Luis Robert eager to show what he can do over a full season with White Sox: ‘Those are Mike Trout-type talents’

GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Luis Robert glided in the outfield and made a catch during a drill Wednesday with coach Daryl Boston.

Later in the morning, Robert took some cuts against Chicago White Sox teammate Reynaldo Lopez and drove one to the center-field wall.

Last spring, all eyes were on Robert as he prepared to make his major league debut.

This spring, the center fielder is preparing to show what he can do over 162 games.

“I’ve been working hard on my offense, trying to get better there,” Robert said Wednesday via an interpreter.

“If last season would have been longer than it was, I would have been able to put up better stats. That wasn’t the case, and I just turned the page and this year I’m just working to get better. I followed my routine, doing all the work I always do and especially focusing on my offense to get better there.”

Robert, 23, slashed .233/.302/.436 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs in 56 games during the pandemic-shortened season.

He had a dazzling start to his big league career, earning American League Rookie of the Month honors for July/August after slashing .298/.348/.612 with eight doubles, 10 home runs, 24 RBIs, 22 runs and four stolen bases in 33 games.

September was a different story. He struggled for most of the month, going 11 for 81 and slashing .136/.237/.173 with one home run and seven RBIs.

Robert performed well in the final series of the regular season against the Chicago Cubs, going 5 for 11 with three runs. He carried that momentum into the postseason, which was highlighted by a 487-foot home run in Game 3 of the AL wild-card series against the Oakland Athletics.

“The experience that I had the last month, when I had the struggles with my offense, what I learned from that was you need to work hard to get over that moment because if not that moment’s going to linger longer than what you would like to,” Robert said. “I learned you have to work even harder when you hit those struggles.”

Even with the tough September, Robert led all MLB rookies in RBIs last season and tied for first among the rookies in home runs on the way to finishing second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

He also earned the AL Gold Glove Award for center fielders.

“It was a good feeling,” Robert said of the honor. “It was a little surprise even though I know my capabilities in the outfield and I know what I can do out there. But it took me by surprise because I was paying more attention to the Rookie of the Year award instead of the Gold Glove. I think that was the reason why I was a little surprised, but it was definitely a very good feeling.”

Outfielder Adam Engel said watching Robert play the outfield is “incredible” and referenced a ninth-inning diving catch Robert made against the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 5 at Kauffman Stadium as an example.

“I was 15-20 feet away from the play and I audibly made a noise like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe that just happened,’ ” Engel said Thursday. “And that’s the kind of stuff you see with him every day. It’s not just defensively but offensively. He hit some balls, and I can’t say enough good things about Luis.”

Eloy Jimenez jokingly took some credit for the Gold Glove Award. Robert at times would venture from center field to left and make a catch in front of Jimenez.

“He’s really fun to watch, and when he won the Gold Glove, I was so happy,” Jimenez said. “I called him and I said, ‘You owe me.’ "

“And I think he’s going to be better this year because I think he’s more mature and he can be better at the plate because he showed he could hit, and I think he’s going to be better because he got more experience. Just 60 games, but it’s better than nothing.”

Last spring, Jimenez said Robert “can be the next Mike Trout.”

Asked Wednesday if Robert brought any other player to mind, Sox manager Tony La Russa mentioned Trout.

“I know Luis can run, can hit it a mile and can play great defense,” La Russa said. “Those are Mike Trout-type talents.”

La Russa said he didn’t want to “drop that (comparison) on Luis right now” but did mention an offseason conversation he had with Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.

“He told me, ‘You’ve heard of five-tool players?’ I said, ‘Sure,’ ” La Russa said. “He says, ‘Luis is a six-tool player.’ I thought, ‘Nah.’

“Now I’m watching him and I say, ‘Yeah.’ I could see. He’s got another gear or level he goes to.”