White Sox' Pedro Grifol Says There Is No BS With Oscar Colás

Pedro Grifol says there is no BS with Oscar Colás originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

GLENDALE, AZ – Is Oscar Colás ready for the major leagues?

That’s one of the biggest question marks for the White Sox this spring.

The 24-year-old Cuban prospect is the leading candidate to take over the reins in right field despite playing in only seven games last season in Triple-A.

Does Colás think he’s ready?

“When you’re at this level you have to be ready for whatever comes,” Colás said through White Sox team interpreter Billy Russo.

Colás is coming fast.

“He’s an extremely focused kid. There’s no BS about him,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said about Colás. “He comes here to work. He’s competing for a job. He knows that. This is what he loves to do and he takes pride in it. He asks a lot of good questions. He’s extremely detailed for a young kid. Obviously he has ability. I’m looking forward to watching him progress this spring.”

Those who watched him play in the minors last season know what he’s capable of doing.

“He’s an exciting player. He just brings so much to the table, offensively and defensively,” said Justin Jirschele who managed Colás at Double-A Birmingham. “Every night he has a chance to positively impact your ballclub and in electric ways. Everything he does is electric. When he’s on the field, he stands out in many different ways.”

The White Sox think very highly of their left-handed hitting slugger. Back in November, general manager Rick Hahn singled out Colás to the media saying that would be in the running for the starting right field job.

“We think a lot of Oscar Colás,” Hahn said. “Don’t lose sight of that. It doesn’t mean there won’t be external additions, but I don’t want him to get lost in your offseason analyses of where we are.”

After Hahn made that comment, it didn’t take long for the message to reach Colás.

“I saw that on social media,” Colás said. “I knew that I will have a good chance to have this opportunity because I was working for that and in the time that I was in the Dominican Republic (in the offseason) I really put a lot of work to get to this point. It wasn’t a surprise, but I knew this time would come.”

After getting called up to Birmingham last summer, Colás hit .306/.364/.563 with 14 home runs in 51 games with the Barons, 

His power can be eye-popping. Like the time he crushed a ball approximately 470 feet deep into the Birmingham sky.

“You knew off the bat it was a homer, but it was so high and you knew it was going to land so far away from where we were,” recalled Jirschele. “It was one of those where it was like, ‘Everybody just turn around and watch this for a second. Nobody do anything. Let’s just see where this thing lands.’ And Oscar obviously took his time watching it as well, which everybody was fine with. I don’t think there was anybody in the ballpark who wasn’t, just to see where it landed. You’ve seen a lot of no-doubters. This was in another tier.”

When I asked Colás about that home run, he humbly replied, “To know that you’re able to hit the ball that far, it was incredible.”

But Colás wants to be more than just a power hitter.

“Last year, I increased my focus on my offense, to be a better hitter. Before I hit homers. Last year I worked to get better to be more of a hitter. To try to hit the ball throughout the field. I got good results doing that,” Colás said.

And he’s been working with his new White Sox hitting coaches on his plate discipline. In 117 minor league games, he struck out 120 times with 38 walks.

“Once the season ended, they identified that I need to be more selective in the pitches that I want to swing at," Colás said. "We focused on that during this offseason. That helped me. I think that put me in a better position now.”

The White Sox open the regular season in Houston on March 30. Colás is hoping to be there.

“I’ve thought about it. It’s part of my dream,” Colás said. “Sometimes you think it’s not real, but I’m here working for that and that’s going to be a big accomplishment for me and my family and all the people who have supported me.”

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