White Sox Director Of Hitting Weighs In On Luis Robert Jr.'s Struggles

CHICAGO – White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller called Luis Robert Jr. an incredibly special athlete. That much is clear when watching Robert steal an MLB-high 21 bases or play Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field.

But 51 games into Robert's 2025 season, the talent has been less apparent at the plate. Through 205 plate appearances, he's slashing .190/.276/.307/.583 – all career-low numbers and most by a wide margin – with five home runs, 20 RBIs, 22 walks and 60 strikeouts. Robert's name has been mentioned in trade talks dating back to last season, but even he admitted last week that he doesn't think anybody would take a chance on him.

Fuller weighed in on what's been done in an attempt to turn things around.

"It's not gonna be wholesale changes to the swing," Fuller said. "But how can we be more consistent with his timing? So that's monitoring the leg kick, make sure it's not getting too high, where he gets down in time and be able to get to pitches that a lot of guys can't get to with a lot of force. So really challenging him with what he's seeing in the cage every day, and having that timing be something we iron out in the cage rather than wait until the game."

Robert previously talked about overthinking things at the plate, and Fuller agreed the mental side is crucial with any hitter.

"It's huge. If only it was, 'Yeah, your swing looks good. You're gonna go out there and be able to execute every night,'" Fuller said. "The mental side of the game is obviously so huge."

Though it's been a frustrating season for the 2023 All-Star and Silver Slugger, Fuller said Robert has been receptive to advice.

"Fantastic. Yeah, he's so fun to work with, and he's smart," Fuller said. "You show him a couple of things, like, here's where you're late, here's where you're on time, this helps the bat path work when you're on time. And it's okay, got it, go. Let's go work on it. So yeah, he's fantastic to work with."