Yoan Moncada's Twinkie obsession is the stuff of legend

The future of the Chicago White Sox will be built around Cuban sensation Yoan Moncada, which could technically mean the White Sox future will be fueled by Twinkies.

According to ESPN’s Eli Saslow, who recently wrote about Moncada’s adjustment to life after coming to the United States and signing a record-breaking deal with the Boston Red Sox, the then 19-year-old had never had a Twinkie in his life before leaving Cuba.

Now, he can’t live without them based on the absurd number of them he’s been known to consume in a single week.

He is a versatile defender with natural speed and a sculpted upper body, and yet his agent says Moncada has sometimes mowed through 85 Twinkies in a week. And, just months after he arrived in the U.S., he was on the phone with Vega, negotiating for cars even though he didn’t have a driver’s license.

Last summer, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan wrote that Moncada once consumed 225 Twinkies in a single week. If 85 is the standard now, then perhaps that signals a significant cutback.

Either way, the now 21-year-old’s obsession with Twinkies has become the stuff of legend. Perhaps even on the level of Hall of Famer Wade Boggs’ ritual of eating chicken before every game. Twinkies are as much a part of Moncada’s daily routine as sleeping and sharpening his skills, but they’re not having any type of negative impact on his conditioning or his performance.

Moncada isn’t in the White Sox plans for opening day after being optioned to Double-A, but once he’s there he’ll be counted on heavily. Over the winter the White Sox made him the centerpiece of their rebuild when they acquired him from Boston in the Chris Sale blockbuster. He’s considered a top three prospect everywhere you look, and backed that up this spring hitting .313 with three home runs in just 41 at-bats.

This all leads to one conclusion. Sooner or later, there will be a massive spike in Twinkies being shipped to the White Sox clubhouse. And we’re sure the team will be glad to continue supplying them as long as Moncada continues developing.