Has Víctor Reyes figured it out at the plate?

Veteran Tigers outfielder Víctor Reyes signed an under-the-radar minor league deal with the White Sox on December 9 of this past offseason. The switch-hitter earned a reputation for solid defense, a strong throwing arm, sneaky pop, and baserunning prowess during his time in the Motor City. However, a lack of consistent playing time paired with an underperforming Tigers team contributed to below-average offensive marks for the athletic outfielder.

As a prospect, Reyes made a name for himself by consistently hitting for high average and making solid contact from both sides of the plate. He sports a career .302 batting average in the minors and has a flat swing that keeps the barrel in the zone for a long time, resulting in line drives with extra-base potential to all fields.

Since joining Triple-A Charlotte this year, all Reyes has done is tear the cover off the baseball. As a regular outfielder for the Knights, Reyes has hit 17 dingers at the Triple-A level, one more than he hit in five whole seasons with Detroit in the majors. In 2023, he appears to have made a slight adjustment to his swing path that allows him to loft the ball into the air and out of the park on a more consistent basis. In the month of July alone, Víctor has a slash line of .273/.365/.545, good for an OPS of .910. On the season, he’s hit to the tune of a healthy .885 OPS, and is currently tied for the International League lead with 66 RBIs.

The White Sox, with the exception of Home Run Derby participant Luis Robert Jr. and former top prospect Andrew Vaughn, have struggled to produce with runners in scoring position at the major-league level. An RBI machine waiting in the wings at the next highest level of the minors should be a welcome development for this ailing team.

The White Sox starting lineups consistently skew right-handed as well. Mainstays like Robert, Burger, Eloy Jiménez, Vaughn and Tim Anderson all bat from the right side. Though Reyes is a switch-hitter, he does his best work from the left side of the plate, having hit 15 of his 17 longballs as a lefty. With left-handed major league options like Oscar Colás and Gavin Sheets delivering underwhelming results so far in 2023, Victor would be a welcome addition to the duo of languishing lefties.

While Reyes has significant major league experience under his belt, he is still only in his age-28 season and could be entering his prime as an athlete. Depending on the moves the Sox make at the deadline, a call-up for Reyes could conceivably be on the horizon. However, additional roster moves would need to be made to facilitate Reyes’ call-up, as he is not currently on the Sox’s 40-man roster.

If an iota of the success he’s enjoyed in Triple-A translates to the big-league club, his presence would be a welcome change to an offense that struggles in all of the facets of the game that Reyes has excelled in to this point in 2023.