WATCH: Oscar Colas Gets His First MLB Hit
Many people were surprised not to see top prospect Oscar Colas starting in right field for the first game of the season. But, it seemed clear that manager Pedro Grifol wanted to keep Colas away from a tough lefty-lefty matchup with Framber Valdez.
That turned out to be a good move by Grifol as Romy Gonzalez, who got the start in right field, looked good and had a hit in two trips up to the plate against Valdez. It seems that at this point in the season, if there is a tough lefty, Grifol may put Gonzalez in right for matchup’s sake.
Oscar Colas Looks Great
In the top of the 7th inning, Colas pinch hit for Romy against tough reliever, Hector Neris. After taking two balls, proceeded to smoke a ball right up the middle for a base hit. Here is the video:
Colas absolutely smoked that ball. According to Statcast, he hit that ball 109.4 miles per hour. What a way to start your major league career.
The Hit That Made History
With that hit, Oscar Colas made a bit of history. According to Francys Romero, Colas is only the 5th Cuban-born player to get his first hit in his first at-bat on Opening Day. Unsurprisingly he joins Luis Robert and Jose Abreu as the other White Sox to accomplish that. That is good company. He was also the first White Sox player to get a pinch-hit, hit in his major league debut since 1994.
The best way to get the first hit out of the way is to do it in your first at-bat, and he did just that. In his next at-bat in the 9th inning, Colas hit a deep fly ball against tough closer Ryan Pressly. Even though it was just two at-bats, Colas looks like he belongs. He did not look overmatched in the slightest and if this game is any indication, he looks to have a strong rookie campaign.
Colas Looks To Build On This
In the post-game interview, Colas said it was “a very, very tense moment,” and that “he was nervous at first.” These are very normal emotions for someone’s first at bat, but from the outside, he seemed very calm and collected, which is always a good sign.
He should be starting today in right field against Astros starter, Cristian Javier. With yesterday’s at-bats, he could see himself moving up toward the middle of the order.