Why White Sox believe Oscar Colás can play in MLB ‘soon’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Since most of the White Sox top prospects from the past five years have been promoted to the big leagues or traded away already, 2022 international signee Oscar Colás has quickly become one of the most anticipated talents in the organization. Over the past several months, talk has gotten louder and louder that Colás could make his MLB debut sooner rather than later. That thinking was bolstered on Tuesday when assistant general manager/player development Chris Getz addressed the media to share his thoughts on Colás raw talent, and his potential timeline.
“He’s a guy that has really good hands at the plate,” Getz said. “Certainly has power, has a good arm, loves to compete, plays passionately. He’s got a chance to be an impactful major league player. There’s a real aggressiveness to how he plays the game and he certainly has the ability to make adjustments at the plate just because of how talented his hands are. Feel like he’s really got a chance to help our major league club soon.”
That supports a sentiment that new manager Pedro Grifol shared earlier this month that Colás will be given the opportunity to win the regular starting right field job. Other candidates for the role include Gavin Sheets, Leury Garcia, Eloy Jiménez and Jake Marisnick, who signed a minor league deal earlier this year.
Colás is maybe best known for his bat, and he quickly rose through the ranks last year, his first season with the team. Colás started the year playing Single-A ball and finished at Triple-A Charlotte. The jump didn’t seem too big for Colás either, as he slashed .387/.424/.645 with two home runs, four RBI and one stolen base in just seven games with Charlotte.
This spring, Getz said the White Sox want to see Colás use a consistent approach at the plate and continue developing a sense of the chess match that happens between a pitcher and a hitter. Getz said they’ve seen signs of that from Colás already, and they want to make sure he can remain disciplined as a hitter. They’re already confident in his ability as a corner outfielder on defense.
“He’s got a plus arm,” said Getz. “He’ll certainly want to advertise that come Spring Training. He’s got instincts out there, covers ground, communicates well. He can make some plays.
“He’s going to be a solid outfielder.”
The White Sox have gotten an early look at Colás in Arizona minicamps, and Getz said Colás is in great shape already.
“You can tell he’s really dialed in and excited to have a productive year.”
White Sox pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on Feb. 15. The rest of the team reports on Feb. 20.
