White Sox' Luis Robert Jr. leads MLB in WAR after one week

Luis Robert Jr. leads MLB in WAR after one week originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Luis Robert Jr. has been one of the most exciting prospectsー and prosー in the White Sox organization, since he signed as an international free agent in 2017. He boasts the rare blend of power, speed and incredible defense that made folks think he could be an annual MVP candidate, but things haven’t gone that way recently.

Until now.

Heading into Thursday afternoon’s game against the Giants, Robert Jr.’s 0.8 WAR was tied with Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. Robert has added value to the White Sox in just about every phase of the game. At the plate, he’s slashing .333/.333/.630 with two home runs, three RBI and five runs scored.

In the field, Robert has made an early case to win his second career Gold Glove.

Robert looked primed to take over the league when he debuted in 2020. He won a Gold Glove in center field and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. He’s played well since then, but several injuries prevented him from taking the next step as an MLB superstar. Robert Jr. only played in 166 games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

It’s still early, but if Robert Jr. keeps it upー and keeps healthyー he could finally find himself in the MVP conversation.

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