#avisail garcia

I was at my buddy’s lake house last weekend, and I kept catching flak for defending Yoan Moncada. Even other White Sox fans I was with were complaining about him and calling him that dreaded word: BUST. Let me tell you the reasons why he is not, and if he’s 28 and still has a .295 OBP, everyone can make fun of me.

He’s 23 years old. Come on, maybe you can call him a bust at 24+, but he has a long way to go until that happens.

Not long ago, people across the league were swooning over Moncada coming into his own. We knew he had a high K%, but everything else seemed to be moving along. Then along came a nagging hamstring injury, which if you know anything about a leg or back injury, it can bug you for a VERY long time. Hell, I still have a crazy amount of knots from tearing a back muscle in high school wrestling. It still hasn’t gone away, folks. I can’t imagine playing a professional sport day in and day out without it acting up, at least once in a while. Moncada went on the Disabled List on May 5. At that point, he was slashing .263/.359/.509, and people in Chicago were arguing over who they would want for the future, Javy Baez or Yoan Moncada. I even heard his name being tossed around in a conversation about White Sox All-Star representatives. Since returning, thought, his stats took a nosedive. It’s not easy to get back into a groove like that.

Everyone overreacts. Baseball is a series of hot streaks and cold streaks. I recall White Sox greats like Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas slumping on occasion. It happens. Whether it is from injury, like I stated before, or a guy is just not seeing the ball well, slumps happen. They can also last a month and a half sometimes, and that’s when the complaining starts.

Since Monday evening, Moncada is 6 for 12 with 6 RBI, 1 BB. That is also only one at bat into today’s game. We could be seeing him catch his groove. If he keeps it up, I won’t let people hear the end of it on Twitter.

Finally, he’s TWENTY FREAKIN’ THREE. Chill.