by Billy Hamilton, Adam Haseley, Clint Frazier and even Jake Marisnick. In a way, I get it: Reyes doesn’t have any options so the Sox would have to keep him on the major league roster for the rest of the season or risk losing him. And the White Sox probably thought Eloy and Sheets would handle right field. But, yeah, in hindsight, he should have been called up a month or so ago. Hopefully, he’ll have a little trade value at the deadline.
The only players that Reyes could bring back in a trade would be Clint Frazier and/or Haseley, lol! And the only GM who would actually trade for him is Hahn.
Meanwhile, FG has released a new Minor Leaguer Power Rankings based on stats, position, age-to-level, etc. that looks pretty cool. Even if it isn’t the same as a prospect ranking, it kinds of acts as a constantly-updated proxy for one.
The first White Sox player is ranked #137, the last of any club…
Reports say Colas is coming up. Can’t wait to see how he looks on Friday when he gets a PA the 8th after pinch running for Eloy in the 6th.
Which would make the whole third catcher fiasco, moot. You would be DH’ing Eloy so you wouldn’t have one of your catchers DH’ing anymore.
I saw the news and thought the same thing… just b/c they’re finally calling him up doesn’t mean he will play, not with the assclowns who makes the decisions for this team!
They sent Frazier down.
Plant Colas in RF everyday for the rest of this season – sink or swim.
Hide Eloy’s glove – if he whines about not being a 2-way player or exaggerates a minor injury, I’m sure he’d bring back some value in a trade.
Implore whomever the hell is W Sox bench coach to be active in helping Grifol make out a GD lineup.
But control was a huge problem and he was eventually taken out of the rotation and used sparingly out of the pen as Matt Zaleski and Donnie Veal sought to fix him.
Using former failed prospects to coach/develop in your minor league system = why the Sox cannot develop talent.