White Sox: Will Oscar Colas or Yoelqui Cespedes get the call first?

Yoelqui Cespedes is someone that the Chicago White Sox could consider adding.

Many teams sought after Yoelqui Céspedes because his scouting had him further along than former All-Star brother Yoenis. The 5’9″ 185-pound Cuban outfielder with a prospect rating of 50 signed with the White Sox in January of 2021.

Even though he declared free agency in March of 2020, Céspedes waited a year so he could sign with the White Sox. Since it seems like some of the players on the 2022 team don’t want to play, it’s nice to see someone who does.

From the start, Céspedes made his presence known. He put on 20 pounds of muscle training with his brother and went to work. After 19 games in the Arizona Fall League, he started at Winston-Salem, hitting seven home runs and driving in 20 with ten stolen bases in 45 games. He earned a mid-season call-up to Double-A Brigham and began his 2022 with the Barons.

In 85 games this year, Céspedes is hitting a slash of .260/.340/.456 with an OPS of .796. More importantly, he’s hit 13 home runs and drove in 44 runs with 20 stolen bases. A critical flaw in his game is his 104 strikeouts. Another player with this approach is not what this 2022 team needs.

His plus speed allows him to play center but matched with a strong arm makes him the perfect right fielder, especially for this team. When he figures out how to keep the strikeouts to a minimum and take a few more walks, Céspedes has a spot in right field on the south side. The only question is, will his teammate Oscar Colás beat him to it?

Oscar Colas is someone for the Chicago White Sox to consider one day soon.

After three fantastic seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Colás played in Japan’s minor Western League for three more years. He was also declared an international free agent in 2020. Like Cespedes, Colás waited but he waited two years to sign with the team. That shows even more enthusiasm to want to play for the White Sox.

Colás had a history of being a two-way player in Japan and even earned himself the nickname the ‘Cuban Ohtani”. He has since given up pitching to elevate his offensive game but he will use that cannon of an arm in right.

Colás began his journey at Single-A Winston-Salem. In his first 59 games in the White Sox organization, he put up a slash of .312/.369/.475 with a .845 OPS. In 268 plate appearances, he recorded 76 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, and three triples with 42 RBIs. Colás quickly earned himself a mid-season call-up to Double-A Birmingham, much like Cespedes last season.

The scouting reports have Colás further along offensively than Céspedes, which he has been proving in his first 16 games as a Baron. In 71 plate appearances, Colás has six home runs, 21 hits, 16 RBIs, and a slugging percentage of .661.

The two share a similar weakness in poor plate discipline. With the Dash, his K rate was 20.1% and is at 19.7% so far in Birmingham.

That, however, might not be too big of a concern if the depth gets any worse for the White Sox this season. Considering the lack of production from the left-handed side, Colás might earn himself a promotion to the south side before Cespedes.

The ability to provide strength against right-handed pitches is what this 23-year-old does best. Colás is adjusting to American pitching which shows in his lack of plate discipline. If he figures it out, he will hit the ball hard and far.

At the start of the season, it would have been daunting to hear that by the end of July there was a possibility Céspedes or Colás would make their debuts in 2022.

After thinking of hearing that, you might think that they were putting up insane numbers that forced Rick Hahn’s hand. Alas, the lack of depth shows, and the Sox need help. Who will be first?