Oscar Colás will represent the White Sox at the Futures Game

Good teams develop talent and bring them to the majors for a World Series run. While making playoff runs, great teams maintain a deep and talented farm to create a cycle of winning. The Chicago White Sox have been a good team struggling to cross the threshold into greatness. The core is in the majors now and the hope the minors provide is not enough to get them there yet.

It is not all doom and gloom once this window begins to close, thanks to the likes of a few studs starting to emerge in the system. A number of players could have been selected this year to represent the White Sox in the Futures Game but Oscar Colás will do so in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 16.

The 23-year-old from Cuba has been hitting everything High-A pitchers have been throwing. Just 56 games into his professional career and Colás is already turning heads. In 234 at-bats, he is slashing an impressive .316/.374/.487 with a .861 OPS. Of his 74 hits, seven have been home runs, 13 have been doubles, and three have been triples.

His ability to crush left and right-handed pitchers is most impressive. In 204 at-bats against righties, Colás has a slash of .299/.357/.466 with a .823 OPS. In 30 at-bats against southpaws, he has 13 hits and an OPS of 1.118.

Oscar Colas is going to be great for the Chicago White Sox one day soon.

Despite being a small sample size, it is encouraging to see Colás’s performance with runners in scoring position. In 75 plate appearances, he has 22 hits, two of which left the park, 33 RBIs, and eight walks with a slash of .333/.400/.515 and a .915 OPS. His ten strikeouts, however, confirm the flaw he must work on to make it to the majors.

The areas Colás needs to clean up in his game mirror the 2022 White Sox hitters’ struggles. His 8.2% walk percentage would be respectable if his strikeout percentage weren’t 19.8%. The White Sox strike out a lot and walk rarely. Another player with the same approach is the last thing this team needs.

Another weak link in his game is his defense. No question the White Sox have struggled defensively over the last few years and the Philadelphia Phillies are currently proving that defense is just as important as pop.

Colás has silenced doubters so far. In 52 games in center, he’s recorded 101 putouts in 107 chances with four assists and a couple of highlight-reel plays with just two errors.

While it may not be Gold Glove-caliber, his defensive skills are further along than assumed and can only improve. While currently manning center field, he will be sliding to a corner spot if he wants to be on the same White Sox roster as Luis Robert.

Colás has proven to own High-A pitching, which means it will not be long until he gets the chance to prove himself against Double-A competition. With an inevitable promotion along with his Futures Game selection, Colás and his development are keeping the hope alive.