Jose Abreu: Rookie of the Year
The 2014 season has been one of sheer inconsistency for the Chicago White Sox, who currently sit in 4th place in the American League Central Division and seem set to miss the Wild Card Slot for a sixth year in a row. But one area that has been a bright spot has been the impressive form of rookie First-Baseman and Designated Hitter Jose Abreu, who seems certain to be named the franchise first Rookie of the Year in almost 30 years.
After defecting from his native Cuba in the off season, where had a previously starred playing for Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Division, Abreu almost immediately raised eyebrows when he signed a massive $68 million dollar contract with the White Sox. This amount was unheard of for a rookie, but Abreu has shown he has been worth every penny and his batting average stands at .308 including 138 hits and 33 home runs (second only behind Cruz of the Orioles)! 94 RBI's have also come from his swings at the plate and standing at 6 foot 3, this guy is proving to be a colossus at bat!
Perhaps his greatest quality however, is the fact that isn't your typical slugger and is far more tactical minded than some may assume. Each Abreu is at bat, he considers where he should put the play rather than just swinging for the fence. With tremendous power at his command, any guy pitching against him is planning his next throw carefully. Even more impressively, he has one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball and has recorded on 109 strikeouts in 115 games plus as Fan Graphs has shown has been particularly effective against breaking balls including Sliders where he holds a 19.1% percentage and Curveballs, hitting 8.8% of the balls faced. Impressive his plate discipline for a rookie has been outstanding and he ranks 8th overall in the MLB with a swing percentage of 55.2% which ahead of veterans Derek Jeter and Adrian Gonzalez!
Abreu is far and away the most exciting prospect that the White Sox has produced in years and looks like they have pulled off a major coup in signing him. Having personally seen him hit two stunning dingers against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, I personally know that any team facing this guy in years to come has every reason to be afraid!
Here's just a taster of his abilities
After defecting from his native Cuba in the off season, where had a previously starred playing for Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Division, Abreu almost immediately raised eyebrows when he signed a massive $68 million dollar contract with the White Sox. This amount was unheard of for a rookie, but Abreu has shown he has been worth every penny and his batting average stands at .308 including 138 hits and 33 home runs (second only behind Cruz of the Orioles)! 94 RBI's have also come from his swings at the plate and standing at 6 foot 3, this guy is proving to be a colossus at bat!
Perhaps his greatest quality however, is the fact that isn't your typical slugger and is far more tactical minded than some may assume. Each Abreu is at bat, he considers where he should put the play rather than just swinging for the fence. With tremendous power at his command, any guy pitching against him is planning his next throw carefully. Even more impressively, he has one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball and has recorded on 109 strikeouts in 115 games plus as Fan Graphs has shown has been particularly effective against breaking balls including Sliders where he holds a 19.1% percentage and Curveballs, hitting 8.8% of the balls faced. Impressive his plate discipline for a rookie has been outstanding and he ranks 8th overall in the MLB with a swing percentage of 55.2% which ahead of veterans Derek Jeter and Adrian Gonzalez!
Abreu is far and away the most exciting prospect that the White Sox has produced in years and looks like they have pulled off a major coup in signing him. Having personally seen him hit two stunning dingers against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, I personally know that any team facing this guy in years to come has every reason to be afraid!
Here's just a taster of his abilities
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated and may take a while to appear. This is because the authors are busy/lazy/away.