Yoan Moncada

Yoan Moncada

29-Year-Old Third Baseman3B
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
It's quite possible that Moncada's fantastic 2019 season will wind up being a career outlier. He posted a .315/.367/.548 batting line with 24 home runs and 11 stolen bases over 132 games that year and even garnered one down-ballot vote for American League MVP. In his 1,637 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2020 campaign, Moncada has slashed just .243/.325/.395 with middling power and only six total steals in eight total attempts. The 28-year-old third baseman is locked in for a $24.8 million salary in 2024 and carries a $5 million buyout on his $25 million club option for 2025, so he's probably close to untradeable unless he achieves some kind of massive turnaround in the first half of 2024. He remains an underwhelming fantasy option on a White Sox team that seems a bit directionless at the moment. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#556
ADP
$Signed a five-year $70 million contract extension with the White Sox in March of 2020. Contract includes a $25 million team option ($5 million buyout) for 2025. White Sox declined option in October of 2024.
Free agent after option declined
3BFree Agent  
October 31, 2024
The White Sox declined Moncada's $25 million club option for 2025, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
ANALYSIS
The veteran infielder will be given a $5 million buyout. It was an obvious move, given where the White Sox' roster stands and the fact that Moncada was limited to just 12 games in 2024 and 92 games in 2023 due to injury. Moncada won't turn 30 until May, but durability concerns and inconsistent production could point to a bearish market this winter.
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Batting Stats
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2021
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
9
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+16%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+147%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+7%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+35%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .759 174 19 7 24 1 .253 .322 .437
Since 2022vs Right .657 661 65 16 67 3 .232 .283 .374
2024vs Left .347 9 1 0 0 0 .125 .222 .125
2024vs Right .858 36 3 0 0 1 .313 .389 .469
2023vs Left .772 71 6 3 11 0 .284 .324 .448
2023vs Right .720 286 33 8 29 1 .255 .301 .419
2022vs Left .788 94 12 4 13 1 .241 .330 .458
2022vs Right .582 339 29 8 38 1 .204 .257 .325
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+7%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+14%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+8%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+32%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .653 404 37 9 42 1 .228 .290 .363
Since 2022Away .700 431 47 14 49 3 .244 .292 .408
2024Home .807 21 2 0 0 0 .263 .333 .474
2024Away .708 24 2 0 0 1 .286 .375 .333
2023Home .756 194 22 4 21 1 .281 .335 .421
2023Away .699 163 17 7 19 0 .237 .270 .429
2022Home .530 189 13 5 21 0 .169 .239 .291
2022Away .699 244 28 7 30 2 .244 .299 .400
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Stat Review
How does Yoan Moncada compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.45
 
BB Rate
11.1%
 
K Rate
24.4%
 
BABIP
.379
 
ISO
.125
 
AVG
.275
 
OBP
.356
 
SLG
.400
 
OPS
.756
 
wOBA
.336
 
Exit Velocity
90.2 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
27.6%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.264
 
Expected SLG
.346
 
Sprint Speed
23.0 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
55.2%
 
Line Drive %
27.6%
 
Fly Ball %
17.2%
 
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
Moncada is still a young man as he will not turn 28 until late May, but we have certainly seen a range of outcomes with him since he became a full-time player in 2018. He peaked in 2019 and between Covid, injuries, and personality clashes with his now former manager, has backslid into a shell of his former self. 2022 was him taking all the worst parts of his previous seasons and putting them into one terrible season. If his slump was truly just a clash with the manager and he can rebound to even his 2021 levels, fantasy managers should be happy with that and treat both 2019 and 2022 as outlier seasons. He is a patient hitter who was surprisingly dreadful against righties (.204/.257/.325) a year removed from hitting .268/.385/.431 against them. Top that off with his anemic .169/.239/.291 hitting at home where he normally mashes and it is easy to see where things went wrong for him. The park is not changing, but Pedro Grifol may be able to get from him what Tony LaRussa never could.
With an offseason to recover from 2020's bout with COVID-19, Moncada rebounded. His power remained down, though power estimators suggest he was a couple homers shy of what was expected. The chief improvement came from career bests in K% and BB%. However, Moncada's Statcast card is misleading since his average exit velocity on grounders was two mph above his avgEV on flyballs. Exit velocity drives power, so Moncada needs to loft the ball more if he wants to increase home run output. Another concern is stealing only three bases in five tries. Moncada's line drives and groundballs will help maintain an elevated BABIP, but his K% still dampens his average. Age is on Moncada's side, so he could make some adjustments, but the chances of him becoming a superstar player in Major League Baseball are dwindling.
Moncada contracted COVID-19 before the season started and said in September that his body still hadn't recovered. It was plain as day he was not himself; Moncada slashed just .225/.320/.385 with six homers and 24 RBI over 52 games in 2020. He's just one year removed from hitting .315 with 25 long balls and 79 RBI in 132 contests, but his elevated K% and IFFB% gave him little chance at success. He was also unable to swipe a single bag after recording double-digit steals totals in both 2018 and 2019. Moncada has shown that he can be a big-time contributor in all five categories and can be a cornerstone of a fantasy squad, when healthy. Moncada should be in line to hit in the top third of the order for a powerful Chicago offense in 2021. The 25-year-old spent most of his time in the No. 2 spot (40 of 52 games) a season ago.
Something was in the water on the South Side of Chicago; the free-swinging Tim Anderson won the batting title and his free-swinging teammate Moncada raised his batting average 80 points from 2018. We always knew this kid could hit as the ball flies off his bat and his Statcast batted-ball data lives in the 80th percentile or above, but we wondered if he could make enough contact to take full advantage of that. We have our answer. Moncada reduced his strikeout rate, and while 27.5% is still not great, it is an improvement over the previous years and that is what we want to see from young hitters. The shift from second base to third base puts a premium on the power numbers from the position, and Moncada answered that call last year. Of his 50 career homers, 42 have come from the left side of the plate, so while he switch hits, the production is lopsided in favor of his time against righties.
Moncada took a step back in 2018. His K% edged up from 32% to 33.4% while his BB% slipped from 12.6% to 10.3%. He hit 5% more flyballs, but a drop in HR/FB from 18.2% to 11.7% mitigated the effect. He grades well in average exit velocity but fell back in barrel rate, helping explain the drop in power. Moncada's 12-for-18 mark in steals was disappointing after the speed he displayed in the low minors. He also displayed less range on defense, contributing to -5 defensive runs saved. There's a chance he's moved to third or the outfield, but for now the White Sox plan on keeping him at the keystone. Moncada will turn 24 in May, so there's no reason to lose faith, but he's near the point where skills maturation is needed if he's to live up to the hype. Titles are often won taking chances. While there aren't any signs his breakout is imminent, the acquisition cost has softened to the point the reward could outweigh the risk.
After slashing .282/.377/.447 with 12 home runs and 17 stolen bases for Triple-A Charlotte to begin the season, Moncada was summoned back to the bigs for good on July 18. Other than a 10-game visit to the disabled list for a shin contusion in late August, Moncada was the White Sox's regular second baseman, a spot he'll likely occupy for the entirety of 2018. Moncada still has a lot of work to do, but especially down the stretch, he displayed the skills that has fans and fantasy enthusiasts salivating. After returning from the DL, Moncada hit .276 with five homers and two steals, scoring 11 while driving in 18. However, he also fanned 30 times in 109 plate appearances. Curiously, he may not be aggressive enough, taking strikes and falling into bad counts as his swing rate in and out of the zone are below average. Still just 22, Moncada has plenty of time to figure it out. Temper expectations this season, but his ceiling is still that of a fantasy stud.
Moncada was part of the headline with the biggest font this offseason, when Boston traded him along with three other prospects to the White Sox for Chris Sale. Widely considered the top prospect in the game, he moved from High-A Salem to the majors last season, both burnishing his prospect cred and exposing a potential hole at the upper levels. Moncada cruised through the Carolina League with a .923 OPS and 36 steals in 61 games for Salem before being promoted to Double-A Portland, where he clubbed 11 homers in 45 games. He showed all of his elite offensive tools, but with the higher level came a drastic increase in strikeouts. Pitch recognition and handling breaking balls are the final touches, but he'll hit. Defensively, he'll stick at second base for now, but he has the physical size and bat to play anywhere.
Moncada made his organizational debut for Boston last season, the Cuban defector's first game action since December 2013. He was kept behind in extended spring training and was then assigned to Low-A Greenville. He was slow to start – he hit .200 in his first 30 games – but Moncada hit his stride in the second half. He slashed .310/.415/.500/.915 with 45 steals after the All-Star break and has shot to the top of the organization’s prospect rankings. Moncada’s a well-built athlete who generates good bat speed and doesn’t cheat on his swing. He’ll hit for power and steal bases and has the tools to defend. He played second base at Greenville, but could move to third base or center field in the future. He plays the game with swagger and tends to be too flashy in the field. The Red Sox will probably challenge him at High-A Salem at some point this year.
Moncada may be the best young prospect to defect from Cuba this decade. While he lacks the pedigree and track record in international and professional league play of recent Cuban defectors who've become stars, Moncada may have the best all-around talent. He has excellent bat speed, plus raw power, outstanding speed with a plus arm. It's not clear if he'll play in the infield or outfield. It may take a few years before he's ready for the majors, but MLB teams will likely be willing to pay hefty taxes to blow past international signing limits to secure him. He should be a top prospect to grab in keeper leagues as a result.
More Fantasy News
First appearance since activiation
3BChicago White Sox  
September 19, 2024
Moncada went 0-for-1 in Thursday's loss to the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Returns from 60-day IL
3BChicago White Sox  
September 16, 2024
The White Sox activated Moncada (adductor) from the 60-day injured list Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Activation imminent
3BChicago White Sox  
Thigh
September 15, 2024
Moncada (adductor) joined the White Sox on Sunday and is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list Monday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
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Needs more time on rehab assignment
3BChicago White Sox  
Thigh
September 1, 2024
Moncada (adductor) is expected to play in at least five more rehab games for Triple-A Charlotte before being activated from the 60-day injured list, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
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Starting rehab assignment
3BChicago White Sox  
Thigh
August 27, 2024
Moncada (adductor) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Five-plus teams have interest
3BFree Agent  
November 13, 2024
The Blue Jays, Yankees and Mariners are among the five-plus teams that are showing interest in Moncada, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Miami was also previously been mentioned as a possible landing spot for the infielder. Moncada missed most of the 2024 campaign with an adductor strain and has struggled to stay both healthy and productive, but he's a young free agent at just 29 and makes for an interesting one-year flier.
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