People keep
wondering about White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada, whether or not he’ll reach
his potential, which his defenders insist is sky-high. That’s a mushy term for me. I prefer to know if Moncada will be as good a
player as ex-Sox Ray Durham.
Durham was a
23-year old rookie when he cracked the Sox lineup in 1995. That first year, he batted .257 with seven
homeruns, 41 RBIs and 68 runs scored.
Moncada already has fifteen homers, 46 RBIs and 56 runs scored; call
those glass-half-full numbers. On the
other hand, Durham struck out 83 times in 471 at-bats his rookie year; right
now, Moncada is at 169 strikeouts in just 430 at-bats. That would suggest a glass half-empty.
In his third
year, Durham started a streak of six straight seasons scoring 100-plus runs for
the Sox on his way to a 14-year career that included 2054 hits and 1249 runs
scored for four teams. Technically, this
is Moncada’s second year with the Sox after playing in 54 games last year. So, the question becomes: Does Yoan Moncada turn into another Ray
Durham in year three, or does he go bust?
Inquiring minds
want to know.
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