Yoan Moncada Finally Feels Healthy At The Plate And It Shows 

Yoan Moncada is back, at least for now. His injured back appears to be fully healthy for the first time since coming off the injured list in late July. 

In Moncada’s last 15 games, he is slashing .321/.333/.536 with 11 RBIs and two home runs. Those are similar to the type of numbers he put up during the first few weeks of the season before landing on the IL in May. 

Moncada carried a .857 OPS in April before landing on the IL. After returning from his first IL stint he struggled to keep his batting average above .200 and his power deteriorated. Across May, June, and July he hit just one home run all while his walk rate is down and his strikeout rate is up.

Part of the reason was that his back flared up again in June. White Sox manager Pedro Grifol hopes that being able to play the rest of the season fully healthy can help build Moncada some confidence that can translate over to next season. 

“He had a tough injury when it comes to trying to keep your mechanics consistent,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “When you've got a back injury and you're trying to avoid pain, you start doing things mechanically that you probably don't even know you're doing, just to take a swing without any discomfort. And over time, you start creating some bad habits.”

Bad habits being formed by playing through an injury is not uncommon. Last season Luis Robert admitted that he developed some bad habits during the final few weeks of the season after trying to play through a sprained wrist. 

“If, for whatever reason I swing the bat in a bad way I thought the pain will increase,” Robert explained through a translator last September. “It was something unconsciously I developed that bad habit trying to avoid that increased pain in my hand. 

Ultimately the goal is to get Moncada to revert back to his 2019 self when he hit .315 with 25 doubles and 34 home runs. Given the way his career has gone, he can’t afford to develop any more bad habits.

After trading Jake Burger the White Sox are going to be stuck with Moncada at third base for the foreseeable future. There were rumors the White Sox tried to shop him during the trade deadline. No other teams were interested in taking on his contract. 

But if Moncada remains healthy he can still become an asset to the White Sox. Despite his frustrating numbers he still shows flashes of All-Star caliber talent. Health has plagued his journey to find consistency. In 2021 he played 144 of 163 games. Then in 2022, he was limited to 104 games. This season he has appeared in just 67 of the team's first 131 games. 

Since returning from his second stint on the IL on July 25th, Moncada is beginning to start pulling the ball more. According to StatCast Moncada now has a 42.4 pull percentage. That’s the highest mark of his career. Pulling the ball is one thing, pulling the ball for power is another. 

When he was struggling with the back flare-ups, he was making a noticeable attempt to hit everything to the opposite field because that meant less rotation and strain on his back. 

Sunday was a great example of Moncada showcasing his ability to spray the ball to all fields on both sides of the plate. He ripped a single to right field in the first inning while batting left-handed. In the seventh inning, he hit a two-run double to left field from the right-hand side of the plate. His double left his bat at 109.9 mph. It comes just one day after Moncada pulled a home run 409 feet while batting righty on Saturday night  It’s a positive sign that shows he has recovered. 

“It's a relief for sure,” Moncada said through team interpreter Billy Russo. “Now you can go to home plate without thinking about [the injury], and that was something that was bothering me before. That is definitely something that is better.”