Oscar Colas had significantly large expectations for his rookie season this year. Not only that, but he also had big shoes to fill in the right-field slot since the organization didn't end up getting another player for the position.
It was Colas' spot at the start of the year and his expectations weren't even close to becoming a reality as he spent the whole year on the elevator between the major league and AAA clubs.
His first year props the main question here: Can Oscar Colas have a bounce-back sophomore season?
The answer is yes. Colas has an excellent opportunity to develop into an everyday outfielder for the Chicago White Sox but it may take some time as he still has an abundance of things to work on.
The Chicago White Sox need more from Oscar Colas going forward.
Colas slashed .216/.257/.314 in his 2023 campaign and it was due to a considerable lack of any sort of approach at the plate. Colas looked lost in a majority of his at-bats throughout the entire year and it led to no sort of consistency or success.
There were tiny bits and pieces of what he's capable of at the big league level but he left most of his power numbers in AAA and it led to a stressful and challenging year. Colas had a -1.5 WAR which describes his season well.
Colas is a talented baseball player. He's just missing the mind aspect of the game. He needs to work on his patience along with his maturity as he ages with the White Sox organization.
His rookie season should give him a bittersweet taste or reminder of what he needs to work on this off-season and learn how to adapt it to his 2024 season.
If he can accomplish that, he will improve as the season advances. Another big plus is his defensive play has already been impressive. His arm is stronger than anyone in the organization and the team hopes that it remains the same or even potentially gets better.
The White Sox believe in Colas considering he will likely be on the Opening Day roster in 2024. Hopefully, for the sake of the team, Colas will come into next season with a better mindset along with a more advanced understanding of the game at the big league level.