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White Sox fans have had it pretty good when it comes to first basemen, with Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko taking care of the position for the last 24 seasons. Next up on the list is Cuban rookie, Jose Abreu, who in 48 MLB at-bats has 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. In just 12 games of wearing a Major League uniform, Abreu has had a two-home run game twice, he hit a sharp line drive double in his very first Major League at bat and has already been intentionally walked 3 times.

With a body like Albert Pujols and patience at the plate like Ichiro Suzuki, Abreu is exactly the type of player the White Sox need to help generate offensive production. During a 15-3 game against the Rockies in just his eighth start, Abreu saw 32 pitches in 6 plate appearances. As a comparison, the average so far this season has been 3.8.

It may be that pitchers have yet to figure Abreu out, but his 12 hits have come from pitches all over the strike zone. In a matter of fact, the one area of the zone where Abreu is struggling most from is over the middle of the plate. Of the 15 outs clumped together over the middle of the plate, 6 of those pitches were fastballs and only one of those twelve pitches was over 93 MPH.

As a rookie with only 12 games of experience, Abreu is already proving that he can take Major League pitches to any part of the field. His hits to left field and right field are evenly distributed and he has been crushing fastballs and sliders. Through the 2014 season, Abreu has a hit or a sacrifice on 22% of his swings off a slider and is batting 6 for 15 off of breaking pitches, which includes 3 homeruns.

With a six year, $68 million contract, Jose Abreu has many expectations from the White Sox organization and the fans. Not only are there rumors that he once hit a home run in Cuba that traveled 500 feet before hitting the ground, but the other night during a game against the Rockies, Abreu literally knocked the cover off of a foul ball. Through two weeks of baseball, Abreu is 12 games down and hopefully there are many more to come.

NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 04/12/14

By Danny Malter
AriBall.com

Follow @AriBall Follow @DanMalter