Chaos erupts on the plate

You probably remember this. In the Major Leagues, Yoán Moncada has the unfortunate record for most strikeouts received in a season among Cuban-born players.

Moncada struck out 217 times during 650 plate appearances in the 2018 season. That frequency yielded a strikeout rate of 33.4%, one of the negative records that no hitter would like to record.

Prior to the 2018 season, only six batters had struck out more than 200 times in MLB history. But that year there were three who joined the club: as you know, the Cuban Yoán Moncada (217), as well as Giancarlo Stanton (211) and Joey Gallo (207). The big difference here was that Gallo hit 40 home runs, and Stanton 38. Moncada only hit 17. Somehow, Gallo and Stanton's home runs brought a lot of relief despite their high strikeout rates. They are both power hitters and, obviously, by hitting home runs and driving in runs they managed to contribute to their respective teams.

Moncada's case was very different, since the White Sox needed him to reach the bases to make runs. So striking out was literally the worst-case scenario for Moncada, who was limited and unable to take advantage of his ability on the bases. The following year, Moncada hit 25 home runs and struck out 63 fewer times. In his next three qualifying seasons he averaged 126 strikeouts and 12 home runs. Each year I have gotten the impression that Moncada seems to have the potential to improve his contact, but between injuries and inconsistencies he has not made the expected impact.