The first viral video of a Moncada on the baseball field this year didn’t feature new White Sox top prospect Yoan but his 2-year-old son.
Robinson Moncada has been playing T-ball for about a year, and he already knows how to do it with style. The video shows the youngster hitting a ball off a tee in a game, carrying the bat for a few tiny strides before flinging it to the side, spinning in a circle before he heads toward first base.
Proud father Yoan Moncada watched it from Sox camp at Camelback Ranch this week and declared Robinson has the better bat flip.
"He’s incredible," Moncada said through a team interpreter. "I watched the video yesterday, and that was unbelievable."
The Sox expect Yoan Moncada to be the one providing video highlights in the not-too-distant future, but for now the 21-year-old infielder still is settling in to Sox camp after arriving a few days early.
Five months after his first taste of the big leagues while with the Red Sox, Moncada must adjust to a new team that hopes Major League Baseball’s No. 2 overall prospect can be the centerpiece of the rebuild it started this winter.
"I’m just trying to get to know the culture here, the guys, the staff, the players, how they like to work," Moncada said. "And so far I’ve been good. Also, the change of the city and state, especially in spring training, I’m getting to know that a little bit better right now."
The full Sox squad reported on a cool, rainy day in Arizona, but the rain held off long enough for players to work out on the fields. Manager Rick Renteria said everybody reported, with first baseman Jose Abreu the last to arrive because his plane had been delayed.
Moncada will be able to lean on Abreu, his former teammate on Cuba’s Cienfuegos, for help.
"I know him, and he knows me," Moncada said. "We haven’t yet had the opportunity to practice together … but that’s something that is going to be very good for me."
Moncada believes the ability to speak Spanish with Renteria also will be a "huge advantage." And he said left-hander Jose Quintana also has been giving him advice about on- and off-the-field matters and called him "a very good man."
Photos as the White Sox practice at spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.
Moncada stood in to track pitches against Quintana on Saturday morning and then took batting practice off a pitching machine. Afterward, in his first meeting with the media this spring, he said his main focus over his first week has been to show the coaches what he can do.
"(My goal is) to be better, and specifically for this point, all that I want is just to make the team," Moncada said. "That’s my focus right now."
Sox general manager Rick Hahn has said that most of the new prospects acquired in the offseason will start at the minor-league level. Moncada, who was 4-for-19 with 12 strikeouts in eight games with the Red Sox last year, might be bound for Triple-A Charlotte. He has just two seasons in the minors under his belt since he signed with the Red Sox for a $31.5 million bonus before the 2015 season.
But the team also leaves open the possibility he could force the issue of a call-up soon.
"(The goods ones) have the possibility of coming quicker than one might think," Renteria said. "I remember well there are a lot of guys I’ve seen whose jumps were exponential. I think he could be one of those guys. We hope so, as with all of the other young players."
Renteria said his first impressions of Moncada have been one of a player who is "extremely talented, very gifted."
At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Moncada’s imposing physique is obvious on first sight, and Renteria also pointed to his running ability and strong arm as positives. Sox shortstop Tim Anderson said he sees similarities with himself, including the speed, but noted Moncada has more power.
But Renteria also has acknowledged there’s a fair amount of work to do, including defensively if Moncada will stick at second base.
"He’s receptive," Renteria said. "He’s a bright young man. It’s a matter of how we present whatever we want to present to him. Hopefully we find the right words and context and show him physically."
Perhaps learning quickly runs in the family.
Robinson, who was given his name in part because one of his father’s favorite players is Robinson Cano, didn’t learn the bat flip from his dad.
That move, Moncada said, he learned by himself.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribKane
Caption Yoan Moncada talks goals for 2017, takes batting practice
White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada discusses his goals for the 2017 season and takes batting practice on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada discusses his goals for the 2017 season and takes batting practice on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Yoan Moncada talks goals for 2017, takes batting practice
White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada discusses his goals for the 2017 season and takes batting practice on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada discusses his goals for the 2017 season and takes batting practice on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
Caption White Sox infielder Brett Lawrie on last year’s injuries
White Sox infielder Brett Lawrie on figuring out what caused his injuries last year. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox infielder Brett Lawrie on figuring out what caused his injuries last year. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
Caption White Sox catchers play joke on pitcher James Shields
White Sox catchers play a joke on pitcher James Shields on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox catchers play a joke on pitcher James Shields on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Todd Frazier on the ‘refueling’ the White Sox
White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier on the "refueling" team at spring training on Feb. 17, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier on the “refueling” team at spring training on Feb. 17, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
Caption Carlos Rodon, Rick Renteria on Rodon’s separate spring training work
White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon and manager Rick Renteria discuss Rodon’s separate work at spring training on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon and manager Rick Renteria discuss Rodon’s separate work at spring training on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)
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